Mascot Towers owners vote on new solution to fix building
More cracks and a huge bill have left the owners of the Mascot Towers living in a ‘nightmare’. Mascot Towers owners have now voted on a new solution to fix the troubled building.
Southern Courier
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Unit owners of the cracked Mascot Towers building have voted to enter into a 15-year commercial loan to fix the troubled building, backtracking on an earlier decision to fund the remediation work themselves.
Residents of the complex’s 132 apartments were evacuated in mid-June due to cracking and have since been living in temporary accommodation.
Engineers have recently discovered existing cracks have widened and new cracking has developed in part of the building.
The Mascot Towers Owners Corporation voted at its AGM on Tuesday night for a new solution to fund remediation work, deciding on a 15-year loan with commercial lender group Lannock.
Owners corporation spokesman Patrick McGuire said he could not disclose how much the loan was worth but it was in excess of $5 million.
It is understood Lannock gave a presentation at the AGM on Tuesday night prior to the vote.
In August, the owners corporation voted down a commercial loan and opted instead to pay a $7 million levy (plus GST) to complete stage one remediation work on the cracked building.
However, that motion included large monthly payments for owners, starting on October 1, and resulted in some owners struggling to come up with their share of the money.
“The owners have rescinded the levy from the August meeting and have voted to approve a commercial lending facility, and that facility will have a life of 15 years. It can also be paid off sooner without penalty.”
There are fears the actual repair cost could blow out for remediation work on the building, with one real estate agent who oversees 12 units in the complex saying it could be as much as $20 million.
“(The owners) deliberately describe this situation as a nightmare. That’s what it is for them,” Mr McGuire said before the meeting.
“They are under a lot of financial and emotional stress.”
Engineering consultants have blamed the new neighbouring Peak Towers development for causing issues at the decade-old Mascot Towers.
Engineers engaged by Mascot Towers have been seeking access to the Peak Towers basement to ensure that the urgent grout injections to restore bearing capacity to the soil under Mascot Towers are done safely.
The spokesman said that developer Aland and the owners corporation for Peak Towers (who have joint legal representation) are refusing to provide access to the adjoining Peak Towers project.
The access is being sought by Mascot Towers’ geotechnical engineers.