Tigers eye return to Rozelle under new plans for the Balmain Leagues site
THE Balmain Tigers could soon return to their historic home under the latest redevelopment plan for the dilapidated Balmain Leagues building with a $160 million proposal including 182 units in three 12 and 13-storey towers and a new club site that would be gifted to the Tigers.
Inner West
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THE Balmain Tigers could soon return to the club’s historic home in Rozelle under the latest redevelopment plan for the dilapidated Balmain Leagues building.
New owners, Heworth Development, have released a $160 million proposal to turn the run-down ruin on Victoria Rd into 182 units, shops and a new club site that would be gifted to the Tigers.
Plans lodged to Inner West Council reveal three residential towers would stand 12-13 storeys tall above a public town square and green space.
There would also be space for a supermarket, six affordable housing units, and two “Melbourne style” laneways lined with restaurants and cafes connecting to Darling St.
The plans are the latest development in fraught history for the site which has seen three unsuccessful proposals lodged to the council in the last 14 years.
The property was sold by previous owner Ian Wright to Heworth for an undisclosed sum in August last year.
The sale came after the Land and Environment Court rejected a proposal for 12 and eight storey towers in 2016 — finding the plans “did not meet the objectives of the council’s local environment plan”.
Concerns were also raised about whether the Balmain Leagues Club would be financially viable if it returned under a commercial lease agreement.
Heworth Group managing director Brian Hood said the new proposal has been “significantly modified” to meet the council’s development control plan while a business plan was being developed with the Tigers to ensure the club’s viability.
“We’ve halved the amount of retail space and we’ve tried to respond to all the criticism from the earlier plans to create something that will give something back to the community,” he said.
“If we went to court we could have probably have got more but we felt the best process was to work with the council on it.”
Waterloo St resident Alex Toley — who lives across the road from the club — supported the redevelopment, describing the state of the current building as a “vandalised ruin”.
“I’ve only been living here 10 months and in that time the fireys have been down here a dozen times,” he said.
“You’ve got kids jumping over the fence at night and doing all sorts of ridiculous things. Apart from being an eyesore, it’s a safety hazard”.
An Inner West Council spokeswoman said staff would begin a detailed assessment of the plans including discussions with Heworth on “any issues that arise or require resolution”.
“The site is one of council’s longest-running development campaigns and (we’ve) always maintained that the top priority is that it be a sensible and appropriate redevelopment for the suburb of Rozelle,” the spokeswoman said.
Mayor Darcy Byrne said it was “encouraging that new owners had approached the council early on the process.”
“I’m also pleased the new owner has indicated they are willing to reopen the public car park as a gesture of goodwill to the local community,” Cr Byrne said.
“The solution is the same as it has always been — a sensible, smaller scale redevelopment that doesn’t destroy the character of Rozelle and allows Balmain Tigers to come back to their spiritual home.”
But the plans sparked strong words from Balmain State Greens MP Jamie Parker who called for the council to reject the proposal.
“12-13 storeys is far too big and it will have a huge impact on our residential community,” Mr Parker said.
“It will monster surrounding properties but more than that it will have an effect on our high street - we don’t want to see a precedent set for a building of that type of scale.”
If approved, Mr Hood said construction on the site would begin mid-2019.
THE PLANS
2100 sqm of space for the Balmain Tigers Club
4500 sqm for restaurant/cafe/retail space
2300 sqm of commercial space, including a supermarket
182 units — six will be affordable
276 car parks — 131 for commercial and retail and 145 for residents
Roof and winter gardens
Two new laneways — called “Little Darling Laneway” and “Tigers Lane” connecting the site to Darling St
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