‘Overdeveloped’ $55m North Sydney Tower Rejected

A mixed-use development with a heritage component planned for North Sydney is going to appeal after it was rejected by the council.

The tower, an adaptive reuse project, was proposed for 286-294 Pacific Highway at Crows Nest.

Developers PDS on behalf of a private equity firm are proposing a 13-storey mixed-use building comprising ground floor and first floor commercial tenancies and 61 apartments of between one and three bedrooms.

Partial demolition works were proposed in the application lodged in July last year with the North Sydney, although the heritage Gas Works office would remain intact. 

But those plans have been thrown into doubt after a rejection by the council following analysis by the North Sydney Design Excellence Panel.

According to the panel, while the planned building heights are described as “providing a suitable transition between zones” there is a “significant breach” of height limit. 

The subject site is reportedly zoned low density residential and mixed use, with maximum building heights within these zones of 8.5m and 16m respectively. 

The proposed 42.93m building height in the low density zoned land and 53.77m in the mixed use zoned land was thus considered “excessive and inappropriate” by the panel.

It also represents “a significant intensification of land use and increased density of built form” with “inappropriate front, side and rear setbacks, largely due to the low density buildings to the south of Sinclair Street”, it said.

As a result, it determined that the bulk and scale of the development was not compatible with the surrounding built form context and represented a “significant overdevelopment” of the site.

The panel, however, said that the proposed restoration of the heritage item was “commendable and complimentary” in its attempts to restore and preserve the building. 

But it criticised the impact the development would have on the heritage item on 99 Shirley Road, saying it would be “highly visible” and its visual appearance would likely be “highly problematic” in terms of bulk, scale and aesthetic appearance. 

The panel advised that the application would likely be rejected, and this seems to have been the case, with the developers now launching an appeal.

The rejection of the application follows a drive earlier this year for greater quality in Sydney residential developments, and better communication with councils to answer and understand the demands of planning strategies in each suburb.