Why a western Sydney home looks like it’s been cut in half next to a six-storey apartment block
This three-bed home in Sydney’s west looks like it’s been cut in half, and the wild story behind it is far from simple.
A six-storey apartment building in Sydney has left its neighbour looking like he has half a house, with the elderly owner standing his ground against property developers.
Western Sydney man David, who only speaks Cantonese, has lived in his three-bedroom duplex home on Park Road in Auburn for the past two decades.
David purchased the property for $330,000 in 2004 before the other half of the duplex was damaged and eventually demolished in 2018.
AB Developers later purchased the neighbouring property in 2020. According to Realestate.com the house sold for $575,000.
Alee Eid from Ray White Auburn said David has made the right call to stay, having turned down anything less than a million dollars.
“If I was in it, I would stay,” he told news.com.au. “Even though there are units (next door) I would stay. He’s made a good decision.”
“It’s such a great location, it’s not a busy crazy road, you’ve got shops down there and you’ve got schools. It’s a very nice area.”
According to Realestate.com, the average median house price in Auburn is $1,126,950 with the median price of a three-bedroom home sitting at $1,015,000.
Mr Eid says Auburn is a “great location” for homebuyers.
“It’s very close to everything. The city is only around 25 (to 35 minutes) away, it’s not that far. You’ve got a lot of access to everything.”
Others online have also praised David for staying defiant.
“Good on them for standing strong, even though it’s half a house,” one person wrote online.
“Sometimes people want to live in a simple home that is full of memories... instead of living in a square box with no love or warmth about it,” said another.
Construction of the neighbouring 34-apartment complex has currently halted after a stop work order was put in place NSW’s Building Commission on December 21 2023.
The NSW Building Commission found developers failed to lodge the necessary fire protection, architectural and structural documents on time.
“The Architectural Designs, Structural Designs, Mechanical designs and Stormwater designs for the Building at the Development do not contain the necessary details to produce building work that would achieve compliance,” the order states.
The order goes on to say continuining with works at the complex with the neccessary protections could “result in significant harm or loss to the occupiers or potential occupiers”.
For now, the building remains completely gated off, with metal beams, chairs and construction materials left scattered on the property.
It comes after a Sydney family made headlines last year after they refused to give up their beloved property at the two-hectare stretch of land at The Ponds, in the city’s west.
At the time, a local real estate agent praised the Zammit family for staying put, despite the big cheques they have likely been offered.
“The fact that most people sold out years and years ago, these guys have held on. All credit to them,” Ray White Quakers Hill agent Taylor Bredin told 7News, adding that up to 50 houses could probably be built on the land.
“Depending on how far you push the development plan, you’d be able to push anywhere from 40 to 50 properties on something like this, and when subdivided, a 300 square metre block would get a million dollars.”
A Queensland house was also nicknamed “Brisbane’s Up house” because it was sandwiched between a shopping complex after its owners refused to sell.
Janet Richards finally sold the home in 2015, fifteen years after developers came knocking. Her late husband Norman was born in the home more than 100 years ago.