Balgowlah, Sydney Rd: Row of 100-year-old shops could be bulldozed for posh apartments

In the 1920s Les Pearse built a block of shops at Balgowlah. Now developers want to bulldoze the building and put up a five-storey block of up-market flats.

An $8 million push to bulldoze a row of historic 100-year-old shops on the northern beaches, to make way for an up-market five-storey apartment block, is set to hit a roadblock.

Millionaire developers want to build 14 flats — including a penthouse — and four new retail outlets on “Pearse’s Corner”, at the busy intersection of Sydney Rd and Condamine St at Balgowlah.

Pearse's Corner on the northeastern corner of Sydney Rd and Condamine St, Balgowlah, in 2018. Picture: Manly Daily

But Northern Beaches Council has urged planning authorities to refuse the development application by brothers Garth and Brett Mathews — the founders of Secure Parking, Australis’s largest carparking business.

The Mathews’ brothers sold majority ownership of Secure to a Japanese company in 2016 for $206 million.

Pearce’s corner, on the northeastern side of the intersection, is named after Les Pearse, who built the block of offices and shops — 334 to 338 Sydney Rd — in the mid-1920s. Mr Pearse ran a barber shop and tobacconist in the corner shop, now occupied by an electronic sign business.

Images showing the before and after on the corner of Sydney Rd and Condamine St, Balgowlah, if the proposed shop top apartment redevelopment gets the go ahead. Picture: Wolski Coppin Architecture

The block had been in the family’s hands until it was sold in 2018 for $5.7 million.

Garth Mathews, who lives at Balgowlah Heights is developing the block — described as important “inter-war” shops and offices — with his business partner Ted Byrne. Brett Mathews is a director of Balgowlah Developments Pty Ltd, a company named on the DA documents.

Brett Mathews (right) and his brother Garth Mathews. Picture: Carmela Roche

Mr Byrne and Garth Mathews have a property company called Urban Partners, which has successfully developed high profile residential projects on the northern beaches including the Brise de Mer (Sea Breeze) seaside cottage opposite Manly Beach and its adjacent Maritimo apartments.

The company also developed the Watermark apartment block in Victoria Pde, Manly, the Villa Porto apartments in Tower St, Manly and Pavilion Residences in Heath St, Mona Vale.

The DA has been referred to the independent Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel because the developers want to build the block about one-third higher that local planning rules allow.

An artist's impression of the proposed shop top apartment redevelopment on the corner of Sydney Rd and Condamine St, Balgowlah. Picture; Wolski Coppin Architecture

Pearse’s Corner is made up of shops and first-floor offices from numbers 334 to 338 Sydney Rd. The developers also bought 332 Sydney Rd.

Shops and businesses to go include Mike’s Barber Shop; a Nepalese restaurant; a Brazilian food caterer; an electronic signage business; a legal firm and; an arts studio. They were all closed, except for the solicitors’ office, on Tuesday.

The entrance to the first floor offices at Pearse's Corner, Balgowlah. Picture: Manly Daily

Although no submissions opposed to the DA were lodged by the public, the council, in its assessment report provided to the panel recommended the application be refused due to “excessive building height”.

The report stated that the proposal sought a height variation of 32.8 per cent “an additional residential storey above the 12.5m building height limit applying to the site”.

An artist's impression of the proposed shop top apartment redevelopment on the corner of Sydney Rd and Condamine St, Balgowlah. Picture: Wolski Coppin Architecture

A report from the council’s heritage advisor sated that the shops and offices proposed for demolition were “considered to be good examples of Inter-War commercial buildings that contribute to the streetscape and character of Balgowlah village”.

The report stated that the site was in a “high prominent location of Balgowlah village …

and it is considered, that the existing buildings contribute to the existing low scale presentation of the streetscape”.

The shops on the right, in Sydney Rd, are part of the proposed redevelopment. Picture: Manly Daily

“Therefore, the overall bulk and scale of the proposal is considered overwhelming and it

dominates the presentation of the existing low scale streetscape at this prominent corner.”

The heritage report recommended that the DA be revised “to retain the existing facades and

minimise the bulk and scale of the proposal”

The Brise de Mer seaside cottage, and Maritimo apartments, opposite Manly Beach, were developed by Urban Partners. Supplied

The planning meets on Wednesday to decide the DA.

The Manly Daily has left message for the developers.