An ambitious redevelopment of an iconic Sydney harbor-view property has stalled, reportedly increasing its cost by more than $10 million.
Former Aussie Home Loans CEO James Symond, the nephew of the company’s well-known founder, John Symond, has been building his dream home on property formerly owned by the Packer family for more than two and a half years.
In mid-2020, Mr. Symond submitted his plans to redevelop the dilapidated primary residence on the 1,400-square-foot property into a two-story luxury abode at an estimated cost of $9.5 million.
However, the aussie reports that costs have exceeded $20 million as a massive industrial crane dominates the horizon above the unfinished construction site.
When Daily Mail visited the property, it looked like a public works site and could be heard clamoring with construction noise.
The ‘Girrahween’ estate in the upscale Sydney suburb of Bellevue Hill has been in the Packer family for almost 50 years.
An artist’s impression of the house being built by Mr. Symond as outlined in plans submitted to council in June 2020
A massive crane towers over the redeveloped Bellevue Hill property, now owned by former Aussie Home Loans CEO James Symond.
There was a crew of at least 10 builders in high visibility helmets and hard hats busy at work.
But in perhaps an example of some of Australia’s most understanding neighbours, a lady living next door to the construction site said she was resigned to the noise and disruption.
“It’s been going on for two and a half years and it will definitely take another two,” he said.
‘I made a kitchen and it took me 14 months!’
The woman, who did not want to be named, said she was not surprised by the delays.
“They’ve had Covid, rain and it’s a big building, so I understand why it’s taken so long,” he said.
‘There’s nothing I can do, really. I just have to put up with it and put up with it.
‘The builders have been really good. I asked them to put up boards and they did it to give us more privacy and stop the dust. My blinds were black with dust.
But there’s no point in complaining, that’s living next to a construction site.
“Every two houses on this street are being renovated, across the street they are turning one house into two and there are cranes everywhere.”
Heavy machinery was working on the site causing a lot of noise, to which a neighbor said he was resigned.
Reconstruction work on the house on the former Packer property has been going on for two and a half years.
Another lady who lives across the street said: ‘They are doing what they have to do in the most polite way possible.’
Mr. Symond’s property is being built using commercial construction techniques, including a crane that would normally be used to build a skyscraper.
It was designed by Rob Mills Architecture and the work is being carried out by Riboni Constructions Ltd, a firm that typically specializes in commercial and industrial construction.
He bought the ‘Girrahween’ property from liquor seller Gabor Kemeny for $13 million in 2020. Kerry Packer sold the property to Kemeny for $2.66 million in 2001 after having been in the family since 1954.
Plans for the reconstruction of the main residence submitted to Woollahara Council show five bedrooms, a gymnasium, a separate nurses’ study and library, formal and informal living and dining rooms, internal lift and a “treatment room”.
There is also an above street level pool and spa, underground parking, sunken patios, terraces and extensive gardens.
Mr. Symond is a former CEO of Aussie Home Loans, the mortgage lender founded by his uncle John Symond.
Work on Mr. Symond’s property has reportedly cost more than his original estimate of $9.5 million.
The posh eastern suburb of Bellevue Hill is certainly experiencing something of a building boom.
Daily Mail Australia counted eight houses near Mr Symond’s property under major construction.
The trucks were double-parked across the exclusive street that is a stone’s throw from the compound of billionaire Roz Packer, the largest estate in the suburb.
Other famous residents of the wealthy area have included Hollywood actors Will Smith, Toni Collette and her ex-husband David Galfassi along with heir to the media empire Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch.
Mr. Symond and his wife Amelia would be keen to trade their apartment for the sprawling new house.
The couple bought two luxury units in Mirvac’s Walsh Bay development near the city center for $2.3 million in 2000 and then the one next door in 2005 for $2.2 million.
Symond may have deeper pockets than many, but he’s not the only homeowner feeling the pain of rising construction costs, which have risen at twice the rate of inflation.
Another property on Kambala road was also among the many houses that underwent major work in the wealthy Sydney suburb.
Residential construction costs rose 10 percent in the year to June 2022 as the price of lumber and metals soared, the Cordell Construction Cost Index showed in July of last year.
CoreLogic’s construction cost estimation manager, John Bennett, said Australians will likely have to wait longer for their new home to be built.
“Labor and material shortages mean delayed completion times, leaving builders vulnerable to market changes and maintenance costs,” he said.
Project architect Rob Mills and Van Der Meer engineers have been contacted for comment.
A detail of the architect’s plan for the new house, containing a ‘treatment room’ and lift.
The property has sweeping views of Sydney Harbor and was purchased by James Symond for $13 million in 2020
