The Herald contacted Time and Place and was told by a public relations agency the developer “has no comment on the matter in question”.
Time and Place has been buying units and car spaces in the block for years. Last year it reportedly purchased a car space from former prime minister Paul Keating,a Potts Point local,for $315,000.
Fahey said he understood the Chimes project:the building is ageing,and its above-ground car park is not the best use of space. But it is indicative of a bigger trend in the area,where older,relatively affordable units are at risk of being bulldozed for luxury dwellings.
“I don’t want this place to become a yuppie kingdom,” he said. “Writers,poets,actors,who traditionally lived in this area can no longer afford the rent.”
Frenchman Rafael Karoubi,26,lives in a studio apartment in the Chimes with his French girlfriend. They pay $500 a week and have harbour views. He says his neighbours are a mix of Australians and migrants,including many young people who are “very happy” to be there.
“Lots of people are worried in the building,” Karoubi said. “These apartments are quite affordable in comparison to everything else.”
Gentrification in the area was turbocharged by the then Liberal government’s lockout laws in 2014,which destroyed nightlife and,according to Domain analysis from the time,“delivered a $150,000 windfall to apartment owners in Potts Point” almost instantly.
The luxury redevelopment phenomenon has prompted the City of Sydneyto adopt new regulations to restrict dwelling loss in residential redevelopments.
Agreed in December,the rules limit any “net dwelling loss” to 15 per cent. But they have not yet been approved for public exhibition by the Department of Planning and,in any case,will not be retrospective in the case of the Chimes building.
But developer lobbyist Tom Forrest of the Urban Taskforcehas previously said the problem was “confected” and preserving run-down buildings for affordable housing was a “failure of policy”.
It’s not just small luxury redevelopments that have attracted criticism. Councils are also querying the value of projects that knock down older,more affordable buildings for bigger towers.
On Monday night,a Woollahra Council committee resolved to oppose plans for a 25-storey tower next to Edgecliff station that would contain 256 units. Liberal councillor Sean Carmichael said he used to live in the building,Cameron Court,that would be demolished,and “it was a godsend”.
Its studios with a car space were available for as little as $520 a week. “That is just unbelievable value,” Carmichael said. “There’s nowhere else like it that you will find in the eastern suburbs.”
His colleague Sarah Swan agreed. “It’s the best kind of affordable housing because it’s one determined by the market,” she said. “A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.”
The Macleay Street plans are on exhibition until March 15.