An expert panel will advise Mr Sartor on how the 5.7 hectare
Carlton United Brewery site on Broadway should be developed, after the minister
intervened in negotiations between the site’s owner, Foster’s, and the City of Sydney council last
month.
While developers welcomed his action, it has outraged Sydney’s Lord Mayor,
Clover Moore, Chippendale residents and the Greens.
Mr Sartor said he stepped in because the $800 million
project had been tangled for three years in council red tape. He has vowed to
finalise a development plan for the site by the end of the year.
“Quite frankly, I think at the moment, the proposal
that stands … will lead to a very mediocre outcome,” he told an Urban
Development Institute of Australia
lunch yesterday.
“If I could describe the proposal in these terms, one
word might be constipated, another word might be a camel, or you could join the
two together and call it a constipated camel.”
The finance director at Foster’s, Angus McKay, welcomed Mr
Sartor’s intervention, saying it provided certainty for the site.
“The minister is outlining a process to provide some
clear decisions around the significant site. We welcome some pro-active moves
on it,” he said.
But Cr Moore and locals fear Mr Sartor’s oversight will
create “slums” because they expect him to approve bigger apartment
blocks.
They also accuse Mr Sartor of a cash grab, saying higher
housing density will increase the money raised by a levy on the developer,
which the Government wants to use for affordable housing in Redfern-Waterloo.
Cr Moore said Mr Sartor was looking after developers at the
expense of the community and accountability. “The minister’s actions show
a contempt for professional advice and the democratic process.”
Jeanette Brokman, from the Coalition of Chippendale
Community Groups, called on Mr Sartor to commit to a sustainable housing
density and cut the number of car parks on the site, which is expected to house
up to 3000 people in 1800 units.
She also wanted an assurance that the community facilities
agreed by the council -including a 5000-square-metre park – would be retained.
Mr Sartor says his control will “not necessarily”
lead to a higher density, and guarantees the same, if not better, community
facilities will be included.
The Property Council of Australia’s NSW executive director,
Ken Morrison, said the site could handle a higher-density development because
of its size and proximity to the city and public transport.
“This isn’t something we should be shying away from,
these are sites we should be throwing density at,” he said.
Heritage is expected to be a major issue, with Mr Sartor and
his panel chairman, the former government architect Chris Johnson, questioning
the value of some of the site’s 30 buildings on the council’s heritage list.
Photo: “Constipated camel”… the Broadway brewery
site. Photo: Nick Moir