Boarding house development application planned for Bay Street, Rockdale

Residents are concerned that a proposed $4.5 million, 10-storey building with 35 boarding rooms in the heart of Rockdale might “impact negatively” on the desirability of the area.

A local planning panel will consider the merits of an application to construct a $4.5 million 10-storey building with 35 boarding rooms in the heart of Rockdale.

On Tuesday night the Bayside Local Planning Panel investigated a development application for the demolition of existing structures and construction of a mixed-use building by Loucas Architects at 13 Bay Street.

If approved, the building will include a commercial tenant on the ground floor with a boarding house offering a maximum of 53 people above, a manager’s room and basement parking.

The council recommendation was to approve the application and there were 74 submissions received during the public exhibition period and two people who spoke at the panel meeting.

Bayside Local Planning Panel investigated a development application from Loucas Architects for the demolition of existing structures and construction of a mixed-use building costing $4.5 million. Picture: Loucas Architects

Resident of nearby Chapel Street Andrew Bower addressed the panel to raise his concerns about the use of the building, being a boarding house.

He noted the developments on Chapel Street were about “revitalising the area” and creating a public place where families could spend time.

Mr Bower was concerned about the type of people who might live in the units, noting they could be people reintegrating from the corrections system or in drug rehabilitation programs.

He said he was not discriminating against anyone but worried about the impact “certain characters” hanging around the public area might have on families.

“It might impact negatively on the desirability,” Mr Bower said.

The applicant and architect, Theo Loucas noted nurses could decide to be residents and he had no control over who rented the units.

He also said boarding houses were no longer about housing “desperate or undesirable” people but rather these units were more upmarket, environmentally friendly and could cost around $400 to $450 per week.

Mr Loucas also said each unit would have a washing machine, a two-burner cooktop and combination washer/dryer.

He said his team had worked hard through the design process with the council to create the building concept.

The site of the proposed boarding house. Picture: Google Maps

Another objector Peter Dodds believed there was not sufficient parking for residents, and wondered if people would be hanging around smoking on the street.

The architect noted parking was an issue across Sydney and also said he could not control the smoking situation.

Mr Loucas said there would be a manager who would live on site 24/7 and could provide assistance to residents and manage the day-to-day operations of the building.

The council report noted there would be a total of 19 double lodger rooms and 15 single rooms on levels one to eight.

A manager’s room and an indoor and outdoor communal living area would be on level nine.

The building would include four levels of basement parking for 18 cars for boarding house residents plus two car spots for the ground floor shop. Plus there would be eight motorcycle spaces and 10 spots for bicycles.

The report said the design of the building was excellent but the proposed height was more than five metre above current limits.

The current site contains a single-storey commercial building occupied by a sales and display suite and is adjacent to a high-rise, mixed-use development.

The planning panel will hand down its decision on the application this week.