NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: SCEGGS Darlinghurst Redevelopment (1971)

Source: Anon. 1971. "$45Million Investment...Rents to aid SCEGGS' Costs". The Daily Telegraph

In 1971, the Sydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School (SCEGGS) lodged plans with Sydney City Council for a twin tower development on land that was partially owned by the school in Darlinghurst. The development was bounded by William, Forbes and Bourke Street's.

Source: Anon. 1971. "SCEGGS Plans $45m Complex". The Daily Mirror, September 16: 7. 

The scheme proposed comprised of two towers. One tower would be forty stories tall with the second tower rising twenty stories.

Cost of construction would have cost $45 million but for SCEGGS, the income stream from rental of commercial space in the towers would have kept fee increases to a minimum.

Unfortuantely, I do not have any information about why the scheme did not proceed. 

Source: Anon. 1971. "SCEGGS As A Developer". The Sydney Morning Herald, September 17: page unknown. 

Property Advert of the Week: Top of the Town (2001)

For around 35 years The Top of the Cross/Town Motel was a popular hotel in Kings Cross. In 2001 apartments went on sale before it was formally converted to an apartment tower in 2003.

When I see this advertisement, it feels like its not from 2001 at all. Even the render looks old.

Source: Cramer Property Agents & Hayson Sales. 2001. "Top of the Town" (Advertisement). The Sydney Morning Herald, February 17: 18A (Domain liftout). 

NEVER BUILT SYDNEY: 1500 unit development in Darlinghurst (1970)

Image sourced from: Frykberg, I. 1970. "1,500 new homes for Cross". The Sydney Morning Herald, June 13: 6. 

In 1970, plans were released for a 1500 unit development on a Darlinghurst site bounded by Darlinghurst Road, Liverpool Street, Forbes Street, and Farrell Avenue.

This included three towers with heights of:

594 feet (182 metres)
548 feet (167 metres)
459 feet (140 metres)

The towers would rise over a landscaped podium with the towers consuming just 25 % of the five and a half hectare site.

Apart from "resort style" facilities, there was also a small retail complex to be built to provide for the residents.

Image sourced from: Anon. 1970. "Plaza plan for the Cross". The Sydney Morning Herald, June 25: 27. 

What would have happened had it been built?

Firstly, the nearby Horizon Tower would not be so lonely!!! It would struggle for attention like it does today.

But I do believe if events had stayed the same, the towers would still dominate the area today and would rather to a testament to bad planning of the period. With development limited, they could remain there uncontested.

1987: Decommissioning of Darlinghurst Police Station

In 1987, the Sydney Police Centre at Surry Hills opened, and it led to the decommissioning of the Darlinghurst Police Station in Bourke Street, Darlinghurst. It had been opened in 1896 with a lock-up facility built three years later in 1899. The Daily Telegraph produced a two-page feature to mark the end of an era.

It will be preserved for future generations as it is now heritage listed.

Source: Tesse, L. 1987. "Bourke Street Blues: It's the end of an era for Darlo nick". The Daily Telegraph, March 6: 26-27.