Leichhardt: Cyclops Toys factory to get $56m transformation

It’s been a dairy farm and home to one of Australia’s most iconic toy brands. Now a new chapter looks set to begin at a historic warehouse. But not if locals have anything to do with it.

An artist's impression of the $56 redevelopment of a warehouse on William St, Leichhardt.

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UPDATE

Residents in Sydney’s inner west have described a $56m housing project in a leafy suburb as “appalling” and “outrageous” as a planning panel weighs up whether to give it the green tick.

The developer, Anprisa Pty Ltd, was already facing a big hurdle to overcome after Inner West Council refused to back the project next to the iconic old Cyclops toy factory.

The Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel was told on Thursday the council had listed 10 reasons why the proposal for William St, Leichhardt should be refused.

One neighbour told the meeting it would look like “a Hollywood prop” if some walls were left up with no building as proposed and lashed out about the smell of rubbish from about 190 units.

“It is appalling what is being proposed,” local engineer Peter Gillard said.

“The garbage room is about 15 metres from our back boundary … there will be a garbage truck there for an hour every week revving up.

“The noise, the fumes, the smell of the garbage will be just intolerable.

“I just wish to say how disappointed and yet unsurprised I am the developer has chosen not to listen to the community again.”

Anprisa is proposing to build six storeys of 181 units at 40-76 William St but the panel was told its proposal would go beyond several planning limits in some instances “by 300 per cent”.

Some residents complained if the developer dug metres underground as it was proposing it would “resettle” nearby homes which have been there for about 100 years.

Another, Jennifer Aaron, said adding the cars of another 181 residents onto the street would cause chaos.

“It is a recipe for disaster,” she said.

Another highly credentialed neighbour Dr Ben Slee, a leading architect, said the project “failed several basic tests” while another person spoke at the meeting on behalf of 47 other concerned residents.

Attempts to reach Anprisa were unsuccessful and the architect behind the project was also contacted.

The planning panel will make a determination on the project within the next seven days. 

EARLIER

By Anton Rose on August 25, 2020

Revealed: Historic Cyclops Toys factory to get $56m makeover

Grand plans worth $56 million have been lodged to transform an inner west warehouse with a rich history into a 181-unit modern apartment complex.

The plan will see the former home of Cyclops Toys on 40-76 William St in Leichhardt redeveloped into two separate buildings up to six storeys high featuring loft-like apartments.

Former owners the Lewy family had the property for the last 30 years before selling it off to developer Anprisa Pty Ltd last November.

The building was once the site of a dairy farm.

Reports indicate Anprisa bought the facility for $38 million.

The warehouse’s history has roots in Sydney’s early working class migrant communities while also housing the Cyclops brand, which called William St home in 1926.

Before it was built, early European settlers had used the land as a dairy farm.

Its most notable former tenant, Cyclops Toys, has played a part in the childhood of millions of Australians since it was first founded in Leichhardt almost a century ago.

Cyclops’ first building in Leichhardt has also been transformed into modern apartment buildings.

What the warehouse currently looks like on William St

What it will look like if development plans are approved

In documents tendered to Inner West Council, Anprisa has said its proposal would benefit the local community due to the growing population and its construction would inject a significant amount of money and jobs into the economy.

Residents surveyed by the developer revealed their biggest concerns related to traffic, parking and overcrowding in the local streets.

The plan will be decided by the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel later this year.

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