Waverley Council has vowed to protect the Harry Seidler-designed Yeshiva College and synagogue after the state’s Independent Planning Commission found it should not be heritage listed, opening the door to redevelopment.
The Bondi site is owned by an entity controlled by Meriton apartment giant founder Harry Triguboff, and was rezoned for medium-density residential in 2022. A concept plan titled “Yeshiva uplift scheme” showed the developer considered a 12-storey unit block on the site, home to Seidler’s only religious building.
Yeshiva College in Bondi designed by legendary architect Harry Seidler.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
The plan sparked a war of words between Triguboff and Seidler’s family. The late architect’s widow Penelope says the “beautiful space” ought to be preserved and could be used for several community purposes, not necessarily religious ones. The building was opened in 1961 by then-chief justice Herbert “Doc” Evatt, also Penelope’s uncle.
In written representations to the IPC, Triguboff said the submissions of Penelope Seidler and her daughter Polly were inaccurate about him and his foundation. He said he had spent millions upgrading the buildings and running its activities.
“We did all this so it could be used, and nobody told me it was heritage,” Triguboff wrote. “I admire [Seidler’s] work, but his involvement cannot constitute heritage listing. Would every building that I have built one day be heritage? We must progress and council’s [sic] cannot use heritage to fight a planning outcome they don’t like.”
Meriton founder Harry Triguboff.Credit: Arsineh Houspian
Polly Seidler denies making any inaccurate claims in submissions on the subject.
Waverley Council last year proposed the buildings should be awarded local heritage significance. The Department of Planning sought advice from the IPC, which earlier this month found the local listing should not progress.
The commission said the buildings had heritage value, particularly due to the “technical and architectural features of the thin concrete shell roof”, and their connection to the Jewish community. But it also said alterations and additions had significantly undermined the site’s heritage value, and there was no practical way to reverse them.
The site should not be heritage listed “unless and until there is sufficient detail regarding the prospect of enhancing the current condition and/or restoring the site”, the IPC declared.
Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos said the recommendation was “highly concerning”, and the synagogue at risk of demolition if the department took that advice. The council has resolved to ask Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe for another interim heritage order, as the previous one expired in February.
Separately, the State Heritage Register Committee is considering a nomination – also by Waverley Council – for the site to be given state heritage protection. A preliminary assessment found it has potential, but Heritage NSW told the IPC the full assessment may take until June 2025.
Triguboff told the Herald he was happy the land title had been “at last sorted out”, but he had no plan to redevelop it – for now. “Although we could build apartments there, we are in no hurry to do so at this stage,” he said.
Yeshiva College closed in 2022 when its registration was cancelled after a litany of compliance and safety breaches, including the school’s failure to provide basic education to primary and secondary students.
Triguboff’s foundation runs a community outreach program from the site, Our Big Kitchen, which provides meals for those in need.
correction
An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Penelope Seidler is Harry’s daughter; it’s been updated to say she is his widow.