The 186-year-old church taking on the plan for Sydney’s ‘Trump Tower’

Inner-city churchgoers have mobilised against plans for a 50-storey tower, which would include a hotel and 279 apartments, arguing that the building would cast a shadow over their heritage-listed church’s stained-glass windows for much of the year.

Parishioners of Christ Church St Laurence, an Anglican church on George Street near Central Station, have filed 16 objections to a proposal from developer Greaton to demolish a nine-storey building and construct a mixed-use tower for $591.5 million that would feature 265 hotel suites, 279 build-to-rent apartments, offices, and ground floor retail outlets.

In its submission, Greaton conceded its building would cast a shadow over the heritage-listed property. However, it supplied analysis that found the shadow would “not affect morning services or High Mass on Sundays, as natural light from ornate stained-glass windows remain accessible”, and that the “overshadowing is deemed acceptable given the church’s inner-city location”.

Church members disagree. One parishioner said the development “would condemn our church to perpetual twilight for a significant … part of the year”.

David Stark, who had been part of the church since 1982, wrote that the tower would be a new “Nimrod/Trump Tower” and “most inappropriate for the area”.

“It would overshadow our national heritage church in autumn, winter and spring, blocking the light which illuminates our beautiful windows and inhibiting the context of a unique, heritage-listed, mid-19th century church,” he said.

Other objectors to the proposal argued the submission did not propose any mitigations to the shadowing of the building, noise created by heavy construction work, traffic and parking issues that would be exacerbated by the project, and potential structural damage indirectly caused by construction work.

When the Herald contacted Greaton for comment on Tuesday afternoon, its representatives requested the story not be published until it could arrange a meeting with the City of Sydney to discuss the application.

A representative for the not-for-profit advocacy group Soul of Chinatown noted that the development had yet to engage Asian-Australian creatives, particularly in relation to public art, which would honour the culturally significant district.

Christ Church St Laurence acolyte Ian Georgeson walking through the church on Wednesday. The entrance and stained-glass windows would be put in shadow under a new tower proposal.Credit: Louise Kennerley

The church, built in the Gothic Revival style, was partly designed by renowned architect Edmund Blacket, house several stained-glass windows donated throughout its 186-year history. It stands out in the heavily evangelical Sydney Anglican diocese, known for its Ango-Catholic traditions.

Father Daniel Dries, the church’s rector, said the developer’s submission that the shadowing would not impact Sunday services failed to recognise the “seven-day-a-week” nature of the church.

“There are 25 services held here on a typical week. The church is open to the city every day, giving out sandwiches and coffee to the homeless. It’s a place of refuge, an oasis within what is an already crowded [area].”

Not all the submissions were opposed to the development.

“Sounds great, more housing please,” one read.

“This looks to be a great proposal, supporting much-needed housing during a housing crisis, while providing commercial and retail activation at the street level,” another said.

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