By Anne Davies State Political Editor
THE architect Harry Seidler will be remembered with a memorial park on the clifftops above Luna Park, after his wife, Penelope, yesterday paid $5 million to stop a multi-storey building on the site.
"I just couldn't let the building happen," Mrs Seidler said yesterday. "It would have been wrong. There's too much development already, and Harry was very concerned about the site."
Mrs Seidler said she and her husband, who died in March, had long connections with Milsons Point.
"It's going to be called Harry's Park, and it is also going to be in memory of my father, the late Clive Evatt, QC, who grew up in Milsons Point - his house was demolished when the bridge was built," she said.
Mrs Seidler's benevolent act - the offices of Seidler & Associates and Mrs Seidler's apartment are next to the park - will bring to an end one of the most contentious development battles in Sydney in the past decade.
Residents opposed plans by Luna Park Sydney, the operator of the amusement park, to build a 14-storey office block on the site. It became known as the "chirpy building" because of its striking yellow detail.
Under the deal with the State Government, Luna Park Sydney was given the site for nothing, but was obliged to restore the fun park and reopen it. To help fund the redevelopment, the Government granted it the right to develop several sites on the edges of Luna Park, including the clifftop site, although what was permitted has been a source of argument.
This year the Minister for Planning, Frank Sartor, rejected the planned 14 storeys and instead recommended a seven-storey building and a smaller two-storey restaurant on the site.
Under yesterday's deal the restaurant will go ahead but it will now be in a 2000-square-metre park, with views of the harbour.
Luna Park Sydney said its decision to reach an agreement with Mrs Seidler was driven by a combination of commercial and practical considerations.
"The arrangement means the community has the benefits of a public park, while Luna Park Sydney meets its commercial interests in continuing to run a viable amusement park," said its chief executive, Peter Hearn.
Mr Hearn said the $5 million would be used mainly to retire part of the debt associated with the $75 million investment in developing the park.
But the MP for North Shore, Jillian Skinner, queried why Mrs Seidler had to pay $5 million for public land. She has said she will refer the matter to the Independent Commission against Corruption.