ApartmentsVanessa CrollTue 21 Jul 26
Developcorp Targets Lindfield Heritage Area for Apartments
Three Federation and inter-war houses deemed contributory to a protected Upper North Shore streetscape would be demolished to make way for an eight-storey apartment building under planning controls introduced eight months ago.
Developcorp founder Johnny Daher is pursuing the 42-apartment project at 28-32 Wolseley Road, Lindfield, through Wolseley 888 Pty Ltd, a company he incorporated and wholly owns.
The 2675sq m site is within 400m of Lindfield town centre and walking distance of its railway station.
Ku-ring-gai’s replacement transport-oriented development controls took effect in November, rezoning the land from low to high-density residential.
Its height limit rose from 9.5m to 29m, while its floor-space ratio increased sixfold from 0.3:1 to 1.8:1.
Most heritage conservation areas in Ku-ring-gai were excluded from the uplift, but Wolseley Road was specifically included.
Plans by Smith and Tzannes [pictured at top] show a 25.76m building with 5686sq m of floor space, 87 car spaces, 47 bicycle spaces and 708sq m of communal open space.
An infill-affordable-housing bonus would lift the floor-space ratio to 2.13:1, below the available 2.16:1.
Eight apartments—six three-bedroom and two two-bedroom—would comprise 583sq m of affordable housing.
The affordable component must remain in place for at least 15 years and be managed by a registered community housing provider. EchoRealty supplied a letter of support.
Large homes dominate the wider mix, comprising one one-bedroom, five two-bedroom, 35 three-bedroom and one four-bedroom apartment.
Developcorp’s heritage consultant, Weir Phillips Heritage, assessed all three existing houses as substantially intact when viewed from the street.
Its report acknowledged demolition “will result in the loss of contributory fabric and will diminish the character of this part of the Conservation Area”.
But it said the new planning framework anticipated a transition to higher-density development.
The houses occupy land subdivided in 1911 as the Heart of Lindfield Estate, where a covenant required homes valued at no less than £500, with slate or tiled roofs.
Number 30, known as Kelso, first appeared in the Sands Directory in 1917.
Number 32 was later owned by the Government of Papua New Guinea, according to pre-digital title records.
Wolseley 888 submitted the application through the Planning Portal on June 30, with council recording a July 6 lodgement date.
