Abandoned Berkeley Living Retirement Village dubbed a ghetto, cesspool for crime by neighbours
It used to be a home for the elderly. Now this abandoned retirement village is a crime ghetto that locals are pleading to have demolished.
South East
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Fed-up neighbours of an abandoned retirement village they have dubbed a “cesspool for crime” and a “ghetto” want the owners to be forced to sell the land so it can be demolished.
Ever since the village was closed in 2017, with claims the operator had failed to pay staff, the site has become a breeding ground for petty crimes and drug use with graffiti etched on the brick walls and burnt-out cars left to rust.
Neighbours are lobbying for the village to be acquired by the state government to be demolished and turned into a park to stop petty criminals circling the property.
Residents in the neighbouring Casuarina Villa apartments say management installed security cameras a couple of years ago because of the threat from the abandoned plot.
“Since they fenced the property and boarded up the village there aren’t as many people hanging around, but we are still precautious,” one neighbour said.
Kingston Council spent $100,000 on fencing to stop vandals trespassing as well as boarding-up the roof, windows and other access points.
Residents fear the “eyesore” will remain and continue to attract petty crims and drug-users.
“You see the graffiti and the other things and you think it’s one of those places you would want to avoid,” a neighbour said.
Another neighbour said always saw police attending the property.
Councillor Cameron Howe has been fighting to remove the abandoned building since 2019 when he was a resident, and says the “delay in action has left people disillusioned”.
“Community ire remains heightened with concerns that this eyesore will remain for a decade or longer after its 2017 closure, and it is critical the state government either acquires the site for a public park or garden via the Suburban Parks Program, or immediately forces the sale leading to its demolition,” Mr Howe said.
“It would be grossly irresponsible to leave the site as is, we need action and we need action now.”
Mr Howe passed a motion in April to contact the respective ministers, shadow minister and Carrum state Labor MP Sonya Kilkenny to demolish the Gladesville Boulevard complex, including the exploration into the acquisition of the lot or the forced sale through consumer affairs.
Mr Howe said the acquisition of the site through the Suburban Parks Program would be a “boon for the community” as the plot of land is a “gateway to the bay”.
Inspector Matthew Mulcahy said police reacted swiftly to any complaints from the community about the site.
“In response to concerns raised by the community relating to an abandoned property in Patterson Lakes, police took a proactive approach, bolstering patrols and increasing visibility in the area. As a result, in the last 12 months, we have seen a decrease in suspicious or anti-social behaviour around the abandoned property,’’ he said.
The council has been contacted for comment.
