Art Deco building in Crows Nest to be partially demolished for 11-storey high-rise

If you’ve been around the area, you’ve probably noticed that Crows Nest is changing. A lot. 

The latest massive development going ahead is an 11-storey mixed use residential-commercial building on the Pacific Highway. 

It’s going to sit right on top of this heritage building, the majority of which will need to be demolished. 

While it might not look like much right now, this building is one of the oldest in the suburb. 

The Art Deco property was constructed in 1941 as a showroom for the North Shore Gas Company. 

Though it might not be as big and impressive as other Art Deco landmarks, including the Orpheum or Ritz cinemas, it certainly is an intriguing building.

The development was initially rejected by North Sydney Council on the grounds that it “does not provide development that is appropriate to its context” and “fails to appropriately conserve and enhance the built heritage of North Sydney”. Essentially, it’s not the village vibe.

However, the developer successfully appealed to the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, which can overrule decisions made at the local council level. 

Under this project, much of the heritage site will be demolished, save for the facade, which will remain intact, albeit dwarfed by the 11-storey high rise plonked on top of it.

Images courtesy of the National Library of Australia and Stanton Library.