Sydney’s abandoned eyesores: Derelict buildings and their future
An old, graffitied site at Mt Druitt — which was once a medical facility — is set to undergo a huge transformation. It’s one of several notorious eyesores in Sydney and the Central Coast set for a bold change. SEE THE PLANS FOR OTHER FAMILIAR EYESORES.
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They’re littered across Sydney and chances are you’ve come across most of them before.
From abandoned buildings to graffiti-covered lost opportunities, heritage-listed buildings to holes in the ground, these are the sites that once made up the fabric of our city.
They tell colourful, sometimes complex, stories of our past.
And while for some there is the promise of new life, for others, the future remains unclear.
We look at some of the best-known eyesores across Sydney and the Central Coast.
BALMAIN LEAGUES CLUB, ROZELLE
Defaced by graffiti and abandoned since 2009, the site of the former Balmain Leagues Club has had a long and fraught history.
The landmark site on Victoria Rd has been the subject of a number of development applications, the latest of which will be assessed by an independent panel in coming months.
Developer Heworth has lodged $132 million plans to demolish existing structures at the site, replacing them with a mixed-use development featuring three buildings between 11 and 12 storeys, 164 units, three live/work units, a new Balmain Leagues Club, public plaza and supermarket.
An Inner West Council spokeswoman said the council was assessing the proposal, which will ultimately be determined by the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel.
DRUMMOYNE BOWLING CLUB
Closing in 2012 — two years before its 100th birthday — the former Drummoyne Bowling Club has remained unoccupied ever since.
The derelict site on Hythe St, once the headquarters of the Drummoyne Boys gang, was ravaged by fire in April, sealing its fate as a local eyesore.
However, a $20 million proposal for 65 units and two levels of basement carparking could see the entire site transformed.
A spokeswoman for City of Canada Bay Council confirmed a development application for three- to five-storey apartment buildings was being considered.
“The City of Canada Bay is a picturesque place to live, close to the heart of the CBD with water views of the Parramatta River, and council welcomes new buildings in the area which comply with current zoning controls,” she said.
SANS SOUCI BATHERS PAVILION
It was the year 1933 and the Sans Souci Bathers Pavilion opened to great enthusiasm in the community.
The Art Deco-styled building helped cement the popularity of the tidal baths in the southern Sydney suburb, but would later close in 1962.
Today, it sits dilapidated and unoccupied, a far cry from its golden days.
In 2018, Georges River Council closed the pavilion to the public for safety reasons after a report found the building and its foundations were structurally unsound and beyond repair.
The council has since lodged a development application to demolish the building.
A council spokeswoman said there were no current plans for the site, but possible redevelopment options included a new community space, an eatery or the like.
NEWTOWN TRAM DEPOT
Recognised as the oldest surviving tram depot in its original form in Sydney, this heritage-listed building is considered rare as one of a few tramway buildings in NSW to remain standing.
Its closure in 1957 has seen the building fall into disrepair over the years and defaced by graffiti.
In 2012, part of the forecourt was redeveloped and opened to the public.
Its historical significance is underscored by the role it played in the electrification of the state’s tramway system from 1899.
PANJO, CAMPBELLTOWN
The notorious eyesore at the entrance to Campbelltown has sat in ruins after construction on an entertainment centre stopped in 2009.
It went into receivership in 2011 after developer Anthony Panzarino failed to secure the funds to complete the project.
The empty $50 million building on Grange Rd in Leumeah has had a troubled history, but fresh hope for its renewal came in the form of approved $17.6 million plans in 2015 for a childcare centre, recreational facility and serviced apartments.
Campbelltown City Council director of city development Jim Baldwin said those plans had now lapsed, leaving the future of the site up in the air once again.
“Any new development proposal would need to meet the design standards and provide the business and employment opportunities required for this site’s prominent location,” he said.
For now it seems the building will remain Campbelltown’s great white elephant.
7 LUXFORD RD, MT DRUITT
Abandoned and covered in graffiti, a former medical facility at 7 Luxford Rd is set to get a new lease on life with multimillion-dollar plans for a mixed-use development at the site.
The game-changing proposal was approved last October, giving permission for the developer to demolish the derelict building and erect an eight-storey shoptop housing development with six commercial tenancies, 131 units and 224 basement parking spaces.
It is understood construction is yet to start on the project.
A Blacktown City Council spokesman said the council was not aware of any progress made by the site owner since the proposal was determined by an independent planning panel.
Former Blacktown mayor Stephen Bali previously proposed transforming abandoned buildings in the area, such as the Luxford Rd facility, into refuges for vulnerable people.
311 HUME HWY, LIVERPOOL
A vacant plot of land that has been the subject of multiple development applications, the hole at 311 Hume Hwy could be transformed into a $72 million mixed-use development if the latest approved plans are realised.
The site at the corner of the Hume Hwy and Hoxton Park Rd in Liverpool — a gateway into the city and opposite the 31-storey Skyhaus development — was earlier this year listed to go under the hammer at a public auction, but was passed in at $15 million.
A proposal for a 32-storey tower and two eight-storey buildings with 307 residential units, two retail and commercial premises and four levels of basement parking for 360 cars was approved in 2017 but while the site has been cleared, work is yet to start on the project.
Records show the site has been the subject of a number of proposals in the past, including a development application lodged in 2003 for a 13-storey building comprising a supermarket and 88 units.
2 MACARTHUR DR, HOLSWORTHY
The earliest plans to transform the land adjacent to Holsworthy train station date back 15 years, with a number of planning proposals presented to Liverpool City Council since then, including one for a McDonald’s restaurant in 2008.
A gateway site into Liverpool from Sydney’s south, the land has been eyed for a town centre development for Holsworthy with the potential for 350 dwellings, a village square and a retail centre.
Last year, the council gave in-principle support for a planning proposal that would allow towers up to 12 storeys to be built.
It is now pending gateway determination by the Planning Department.
The next step will be for a development application to be lodged with council.
OLD BONDS SPINNING MILLS, PENDLE HILL
The birthplace of iconic Australian underwear brand Bonds is set to get a whole new look and feel.
The site of the old Bonds Spinning Mills site at 190-220 Dunmore St in Pendle Hill was rezoned in 2017 from light industrial to allow for residential, public recreation and local centre uses.
Under the new planning controls, up to 1500 units could be constructed with building heights transitioning from three, four and six storeys on the edges to 12 storeys in the centre.
It also allows for a 6000 sqm community hub with a supermarket and a 5500 sqm public park.
The disused Pendle Hill site, now owned by JST (NSW) Pty Ltd – Dyldam, was sold in 2012 and closed a year later.
In 1923, American George Bond established it as the home of Australia’s first cotton spinning mill.
86 JOHN WHITEWAY DR, GOSFORD
Locals know it as Gosford’s longest-running hole.
The embarrassing eyesore has remained a hole in the ground for two decades, but last year hope was revived its much-anticipated transformation was imminent.
Pinnacle Construction Group confirmed last November construction on a $60 million 97-apartment development was weeks away from beginning. However, the group did not return NewsLocal’s calls for an update on the project.
The 7067 sqm site has had seven owners in the past 26 years, with previous development applications falling flat.
MIDNIGHT STAR RECEPTION CENTRE, HOMEBUSH
Boarded up and abandoned, the Midnight Star Reception Centre on Parramatta Rd in Homebush remains a visual reminder of a long-forgotten past.
Opening in 1925 as the Homebush Cinema, the building has had a long and colourful history with various incarnations including an ice rink, a theatre restaurant and a reception centre.
The art deco building closed its doors in 1996 and has, like many other buildings along Parramatta Rd, been left to languish.
A Strathfield Council spokeswoman said there were currently no development applications for the heritage-listed site.
When asked what council envisions for the site in the future the spokeswoman said: “Council has not made any indications”.