Heritage Loophole Paves Way for South Sydney Tower

Construction is under way on Landmark Group’s 12-storey Kogarah residential building and adaptive reuse project after a court win.

The development, at 6 Victoria Street in Sydney’s south-west, was the subject of a Land and Environment Court ruling in 2021 after a disagreement over the maximum height of the proposed building.

The proposed building was one-storey higher than would normally be permitted under the area’s 33m height control, and it was initially refused by Georges River Council.

However, the court ruled that there were sufficient grounds to justify the breach in height as the ground and first floors had increased floor-to-ceiling heights to match the adjoining heritage listed terraces.

The heritage-listed buildings are being retained and reused as part of the project, which Landmark has called Victoria & George, part of a residential precinct in the “up-and-coming”  neighbourhood of Kogarah North.

Once complete, it will offer one, two and three-bedroom apartments, along with a small number of two-storey terrace homes. 

Landmark applied for a construction certificate last week following the drawn-out development process and the developer has released the final tranche of homes.

The site itself is in walking distance of St George public and private hospitals, as well as a short walk from Kogarah train station.

Kogarah has proved to be a hot suburb for developers as Sydney’s suburbs fill up. Last month developer Level 33 applied for permission to build a 10-storey residential site, and in recent years the location has become home to a new $80-million RSL-led residential development, Veridian. 

However, the Georges River area has also proved trickier for major developments, with a $60-million rezoning plan by consortium Point Gate which would pave the way for a three-tower residential development knocked back last year.