Four-storey ‘Taj Mahal’ aged care complex proposed for Magill
About 80 people have attended a community meeting to voice their concerns about a four-storey retirement complex proposed for their quiet Magill neighbourhood.
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The idea of a four-storey retirement village has been floated for a quiet backstreet in Magill.
Already dubbed “The Taj Mahal” by one critic, the proposal, unveiled at a community meeting at the Hectorville Sports and Community Club this week, includes 76-apartments above a ground floor with a library, gym, pool and cafe.
There would also be underground parking for up to 115 cars.
The 80-strong crowd at the meeting was mostly opposed to the plan on the grounds of its location at the corner of Bricknell St and Alton Ave on a 5000sq m block.
Critics said the four-storey complex would increase traffic and be too big and out of character for the area.
They were backed by local MP Vincent Tarzia who told the developers they were “creating a whole heap of anxiety” for residents.
Mr Tarzia believed the community would possibly be amenable to some kind of development for the site – but not the one currently on the table.
Among the more vocal critics was Sandra Mestros, whose Alton Ave home is directly opposite the proposed site.
She said if the building went ahead it would impact on her daily life.
“We did not move in here for this, neither did others – the lady down the end has been here 34 years,” she said.
Michael Mestros said he did not want people to think that he, or people at the meeting, were “anti-development”.
But he said anything that was built had to fit in with the area.
“Just because you own land does not mean that you can put something like The Taj Mahal on it,” he said.
Residents were told that if the proposal went ahead it was likely the planning application could be lodged before the end of September with work likely to start in mid 2020.
A spokesman for the development, who did not want to be named, said he was surprised at the level of opposition.
“Maybe this area is not ready for urban infill,” he said.
“We know there is definitely a market for this kind of development and we are in it for the long term. What we are looking at here is something the market has not seen before.”
He said given the amount of hostility it was likely he and his colleagues would get together to see if the proposal could be “massaged or tweaked”.
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“We will get together, talk, workshop, in the next few weeks, see if it is worth going ahead – recalibrate and reset,” he said.
Whatever happens it is unlikely the concept will get any support from Campbelltown Council.
The developers have previously approached the council with a plan for a four-storey complex on the site.
But as it departed significantly from the Campbelltown’s development plan it was intimated that the council would not be supportive.