Hole in the ground to sprout apartments

A large hole in the ground on the site of the former Sydney Eye Hospital in Woolloomooloo is set to become twin seven-storey apartment blocks.

The hole has been gathering puddles and graffiti since the late 1990s when a three-story building, built in 1974, was demolished. It had been a wing of the older Eye Hospital, the heritage V-shaped building still standing next door. That became a backpacker hostel when the hospital was moved  back into the grounds of Sydney Hospital next to Parliament House.

The three-storey building, over the road from the NSW Art Gallery and styled like a concrete machine-gun emplacement, was originally planned to precede a 14-storey tower which never eventuated.

The site was purchased in 2002 by the Tieck family for $15 million and was reportedly sold for $25.5 million in 2008. Investment group FKP, the current owner and developer of the apartments, bought the site this year.

A seven-storey apartment block was originally approved for the site, then an application for an eight-storey building was lodged by Ikon Developments in 2004.

The new $95 million blocks will be called Luxe and contain 77 apartments with an average price of $1 million.

The buildings were designed by architects Marchese Partners International and modified by Krikis Tayler Architects.

Luxe will have a single entry with concierge, while the the apartments will have operable louvre windows and external blinds.

FKP says interior schemes are designed by Pike Withers and feature high-quality finishes such as stone flooring and bench tops with timber joinery with three colour themes on offer, “from neutral colours to a dark edgy palette”.

Parking will be available to most apartments, with approximately half of the one bedroom stock to be sold without parking. These apartments will be sold with storage facilities with some allowing scooter or bike parking, say the developers.

by Michael Gormly