49 Drumalbyn Rd Bellevue Hill: Defects discovered during inspection of luxury apartments
A luxury apartment complex - that was recently the residence of a high-profile Sydney supermodel - was ordered by the building watchdog to fix “serious defects”.
Wentworth Courier
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Urgent work undertaken on a luxury apartment complex on one of Sydney’s most expensive streets is awaiting assessment from the building watchdog, after it uncovered “serious defects” earlier this year.
The multimillion-dollar unit apartment complex at Bellevue Hill - which was recently the home of Aussie supermodel Georgia Fowler and her Fishbowl entrepreneur husband Nathan Dalah - was issued a building work rectification order by Fair Trading NSW in August.
The order came following an inspection of the exclusive complex, located at 49 Drumalbyn Rd, Bellevue Hill, uncovered a raft of “serious defects” and “potential serious defects” that arose over the course of building construction.
The developers behind the revamped apartment complex, which was built in 1928 before being demolished and rebuilt in $4.2m upgrades in 2017, were required to undertake building work to remediate the issues within a three-month period.
The development application to upgrade the building was first lodged with Woollahra Council in 2017, featuring eight apartments along with 16 basement carparking spaces. It was given the green light in 2018 following amendments to the design, according to council records.
Apartments at the 1312sq m development, Palomar, began selling as of 2019 with a price tag upwards of $6m.
According to the rectification order, an inspection of the complex discovered inadequate fireproofing and waterproofing that could lead to further spread of fire and penetration of water into the units.
Architect Michael Hay of Mh Studio made representations to NSW Fair Trading, along with the developer and development certifier Ivan Boulle, in June.
Assistant Building Commissioner and director Matthew Whitton wrote, in response, that several defects had been resolved but other serious defects had not yet been rectified.
Mr Hay said the work order came about as a result of the builder’s “unwillingness” to properly address issues that arose on site during construction.
He said the developer commissioned independent reports on the key items identified and while the builder was offered an opportunity to address these matters it opted not to do so.
The developer commissioned rectification works “directly and in strict accordance with these independent reports”.
“These works are now complete in accordance with their recommendations, and this has been conveyed to the department,” he said.
Mr Hay said he looked forward to the “lifting of the order in due course”.
Attempts to contact the developer for comment was unsuccessful.
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