Heworth Says Balmain Tigers Closer to Going Home

The long-running saga of the former Balmain Leagues Club looks close to resolution with Sydney-based property investment house Heworth Holdings Group saying it expects to start work within six months.

Heworth will first seek an amendment from Sydney’s Inner West Council to reduce the number of apartments from 167 to 147 in the already approved mixed-use development.

The group also wants to make changes to the retail plaza, the apartment mix and their design.

The site—at the junction of Victoria Road and Darling and Waterloo streets in Rozelle— was originally approved in September 2020 for three apartment towers with all buildings connected above a shared retail and commercial podium.

▲ Just eight months after Heworth gained development approval, Transport for NSW slapped a compulsory seven-year leasehold on the site.

The $135-million redevelopment was to include a town square, a community arts studio, and most important to many in the area, a new home doe the Wests Ashfield Leagues Club, which had amalgamated with the former Balmain Tigers. 

But speculation, controversy and even suspicion have dogged the project for years.

Heworth acquired the site in 2018 for $75 million with the financial backing of Malaysia giant Mulpha. At the time the previous owners had seen three development applications fail.

In May last year—just eight months after Heworth’s 28,000sq m mixed-use development was approved—a compulsory seven-year leasehold was imposed on the site by Transport for NSW which wanted to use it during construction of the Western Harbour Tunnel.

Transport for NSW earmarked the property to be used as a so-called “dive site” enabling access into the tunnel during construction.

Then in May this year, a suspicious fire gutted the former leagues club. Soon after, Transport for NSW confirmed it no longer needed the land acquired for the tunnel construction.

Heworth head of property Chris Walsh told The Urban Developer he did not expect problems with the amendment request. He met with the Inner West Council who were comfortable the modifications “were pretty straightforward”.

“This is nothing out of the ordinary,” Walsh said. “It’s updating facade design, basic stuff that comes up as a result of progressing detailed design.

▲ Heworth’s Chris Walsh doesn’t expect any issues with the amendments.

“A key focus of our development is a new town Square, public plaza and major retail and hospitality podium connected by a series of laneways. It’s going to significantly contribute to Rozelle and become a major community meeting place and destination,” he said.

Construction is planned to start mid-2023 with completion due by 2025.

“Now that Transport for NSW has stepped aside, we’re very positive and confident we can get moving again,” Walsh said.

“But it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve set a target, and something has pushed it back.”

A marketing campaign for Rozelle Village by CBRE will begin early next year.