A property developer who served time for supplying cocaine has lost a court battle to demolish and rebuild a luxury property in an upmarket Sydney suburb.
Joseph Frangieh, who ran boutique developer InStyle Developments, lodged an application to demolish and redevelop a luxury waterside property in Russell Lea in Sydney’s central west in August last year.
But the plans were rejected by the New South Wales Land and Environment Court last month after a judge ruled their estimated $1.23 million works were not in keeping with the character of the area.
Mr. Frangieh purchased the property with his wife Sharon in November 2022 for $5.3 million.
The following year they submitted plans to Canada Bay City Council to tear down the property and rebuild it with a carriage house beneath a large cantilevered balcony with a pool, decking area and space for outdoor dining.
The couple also wanted to remove 1.8m of landscaping in the rear to improve their view of ‘Bay Run’, a popular walk around that particular section of the Parramatta River.
But residents of the affluent area, where the average home price is nearly $3 million, complained that the development would infringe on their privacy and reduce their natural light.
The development application ended up in the Land and Environment Court, where the council’s lawyers argued “that the elevated and cantilevered pool and terrace area is excessive in height, massing and appearance from the perspective of the streetscape and Parramatta River”.
Joseph Frangieh, who ran boutique construction company InStyle Developments, lodged an application to demolish and redevelop a luxury harbourside property in Russell Lea in Sydney’s inner-west in August last year. Frangieh purchased the property with his wife Sharon in November 2022 for $5.3 million (the couple are pictured together)
The following year they submitted plans to Canada Bay City Council to demolish the property and rebuild it with a carport beneath a large cantilevered balcony with a pool, decking area and outdoor dining space (pictured: the property’s current balcony).
The court ultimately agreed and denied the request.
“I consider the size of the proposed elevated rear structure to be a distinctively different design element in this area,” Commissioner Shona Porter said.
‘Its size, cantilevered nature and the small variable setbacks to both the side (north-west) boundary and Henley Marine Parade (less than the minimum of 4.59m) overwhelm the presentation of the façade to the public domain and streetscape.’
Mr. Frangieh did not respond to requests for comment.
This is not the first time Mr Frangieh has developed and sold properties in Russell Lea.
In 2015, she sold her former home for a suburb-record $3.91 million before moving to Lane Cove in 2016.
Mr Frangieh and his wife Sharon first listed their Lane Cove mansion for $8.8 million in 2019, according to news.com.au.
The five-bedroom home featured a five-car garage, a lighted tennis court, a solar-heated pool and nearly 2,000 square feet of “resort-style grounds.”
The couple also wanted to remove 1.8m of landscaping at the rear to improve their view of ‘Bay Run’, a popular walk around that particular section of the Parramatta River (pictured).
Mr Frangieh and his wife Sharon first listed their Lane Cove mansion for $8.8 million in 2019. The five-bedroom home featured a five-car garage, a floodlit tennis court, a solar-heated pool and nearly 2,000 square metres of “resort-style grounds” (pictured)
It eventually sold for $5.8 million in February 2021.
Mr. Frangieh was previously listed as a director of InStyle Homes, but the company’s website was taken down sometime last year.
His name appeared in the Panama Papers offshore leak database in 2016, where he was listed as a major shareholder in Seychelles-based Silver Tiger Enterprises Limited.
His personal website, which has since been deleted, said he helped develop “low-cost housing in South Africa aimed at helping the Lebanese stop suffering from war in the form of disrupted lives, economic hardship and traumatized children.”
Another defunct website describes him as “an inspiration in the investment world.”
Mr Frangieh’s name appeared in the Panama Papers offshore leak database in 2016, where he was listed as a major shareholder in Seychelles-based Silver Tiger Enterprises Limited (pictured: Mr Frangieh in a recent photo)
Mr Frangieh previously presented himself as a director of InStyle Homes, but the company’s website was taken down sometime last year (pictured: the company’s old website)
“Joseph Frangieh has helped many people achieve their dream of financial freedom through real estate investment and development,” the website states.
In 2003, Mr. Frangieh and his brother Raymond pleaded guilty to charges of supplying cocaine.
Later that year, his father, Sayed Frangieh, was shot dead on the doorstep of the family home in Merrylands in a case of mistaken identity.
Gangster Ken Tan was sentenced to 12 years and four months in 2009 after pleading guilty to manslaughter for arranging for two men to visit the home following a road rage incident involving Frangieh’s son, Raymond.
