Insolvent Bondi Junction builder given $4.8m repair bill

Shambolic construction work on an eastern suburbs apartment block has left 38 homeowners scrambling to cover an epic repair bill. The building company responsible has just gone bust.

Homeowners living in an apartment building described as “a complete piece of junk” may never recover $4.8 million in repair costs following a construction company collapse.

Parker Logan Property went into voluntary administration earlier this month following a shambolic stretch of construction work in Bondi Junction and Bellevue Hill.

While 27 units and four terraces at Bellevue Hill remain unoccupied following an intervention from NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler last week, 38 unit owners on Old South Head Rd have not been so lucky.

At the first creditor’s meeting on Friday, administrators outlined the significant costs to repair both properties.

The property on Old South Head Rd in Bondi Junction. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Creditor Michael D’Aspice said Maryland Developments is claiming Parker Logan needs to fix $4.8 million worth of defects at Bondi Junction (called Eden) and $3.2m of defects at Bellevue Hill (The Acre).

One man, who did not want to be named, pulled out of purchasing one of the Bellevue Hill apartments after seeing the quality of works at Bondi Junction.

“The concrete finishes looked absolutely shocking,” he said of the Bondi Junction development, completed in December 2016.

Tiling work at the Bondi Junction property.

Concreting work on the fence line of the development. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“And it hasn’t aged at all well. If you had a walk past it you would see how bad the craftsmanship is.

“It just looks like a complete piece of junk. It’s probably the worst development I’ve seen for a long time.”

A Bondi Junction owner, who did not want to be named, said off-the-plan buyers were promised parking spaces only for them never to materialise.

Kitchen designs were also wrong, intended building entrances were changed, balconies left unfenced when people moved in and the majority of the building’s cladding needs to be replaced.

Other properties designed to be 40sq m inside ended up being smaller upon completion.

Many banks refuse to lend money for properties under that size, cruelling owners’ chances of reselling.

Joel Isaac Redelman, 33, is the director of Parker Logan and a former director and current shareholder of Maryland Developments.

NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler. Picture: Tim Hunter.

He remains in Tel Aviv and could not be reached for comment.

NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler said: “Mr Redelman who is a director of both Maryland the Developer and Parker Logan recently told me that he had relocated to Israel to live.

“This makes the rectification of defects that had been previously advised to the developer uncertain.”

At the Bellevue Hill property, Building Works Rectification and a Prohibition Order were issued to Maryland Developments May 13.

Mr Chandler said this is to ensure that “serious defects in the building are resolved before an Occupation Certificate can be issued”.

Strata owners at Bondi Junction have been in court since 2018 trying to recover costs from Parker Logan.

A one-bedroom unit in the block sold at auction on Saturday, however the estate agent refused to tell The Sunday Telegraph the price.

The property had an auction guide $770,000 – $800,000.

Owners said properties have been selling for $50,000 below market value.

Originally published as Insolvent Bondi Junction builder given $4.8m repair bill