Mosman Council holds key to Woolies project: Developer
Woolworths snapped up several properties in Mosman with a view to creating a new development but not all the sites on the Military Rd block are within its control.
Woolworths went on a multi-million shopping spree at Mosman village in a bid to create a new development. But surrounding properties still remain out of the company’s control.
The sites include Mosman Club, two privately owned buildings book-ending the block and a council owned lane.
Businessman Seph Glew’s family trust owns the building at the corner of Belmont and Military roads, which currently houses the Westpac branch.
He is not willing to sell to Woolworths and will not be swayed by any offer.
He believes the development could go ahead without the building and instead the lane is the critical issue.
Without it he does not think Woolworths could get anything meaningful into the site.
“How do they do the development if council won’t sell them the lane?” Mr Glew said.
“It’s totally in the hands of Mosman Council. It’s not a town planning matter, it’s a land ownership matter.
“The lane is key.”
The wealthy developer has lived in Mosman for 31 years and the trust has owned the building at No. 743 Military Road for more than two decades.
He wants to keep Mosman’s unique village atmosphere and doesn’t want it to be the same as everywhere else.
Mr Glew would like to buy back the neighbouring buildings from Woolworths and restore the strip of shops.
“My wife has told me under no circumstances does she want me to come home with a deal from Woolworths,” he said.
“Mosman is developing pretty well with Fourth Village and Harris Farm.
“Our preference is for Woolworths to sell the properties back to us and we would restore them as retail shops.”
Mosman Club comes under different rules than privately owned sites and it cannot dispose of property without a majority of votes cast by members.
CEO Gerard Boyle said if Woolworths makes an offer that will benefit the club in the long-term, the members will be engaged to vote on the issue then.
If the club does not think the offer is worthwhile it will not be put to a vote.
Mr Boyle estimated that this scenario was at least five years down the track.
People have started joining the club on this premise but he emphasised that there is no vote against Woolworths.
“It is important people understand that we are not in a process of selling the club. We’ve never been more relaxed about things as we are trading well,” Mr Boyle said.
“We are under no pressure to sell.”
Mosman Club is investing in the building. The rooftop was transformed into The Fernery and it is about to launch a new sports bar with a giant screen and American-style menu.
Mosman Council stated there has been no development application or proposal submitted for a Woolworths in the area.
“In light of this, speculation or hypotheses about the details of such a development would only be conjecture and premature,” a council spokeswoman said.
Woolworths says it has not made any decisions and is still evaluating plans for the area. The company’s head of property development, Andrew Loveday, said images being circulated did not represent their concepts.
A local community action group has distributed a leaflet with an image.
“While we are still evaluating our plans for the area and no decisions have been made, we are aware of the images being circulated on what our development could look like,” Mr Loveday said.
“These images do not in any way represent our plans for the area or what we have discussed with council so far.
“At this stage we are focused on engaging with the relevant stakeholders and this feedback will determine our way forward.”
The Mosman Daily has attempted to reach the owners of No. 713 at the corner of Military Road and Gouldsbury St. CoreLogic states it has been owned by the same company, Ironstep Pty Ltd, since 1992.
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