Charity to Develop Prime Manly Beachfront Site

Royal Far West, the 98-year-old provider of health, education and disability services for country kids, has filed plans for a multiple-building, mixed-use development on the Manly beachfront.

Royal Far West said the development application for refurbishment of its heritage-listed Drummond House, plus the construction of two additional buildings on the corner of Wentworth Street and South Steyne, will future-proof their support for children in more than 215 rural communities.

Under the plan, the rear-wing of Drummond House plus the former RFW school and medical centre buildings will be demolished to make way for a five-storey apartment block fronting the beach on South Steyne.

Behind that will be another eight-storey building, including five levels of residential apartments and three levels given over to retail and other commercial activity.  Both buildings, which bring a total of 58 apartments, are on about 15,000sq m owned by RFW since 1952.

The pre-sale release of the apartments, to be sold on 99-year-leases, is expected by the end of this year.

▲ The buildings have been designed by Glenn Murcutt and Angelo Candalepas.

“RFW is proud to deliver this innovative and iconic place that will make a profound difference not only to future generations of country children and families across Australia, but also to Manly,” Royal Far West chief executive Jacqueline Emery said.

More short-stay accommodation will be added to Drummond House, the 1930s guest house on Wentworth Street, next to the new apartment blocks.  The external walls and facade will be retained, while the rear wings will be demolished to make way for upgraded accommodation for families travelling to Manly for treatment.

The two buildings have been designed by internationally recognised Australian architect Glenn Murcutt, who grew up in neighbouring Clontarf and went to Manly Boys High School.  The Pritzker-Prize-winning architect will partner with architect and designer Angelo Candalepas of Candalepas Associates on the design.

The development, known as the RFW Neighbourhood, will include a public forecourt and two underground parking levels for 184 vehicles.

▲ Drummond House’s external walls and facade will be retained as part of the development.

The new development follows the opening of Royal Far West’s $36-million, six-storey office building in 2018. That houses about 150 staff including speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses and dentists.

RFW has secured third-party funding through a formal loan for the redevelopment, which is currently being assessed by the Northern Beaches Council.

“This place will bring to bear the timeless vision of our founders Reverend Stanley Drummond and Dr George Moncrieff Barron, who established RFW’s base on the beachfront in 1924,” Emery said.