Crownview Wollongong luxury apartment complex is branded ‘worst ever inspected’ over shocking list of defects
A $120 million high-rise apartment complex has been labeled one of the “worst buildings” a state building inspector has ever encountered.
Luxury apartment project The Crownview Wollongong, an eight-storey split-podium topped by a 20-storey tower, was inspected by NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler on February 15.
Mr Chandler found a raft of serious defects in the building, which was in addition to a previous probation order from December 2022, which for the first time breached the building’s structural system.
Key stakeholders have been summoned to a meeting with Mr Chandler to discuss the future of the 149 apartments, some of which have already been sold.
The complex was originally described as ‘a striking addition to the Wollongong skyline’ but is now in limbo after developers were granted a stop work order this week.
The Crownview Wollongong has been described as one of the ‘worst buildings’ in NSW
NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler carried out a follow-up inspection on February 15 and found serious defects
The 2022 prohibition order prevented potential tenants from occupying the building until the problems were fixed, which never happened, Mr Chandler said.
“This is a terrible building and one of the worst I have ever inspected,” Mr Chandler said.
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“Building Commission NSW is working hard to increase the capacity of the state’s building sector to deliver the quantity and quality of housing the people of NSW need.
‘To be successful in this, we must ensure that projects are built from the ground up and that any issues and defects are addressed early, long before residents move in, so that owners do not have to take action to fix the defects themselves. release.’
One of Mr Chandler’s main concerns was about cables in slabs in the building that had been ‘stressed’ after the concrete had been placed.
Normally cables are submerged once the steel is tensioned, but closer inspection revealed that many cables were submerged in water rather than mortar.
It is understood that stakeholders in the building had already invested $37 million into the building in an attempt to resolve the issues found in December 2022.
NSW Buildings Minister Anoulack Chanthivong told the Daily Telegraph that intervention in the building was necessary to prevent a disaster.
“Not only does this type of work risk leaving owners out of money, it can also be dangerous,” he said.
“The lessons from buildings like Mascot Towers couldn’t be clearer: intervening before a building is occupied can save years of heartache and uncertainty.
Mr Chandler said the building was ‘terrible’ and has called a meeting with key stakeholders to discuss its future
Stakeholders had already spent $37 million on building repairs since a December 2022 probation order