Andrew Bogut $5m Beach Rd mansion plans: NBA star responds to critics
Basketball champ Andrew Bogut has taken another shot at responding to concerns about the mega-mansion he is planning in Bayside, saying he will be replacing the celebrated garden with a whopping 5500 plants
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Superstar basketballer Andrew Bogut has rebounded from criticism about the mega-mansion he is building in Bayside.
The luxury redevelopment – across two blocks that Bogut owns – has an estimated cost of $5 million.
The former NBA champion took to Twitter on Tuesday to defend his plan to build the triple-storey pad in Beaumaris after Beaumaris Conservation Society raised concerns about the size of the house, the height of the fence and the number of trees being removed.
He said the flurry of attention over the plan made him feel like a criminal.
“It is a little concerning feeling like a criminal for returning to my home city and attempting to build a home I didn’t think would ever be possible,” the statement read.
“I don’t want sympathy … I only hope this matter is treated fairly by all involved.”
Bogut wished the conservation society all the best and thanked them for “spending their one hour of lockdown exercise time at our property’’.
The tweet, which was later deleted, said the trees and vegetation at the Point Ave block were “a fire hazard” when the property was bought in 2017.
The house, which has since been demolished, was unsafe to enter and was found to contain asbestos, Bogut said.
He said he had bought the land and a nearby property in Beach Rd “in a suburb I dreamed about living in as a child” and was “well aware of how special” the area was.
A team including an architect and developer had worked with Bayside Council for almost a year before plans were submitted. Bogut said.
The 22 trees slated for removal were selected in consultation with an arborist and Bayside Council planners and 5500 new plants including 55 canopy trees would be planted as part of the redevelopment.
“Our property would be 70 per cent open space and gardens/greenery,” he said.
“We are comfortable in saying that not one other property in the area would be close to that ratio.”
The plan for a tall fence surrounding the property was needed to ensure privacy, Bogut said.
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