The Balmain Leagues site has been in limbo for 15 years. It’s about to get 227 new homes

Hundreds of apartments will be built on the former Balmain Leagues Club site in Sydney’s inner west after the NSW government approved a controversial proposal for a 16-storey development on the empty block, which has been languishing beside Victoria Road for more than a decade.

The $285 million mixed-use development comprising 227 apartments – including 59 affordable housing dwellings – in three towers from 14 to 16 storeys will replace the demolished club buildings.

Work is expected to start on the Rozelle village project in coming months after years of uncertainty.

Residents said the development would either be a boon for the suburb’s shopping strip or an overly bulky addition that would dwarf houses and prove “as workable in Rozelle as a snowflake is in hell”.

Planning and Public Spaces Minister Paul Scully said the approval was a “resolution to the site that is long overdue”, and an example of the government’s affordable housing bonus delivering homes.

“The old Balmain Leagues Club site on Victoria Road has been an eyesore for too many years, but will now be transformed into a thriving residential area with a supermarket, registered club and public plaza,” Scully said.

The 28,000-square-metre property has been empty since 2010, but plans to overhaul it have been dogged by financial woes, dumped proposals, state government about-turns and legal stoushes.

The decrepit club buildings have been demolished recently. Credit: Peter Rae

Chinese developer Heworth Holdings Group won approval for a 12-storey block, but raced back to the drawing board to leverage the Minns government’s policy of offering developers height and floor space bonuses if they dedicated a portion of their project to time-limited affordable housing.

Sydney-based developer Perifa and its investment partner Mitsubishi Estate Asia acquired the site from Heworth in March, stating its intention to start building the Rozelle Village precinct, which includes a new clubhouse for the Wests Tigers, mid-year, with hopes of finishing work in 2028.

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne previously criticised the developer’s decision to submit plans for a larger proposal as “complete idiocy”, arguing the affordable housing bonuses were designed to encourage investment in new housing projects – not slow down already approved developments.

Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the planning decision followed “15 years of delay and decay”.

“Fifty-nine affordable homes in a prime inner-city location is a big win – and just the start of what this new planning pathway will unlock across NSW.”

The government’s so-called “in-fill affordable housing” policy was one of Labor’s central reforms to encourage the construction of more apartments.

It offers height and floor space bonuses of up to 30 per cent for developments when at least 10 to 15 per cent of their total gross floor area is offered as affordable housing for at least 15 years.

Ten projects have been approved under the scheme.

The approval coincides with the Inner West Council’s proposed changes to planning rules to boost density across the municipality to help deliver 35,000 homes.

Meantime, the government said the first state significant development application had been submitted under its fast-tracked Housing Delivery Authority pathway. It seeks approval for a seven- or eight-storey block of 106 apartments in Gordon.

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