‘Laziness’ to blame for Mascot Tower cracking with fears more apartment buildings will crumble

First it was the Opal Tower. Now, residents of Mascot Tower have been forced out. But more evacuations could come as buildings crumble.

A building industry body fears more apartment towers will be at risk of cracking from engineering malfunctions after 131 residents were forced to evacuate an inner Sydney complex on Friday night.

Mascot Towers was vacated after engineers became increasingly concerned about cracks in the primary support structure and facade masonry of the decade-old building.

All 122 units were empty on Saturday with its residents expecting to be homeless for at least a week.

Building Designers Association of Australia president Chris Knierim called for an independent building commission to investigate the sector, blaming laziness and the rapid development of new buildings for the latest failing.

He said the industry is under an “enormous amount of pressure” to keep up with the consumer demand for high-rise accommodation.

“The building industry has been too lazy for too many years,” Mr Knierim told ABC Radio.

“I have a feeling we’ll see more problems.”

The news of the structural concerns sent shockwaves across the country, with many criticising the influx of rapid development.

“Mascot Towers residents are latest victims of dodgy, greedy builders and inept certification procedures,” controversial commentator Prue MacSween tweeted.

“Government Planning Dept and Councils need to lift their game and be held accountable alongside builders, their engineers & certifiers.”

Units in Mascot Towers. Picture by Damian Shaw

The Mascot Towers building as it appeared on Saturday. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian promised to “hold everybody to account” once the cause of the building’s crumbling was known.

“There was some speculation it could have been from things that happened in the near vicinity but we need to find out the cause before we know how to act,” she told reporters on Sunday.

When asked if the state government would help those displaced by the complex’s failings, Ms Berejiklian simply replied: “We’re getting to the bottom of what happened”.

“The NSW government will hold everybody to account, that’s our role,” she said.

Residents in the Church Ave complex at Mascot near Sydney Airport were forced to find their own emergency accommodation after a “large crack” suddenly appeared in the “slab beams in the primary building corner”, raising concerns of an impending collapse.

Police cordoned off the area and fire trucks parked outside as state engineers inspected the property and firefighters made their way through the complex evacuating occupants in scenes eerily similar to the Opal Tower debacle.

Residents have been told to anticipate being kept out of their apartments for at least a week, local state MP Ron Hoenig told media on Saturday.

Mr Hoenig said the cracks had first been noticed weeks ago by the corporation which owns Mascot Towers.

The corporation had brought in engineers before they had got worse on Thursday and Friday.

“It’s too early to point the finger, they’re not sure yet,” he told reporters, according to The Daily Telegraph.

“But it’s suspicious that the new building is not even occupied and the building that’s been up for 12 years all of a sudden has substantial cracks.”

Mascot Towers residents are latest victims of dodgy, greedy builders and inept certification procedures. Govt Planning Dept & Councils need to lift their game & be held accountable alongside builders, their engineers & certifiers

— Prue MacSween (@macsween_prue) June 15, 2019

Update “Mascot Towers” building evacs: from @Henry_Lynch7, 7cameraman at the scene two towers affected. 10 levels in tower 1. 7 levels in tower 2. Partial evacuation. May be out next week. Residents told Engineers have raised significant concerns about the safety. @7NewsSydney

— Jason Morrison (@JasonMorrisonAU) June 14, 2019

Despite running directly underneath the building NSW rail engineers have concluded no damage has been caused to Mascot train station, Mr Hoenig also said.

According to a spokesperson from Police and Fire Rescue NSW, temporary housing had been set up at Mascot Town Hall on Friday night and residents were also evacuated to apartments nearby. Some residents stayed with friends, others said their employer had helped out with alternate accommodation while one family spent the night in Mascot Town Hall, according to AAP.

On the advice of authorities, news.com.au visited both locations promising temporary housing only to find no trace of it. By 11am this morning, apparently none of the temporary housing was in use.

“All residents have found alternative accommodation so the temporary housing was no longer required,” a spokesperson confirmed to news.com.au.

RELATED: Residents relocated after ‘large crack’ appears

RELATED: Resident says he was left behind during evacuation

It was a very different story from confused residents, wandering around with suitcases this morning.

Two international students — Leo and Belinda — huddled on a bench in the cold, cuddling their pet cat.

The couple told news.com.au: “We haven’t heard anything, there’s nowhere for us to go.

“All our family and friends are overseas,” said Belinda, while Leo added, “We can’t go to a hotel with a cat.”

People with luggage waiting outside Mascot Towers this morning. Picture: Monique Harmer

Students evacuated from their unit with no where to go. Picture: Monique Harmer

Most had just under an hour to pack their things and get out of the building. Picture: AAP/Bianca De Marchi

Resident Elicia, 37, understands their struggle.

“There are lots of international students here. My neighbours are always changing. So for them, it would be pretty heavy. Most of them just rent a room, and most of their friends just rent a room so there’s really nowhere to go.”

“One of my neighbours, she doesn’t even know what’s going on because she doesn’t speak English,” Elicia explained.

“And I was telling her, ‘You need to leave now.’ And when her son came home, he told me, “Oh we don’t need to leave. The police told me I don’t need to go,’ but his apartment was on the list!”

Mascot Towers were evacuated as a precaution after cracks were discovered in the building. Picture: AAP/Bianca De Marchi

The mum-of-two wasn’t even home when the evacuations started.

“I was out, so I was taken by surprise when I came home. I saw big fire trucks around here and thought ‘Oh it’s probably a fire alarm’ — which happens all the time,” she said. “But then I saw the police car and thought something’s not right.”

Evacuations started shortly after 8pm.

“It was 8.10 when I was told to pack my things and we were told we weren’t allowed to go back in after nine,” said Elicia.

“There was very little communication, we only got two emails. But to be told that you can’t go home when you have cats and kids and it’s the middle of the night on Friday and we were just texting everyone like crazy.”

More residents carrying their belongings across the street. Picture: Supplied.

The family were fortunate enough to find alternative housing through a friend.

“Lucky one of our friends is an AirBnB host. He found us a place that were happy to take the cats as well, we juts have to pay extra for the cleaning. But at that time, we thought if nothing happens, we may have to sleep in the car.”

Amid the evacuations, people rushed to find somewhere to spend the night.

“There was no plan. It was just whatever you could find to get off the street.”

She described how residents had to use side streets to get their belongings out of the building, as residents weren’t allowed back into the carpark.

“I didn’t get to see [the damage], but I was told the joints were exposed, you could actually see the cracks. And when you were in the building, there was a slight feeling of imbalance. I thought it was just me but when people talk about moving and feeling unbalanced, it makes sense now.”

Residents could be seen carrying suitcases of belongings out into the streets. Picture: Supplied.

The evacuation notice received by residents warned that they could be out of home for at least a week, “pending further monitoring of the beams.”

“It will be a process, it won’t be a simple fix,” warned NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Adam Dewberry. Nor will it be a cheap fix, as Elicia pointed out.

“I’m paying $150 a night, and that’s a bargain because it’s a friend who’s doing us a favour. But $150 a night in Zetland, it’s not cheap.”

The basement car park where the cracks have appeared was cordoned off. Picture: Supplied.

Residents this morning approached security for more information. Picture: Supplied.

This is the second mass building evacuation to make headlines in a matter of months, after 3000 residents were forced to evacuate the Opal Tower building in Sydney’s Olympic Park.

Some Opal Towers residents found themselves out of home for months, while owners of certain apartments are now facing an estimated 16 per cent dip in the value of their real estate.

“I never thought what happened at Opal Towers would happen to us,” said Elicia, echoing the concerns of many Mascot residents. “For me, it’s the uncertainty that’s looming over me rather than what’s happening right now.”

Structural support is seen in the basement of the Mascot Towers. Picture: AAP/Bianca De Marchi

The evacuation comes amid claims the building has been plagued by issues for years.

Shop owners in businesses said they had noticed cracks on their walls and ceilings start to develop five years ago. And now, residents are fuming that they had to pack up their lives in minutes due to long running issues.

“We’ve been living here for five years now. They’re always maintaining the building, we’ve never been here without the tradesmen coming in and out,” said Elicia.

“But if you look at that building right next to us, when they were building there was shaking all the time. So if this damage was caused by that or if it was a structural problem, we don’t know yet. We have no idea. The problem is, we don’t know whose problem it is to fix it.”