Burwood: Plans for hotel, apartments progress at site of AC/DC home on Burleigh St

The project might be sending AC/DC fans on a ‘highway to hell’ but plans for the hotel and apartments to replace the band’s childhood home are on track. Read the latest.

Three months after the demolition of the Burwood home where legendary Aussie rock band AC/DC was formed, plans for a multimillion dollar development are on track to replace it.

Fans of the heavy metal band and heritage advocates were thunderstruck in December when the humble, semi-detached house at 4 Burleigh St was mistakenly bulldozed to make way for a 38-storey, 120-room hotel with a bar and swimming pool, a block of 48 apartments worth more than $75m, a restaurant and commercial offices.

At the time, the general manager of Burwood Square Pty Ltd – the project’s developer – issued an apology saying the previous long-time owner did not inform his company of the connection the property had as the childhood home of brothers Malcolm, Angus and George Young after the family migrated from Scotland in 1963.

Burwood Square bought Young House in February 2023 for $5.8m and it was demolished in December 2024.

Fast forward to March and now the colossal development is progressing through the NSW Government’s planning steps.

An AC/DC mural of Angus and Malcolm Young at the Burleigh St carpark in Burwood.

The mixed-development is planned for 2-4 Burleigh St and 20-24 Railway Pde Burwood. Picture: PTI Architecture

The Planning Department will ultimately determine the proposal, which will also include 72 residential parking spaces and affordable housing, which a registered community housing provider will manage for at least 15 years.

A planning report indicates that the proposal’s height is suitable for the location.

“As such, the Burwood Town Centre is a prime location for revitalisation and high density redevelopment with the capacity to accommodate additional dwellings that will be highly connected to the Sydney CBD and Parramatta,’’ it states.

“The proposal will provide for a mixed use development that will contribute to the affordable housing supply within the locality, which is a highly accessible location, and therefore is considered to align with the strategic planning framework.’’

Angus Young (centre), Brian Johnson, Cliff Williams, Malcolm Young and Phil Rudd in 1995.

The developers will next have to prepare a secretary’s environmental assessment requirement (SEAR) before a state significant development application is prepared.

In February, Legalise Cannabis Party MP Jeremy Buckingham slammed the city’s “cultural elites” for allegedly preventing a public memorial for AC/DC, which sold an estimated 200 million albums worldwide.

NSW Premier Chris Minns supported a memorial.

Older brother George formed the rock band the Easybeats in 1964 and Malcolm and Angus formed the band AC/DC in 1973 before Dave Evans, Larry Van Kriedt and Colin Burgess joined the original line-up.

Malcolm and Angus attended Burwood Public School and Ashfield Boys’ High School which inspired the band’s stage outfits.

George and Malcolm died in 2017. Angus, who turns 70 this month, continues to tour.