Bruce is about to lose his views to the developer nearby. But what are they worth?
Rose Corp director and co-owner Stuart Rose said his company had owned that building for more than 20 years, and was there first, before Paramount was built in 2005.
“I know there are some local residents who are objecting to the plan, but we find that everywhere. People don’t like change,” he said.
“We are just using the planning process to make a planning application to increase the requirements for commercial in the area. It certainly doesn’t impact any shadowing requirement from planning perspectives, and there are only a small number of people whose minor local views would be impacted.”
One of Cox’s neighbours in the Paramount on Riley and William Street, company CFO David Cuda, said there was anger that the City was supporting the Gateway approval proposal.
“This building will be so out of character for the conservation area and will have a massive impact on the streetscape,” he said.
A City of Sydney spokesperson said it was considering feedback received as it assessed the request, and its findings would be reported to council and the Central Sydney planning committee for a final determination.
“If council approves this planning proposal after public exhibition, it can amend the Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012 on behalf of the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces,” the spokesperson said.
“If approved, a development application would then separately need to be submitted for the detailed design of a building on the site.
“These studies would also be assessed by City of Sydney staff and placed on public exhibition, with the community again invited to provide feedback. Separately, in December 2023, council endorsed a draft proposal to adjust conservation area boundaries in a number of different locations across the local area.”
Architect Ray Hudson said he would lose much of his gun-barrel views of Woolloomooloo Bay, the NSW Art Gallery and the Domain.
“Before we bought here, we looked at the zoning and the conservation area and assumed that would give us protection with the current controls,” Hudson said.
Hudson said more commercial buildings simply aren’t needed in the area and that there was plenty of empty office space in the nearby CBD.
Ray Hudson in his 6th floor apartment in front of his view of the Art Gallery, Woolloomooloo Bay and the Domain.
Another Paramount apartment owner, retired asset manager Kerry Wade, said “the City has turned down a lot of earlier proposals, so it’s laughable that they’ve agreed to back this one.
“This will form a precedent for the rest of the area, with other buildings perhaps applying to go up too, and this will possibly be a precedent for other conservation areas as well. This is the thin edge of the wedge. We’re all very angry that this could be allowed to happen.”
Local state government member Alex Greenwich has added his objections.
“I’ve been contacted by a large number of residents who are worried that the proposed changes will significantly reduce liveability in their homes and the amenity, heritage values and character of their neighbourhood,” he said.
“The housing affordability crisis requires us to not only build liveable apartments but to also protect the liveability of existing ones. Without such safeguards, apartment living would become a risky investment and unsustainable.”
