City Beat: Sam Chong accused of bad management by 102 Adelaide St tenants

A MINING and property billionaire eagerly awaiting the completion of his $325 million Brisbane hotel is being hit with allegations of bad management in another nearby building.

MINING and property multi-millionaire Sam Chong is spending quite a bit of time these days watching his 37-storey baby rise out of the ground on Mary St in the Brisbane CBD.

When completed next year, the $325 million “Mary Lane” complex will feature 184 units, a five-star Westin Hotel with 286 rooms, and flash restaurants.

An artist’s impression of the Westin Hotel Mary Lane. Picture: Supplied

But a few blocks away, City Beat spies tell us it’s not all sweetness and light at Chong’s 102 Adelaide St tower, the former Reserve Bank building where his property company Zashvin is based.

Chong recently severed a longstanding management agreement with Colliers, shifting all building and facilities oversight in-house.

Meanwhile, tenants allege there have been long-running maintenance and electrical issues in the tower, which has quite a bit of vacant space.

“The power recently went out to the whole building and it completely wiped our server. It took us six hours to restore from a back up and the managers could not have cared less,’’ one irate tenant complained.

“Also, promised upgrades to common areas haven’t happened for years.’’

Conflict has also flared over one leaseholder’s decision to bring her leashed and toilet-trained 16-week puppy to the office for an RSPCA fundraiser. The new property manager allegedly said she was seeking instructions about evicting the dog if it made a return appearance.

City Beat had hoped to have a chat with Chong yesterday but calls to Zashvin’s office rang out

 

FLAME ON

The late Scott Sullivan and his wife Sarah. Picture: Supplied

SCOTT Sullivan is gone but not forgotten.

The late Suncorp executive and father of two succumbed at age 38 to motor neurone disease in early 2014.

But the MND and ME Foundation he launched endures, and has kept the flame burning in the quest for a cure for the fatal condition.

In that spirit, 20 Brisbane bizoids are getting ready to fly to Berlin to run the city’s famed marathon on September 24.

They’re hoping to raise $100,000 or more for the cause. Many will then head to Munich for a few well-earned coldies at Oktoberfest.

Among those training hard for the 42km endurance test are Trent Daly, a client adviser at Shadforth Financial Group who also volunteers his time on the MND board.

Trent Daly is running for a worthy cause. Illustration: Jonathan Bentley

Daly jets out tonight to spend a bit of time in London and Paris before arriving in the German capital.

He’s hoping to beat his time of 3h 44min recorded at the New York Marathon in 2015.

The 40-strong Brisbane contingent on that trip generated a whopping $250,000 for MND research.

Joining Daly this time around will be Queensland’s leading expert on MND, neurologist Dr Robert Henderson, and Sullivan’s widow Sarah, a nurse at The Wesley Hospital.

Also pounding the Berlin pavement will be Paul Olds, Matt Longland, Phil Klein, Leslie Dunn, Colin O’Neill, Tim Diamant, Shane Dennis and Colin Morley.

 

CHAIN REACTION

SPEAKING of raising a few bucks for a good cause, up to 150 Brisbane bizoids are aiming to do just that at a bright-and-early breakfast this morning at Cloudland.

They’ll be helping out Hummingbird House, Queensland’s only hospice for terminally ill kids, and the Youth Advocacy Centre, which provides support and legal advice for teens.

Deloitte boss John Greig is one of those speaking at the event, which has also enticed the likes of Loretta Lynch, John Hummelstad, Angie Hicks, Brad Bennett and Ashley Holm.

Quite a few of those attending have also signed up for the Chain Reaction Women’s 300 Ride, which aims to raise $300,000 or more for both the charitable institutions.

The three-day ride, starting October 6, covers 300km in a big loop starting at Byron Bay and ending in Brisbane. Nearly 50 participants had generated more than $120,000 as of yesterday.