An elderly man has taken a defiant stance against a property developer building a six-storey apartment complex where the other half of his duplex used to be.
The man, David, who only speaks Cantonese, has lived in a stringy three-bedroom house in Park Road, Auburn, in Sydney’s west, since 2004, when he bought it for $330,000.
The other half of the duplex burned in 2017, was demolished in 2018 and purchased in 2020 by AB Developers.
The developers approached David about taking over their side of the duplex, but he wasn’t about to turn around.
An elderly man has taken a defiant stance against a property developer building a six-storey apartment complex where the other half of his duplex used to be.
An elderly Cantonese man has stifled a developer’s plans for a huge apartment complex after refusing to sell half of a maisonette in Auburn (pictured), leaving many scratching their heads at the strange house.
WhatsNew2Day Australia was told David was offered $600,000 for half of the house. But he stood his ground, insisting that he wouldn’t walk away for a penny less than a million dollars.
The confrontation has left the semifinal divided in half.
Meanwhile, all work on the 32-apartment complex next door has been delayed indefinitely due to a stop-work order imposed by the NSW Building Commission on December 21.
The construction site was left deserted with chairs, scaffolding and fences abandoned to the elements as workers stayed away from the site.
The NSW Building Commission found developers failed to submit critical fire protection, structural and architectural documents on time.
Their home is now dwarfed by a six-story construction site that has also been blocked by a stop-work order (pictured).
“The designs for the building in the development do not contain the details necessary to perform construction work that would achieve compliance,” the order said.
‘I am of the opinion that engaging in and continuing with the works… could significantly affect the actual performance of those elements of the building.
“And could therefore result in significant damage or loss to the occupiers or potential occupiers of the development.”
AB Developments accepted the finding and indicated that they will update their plans before resubmitting them for the order to be lifted.
Meanwhile, David’s humble house sits just a few feet away (overshadowed by the unfinished building) in front of an open space that once contained its mirrored half.
David stood firm on a $1 million offer after being offered $600,000 for half of the duplex, even after developers bought the other half for $575,000 even though it was demolished after a house fire (on the photo).
The proposed 32-apartment luxury complex (pictured, artist’s impression) is now in limbo after three months since the stop-work order with no new documents submitted by the developers.
The unique half-house recently caught the attention of a passerby, who snapped a photo that has since gone viral.
“Good for them for standing their ground, even though it’s half a house,” wrote one local.
“They will be able to add windows on that side of the house and get more light and cross-flow air ventilation,” a second wrote.
“Sometimes people want to live in a simple house full of memories… instead of living in a square box with no love or warmth,” wrote a third.
Others said David was going to have to deal with years of construction while the value of his home deteriorated.
“Now they can enjoy people looking at their yard and house from every angle, and put up with a street full of cars,” wrote one dissenter.
“Probably a good deal could have been made instead of holding on to aging fibro and smelly plywood,” wrote another.
WhatsNew2Day Australia approached David at the house but he declined to comment.
The story is similar to that of ‘Miss Stayput’, who had a huge supermarket car park built around her five-bedroom home in East Melbourne after refusing to sell it to developers (pictured).
One of the most famous cases of an Australian challenging developers was that of Melbourne’s famous ‘Miss Stayput’.
Mary Ann Campigli watched defiantly as several of the houses surrounding her East Melbourne home were bought to make way for a supermarket car park.
No amount of money or talkative men in suits could convince Campigli to pack up his things and leave his five-bedroom house.
The developers continued to build the car park around their house in Camberwell until it eventually surrounded the entire property.
Her determination made her a hero among many members of the community, whose tabloids lined up to tell her strange story and find out what motivated her.
“I’m going to fight for my home,” Miss Campigli told the Herald Sun at the time.
“It’s all I have and all I want, and I’m happy here. They won’t kick me.
David would agree.