Almost 1,000 recently completed apartments in Sydney’s north are at risk of collapsing due to “serious damage” to concrete in the basements caused by defective workmanship, according to the New South Wales building watchdog.
The developer, Greenland, has been issued with urgent rectification orders over the four apartment buildings at the Lachlan’s Line development at 23 Halifax Street in Macquarie Park.
The Building Commission NSW found there was “serious damage and spalling of the concrete slab at the joint locations in basements and the ground floor caused by defective workmanship” after inspections last year.
“This is a defect in a building product or building element that causes or is likely to cause the basement slab to fail, namely, to fracture and collapse, leading to the destruction of the building or any part, or the threat of collapse of the building or any part,” the rectification order said.
The developer has been given 14 months to complete the work.
A spokesperson for the building commission said there was no danger to residents who lived in the apartments because the defects related to the “long-term durability of the basement levels of the building” and not to any units within the complex.
The commission had been in contact with Greenland since August 2023 after completing an initial inspection, the spokesperson said.
“The building commission will continue to work with the developer to ensure compliance with the order and is working to rebuild trust and capability in the construction sector,” they said.
A NSW government spokesperson said the building commission’s “strong advice” was that the defects were serious and must be repaired to avoid long-term risk even though they “don’t pose a threat to safety”.
“Building Commission NSW is doing what we set it up to do, catching defects early and forcing builders to pay to rectify their own unsatisfactory work,” they said.
According to the publicly available document, the commission inspected the buildings, which comprise 900 apartments, in August 2023.
The acting assistant building commissioner, Matt Press, wrote to Greenland this week ordering the developer to rectify the “serious defects”.
Of the issues in the basements and ground floors, Press said: “This issue compromises structural performance and structural adequacy of the concrete slab.
“As a result, it is likely to cause inability of the concrete slab to withstand the car park and ground floor loads.”
According to the Greenland website, the Lachlan’s Line development features a “range of stunning apartments” that were “perfectly positioned above a bustling town square”.
“Featuring impressive interior design touches in every room, from quality timber floorboards to distinctive black tapware and superior stone-based kitchen benchtops,” the website read.
Documents show the commission informed the developer, local council and owners corporation in late October that it intended to issue a rectification order, sharing a draft copy of the order.
According to the commission, the developer then responded by the start of December with two specialist reports and a request that the order not be issued.
“The developer also requested amendments to the periods of compliance, the areas required to be slab scanned and the number of expert reports required under the order,” the order read.
“I note the developer’s request that the department exercise discretion to not issue the order. In circumstances where the defect is not disputed, it is my view that it is appropriate to issue the order.”
Greenland Group is a Chinese real estate developer that operates around the world and has an Australian operation.
Late on Wednesday night, a spokesperson for Greenland said there was “no risk of collapse of the building’s towers” and that the company had engaged engineering consultants to investigate after recieving the draft notice from the commission last year.
“Their initial investigations have identified the BWRO issues are localised in the lower car park levels only and that there is no risk of collapse of the building’s towers,” the spokesperson said on Wednesday night.
“There is no serious damage or serious structural defects at the project, as some media outlets have claimed.”
The spokesperson said Greenland was following all directions made by the commission and “remains fully committed to working closely with the commission to satisfactorily resolve the situation”.
“Greenland can confirm that no other buildings that it has developed are impacted by this issue,” the company spokesperson said.
The company spokesperson said all owners and tenants had been contacted on Wednesday to say they were not required to evacuate.
Earlier this week owners of apartments in Sydney’s Mascot Towers were offered a lifeline by building commissioner David Chandler after facing significant repair bills because of cracks that were discovered in the basement in 2019.
The deal would wipe the debts of unit owners but is expected to give owners vastly less than the original purchase price.
However, it would allow residents with outstanding strata debts and mortgages on the 11-year-old building – which has been deemed too expensive for the strata to repair – to walk away from their losses.
Greenland has no involvement in the Mascot Towers.
