Second Attempt for North Sydney Resi DA

Proponents of a site in North Sydney continue to push for a residential development above SIMSMetal House in McLaren Street.

The 2,359sqm site at 41 McLaren Street has been the subject of a series of development proposals over the past few years with proponents Erolcene Pty Ltd and Claigade Pty Ltd seeking approval back in 2017 for a residential tower above the existing commercial building.

The original proposal was rejected by the Independent Planning Commission after 2 years of assessment due to reduced solar access, wind and heritage concerns.

A revised DA was submitted in February 2020 which seeks to address the issues raised by the IPC and seeks Council approval for;

• Construction of a residential tower containing approx. 194 residential units across 37 levels of residential floors above the existing commercial building (which is 7 storeys);
• Retains 7,970m2 of commercial floor space within the existing building’s podium, equivalent to a non residential FSR of around 3.3:1;
• Provides essential heritage conservation and restoration works to the heritage significant aspects of the existing building; and
• Undertakes excavation works for additional basement car parking and provision of 147 car parking spaces;

The site has a 100m height limit under the recently revised North Sydney LEP, however the planning proposal seeks approval for a 229m high structure.

The proponents to the DA are companies associated with Reed Construction Pty Ltd. The group has taken the opportunity to rearrange its holdings with Erolcene Pty Ltd transferring a half share of the site to an associated entity NS McLaren Developments Pty Ltd for $31m. The new entity is ultimately owned by a related party to a previous director of Reed Constructions Australia Pty ltd, Mr Geoffrey Reed and his son Greggory Reed. The parties finalised the transfer in April 2020.