Sydney Kings player evacuates out of Opal Tower as food and accommodation payments cut off
As residents of nearly 100 apartments get the green light to move back into the damaged Opal Tower, The Daily Telegraph can reveal a high-profile Sydney sports star was caught up in the Christmas Eve evacuations.
A high-profile basketballer has been caught up in the ongoing Opal Tower saga as residents from almost 100 apartments are finally allowed back into their homes.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Sydney Kings US import David Wear was among those who were forced to leave the building on Christmas Eve after residents reported hearing loud cracking.
Wear, who was signed by the Kings in May last year, returned to the apartment block with his wife Christina a week later to pack up their belongings and leave for good.
Christina Wear documented the ”sh*t show” on social media, telling followers the pair was “getting the hell out of this creepy ass building”.
She later posted a video captioned: “2 AirBnB’s, 2 hotels, and 8 days later … we’re finally in our new home.
Qudos Bank Arena, The Sydney Kings home court, is just 1.5 kilometres from Opal Tower and it’s understood several of the club’s other international players also live in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct.
Residents of nearly 100 apartments have now been given the green light to move back into their homes with the builder cutting off payments for food and temporary accommodation.
Icon stopped paying for food and accommodation after Sunday breakfast for residents of 97 apartments after the body corporate’s engineers Cardno declared those units safe to occupy.
It follows Icon’s announcement on January 27 that 74 apartments in the Sydney Olympic Park building were ready to be reoccupied.
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“It is important to note that the we are continuing to work with all the engineers to ensure all queries are thoroughly addressed and that the extent of apartments with actual remedial works is minimal,” Icon said in a statement on Sunday.
Icon has extended its temporary accommodation and food to February 9 for residents whose units have not yet been cleared for reoccupation. It’s been nearly six weeks since residents were first evacuated on Christmas Eve after hearing and seeing cracks in a wall.
A group of residents who own units in the tower last week sent a letter to the prime minister, NSW premier and state planning minister about the “pain, loss and deceit” they have experienced during the ordeal.
They called on the state government to assess the habitability of Opal Tower and to ensure those behind the “crisis” take responsibility.
Some of the residents of the units cleared for return have refused to move back because they say the building is still a “construction zone”. Design engineers WSP maintains the building is structurally sound overall — a verdict also made by the government’s independent engineering experts.
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