“F@ck Off! Such An Insult!” Fury As AFR Advertises Former Social Housing Turned Into $12M Apartments
The discontent surrounding the iconic Sirius Building at Sydney’s The Rocks continues after full-page ads for the building’s redevelopment into luxury apartments was labelled as tone deaf considering its previous history as social housing.
The building, famed for its brutalist design, was built in 1978 to provide affordable social housing for public tenants.
In 2019, the Berejiklian government booted the last of the tenants out – despite considerable protests – and sold the building to property developers for a reported $150 million.
Last week, the developer, JDH Capital, released plans to turn the building – which it now calls ‘Sirius Sydney Harbour’ – into luxury apartments complete with infinity pools, garden terraces and price tags for the top pads approaching $12 million!
On Friday, a four-page glossy lift-out was printed in Nine’s The Australian Financial Review advertising “private appointments” for potential buyers. Nine has not publicly commented on the ads.
For those not up on this, the Sirius building was purpose-built 1970’s public housing, shamefully sold off in #privatisedsydney …. https://t.co/StzqxknXtH
— Philip Thalis (@PhilipThalis) May 13, 2021
Neither the newspaper ad or the website for the new development mentioned the building’s previous history as social housing.
However, the ads have infuriated those who fought to retain the building for its original purpose as well as social housing advocates.
Ben Peake, who led the the Save Our Sirius campaign, led the chorus of complaints against the marketing of the new apartments: “It feels gross because it is stained with what we have done to the people who lived there,” he said, his comments reported on The Guardian.
“We kicked out a 92-year old blind woman and turned her apartment into a multimillion-dollar house. And we rushed her out. The government squeezed her into a house she couldn’t properly access,” Peake said.
The apartments aren’t expected to be finished by the end of 2022 and will feature commercial and retail spaces for restaurants and interiors by UK designer Kelly Hoppen who’s worked with the likes of David Beckham and Boy George.
According to reports there’s already a long list of buyers waiting to place their bids when the apartments go up for sale later this month.
JDH’s development director John Green telling The Australian: “It has so many attributes – fantastic views, looking right at the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, the city and out to the heads,” he said.
“It was also long and slim, so I knew once we had arranged the apartments internally we could get front and back crossflow apartments – it is rare to have windows on both sides,” Green said.
You can check out some of the developer’s images of the re-designed building below:
Please login with linkedin to comment
The Australian Financial ReviewLatest News
ABC Set To Move Staff To Parramatta
The ABC will move 300 staff from their current Ultimo offices to a new location in Parramatta. As first reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, the announcement came to staff on Wednesday morning. In an email, the broadcaster’s managing director David Anderson said that the move “will help us to be more connected, relevant, and engaged […]
Reporter Stalked By Creepy Neighbour From ‘Home Alone’ While Reporting On Murderer Who Used A Nutribullet & Ram Sedatives
A Channel Nine report on a woman who murdered her partner using ram sedatives and a poison mixed in a Nutribullet took an eerie turn yesterday when the live report was momentarily interrupted by the creepy neighbour from 1990’s Home Alone. Nine reporter Emma Partidge was reporting outside the NSW Supreme Court who’d just found […]
Adhesive Wins PR For Domain Group
Independent agency Adhesive has been appointed the public relations agency of record in Australia for the Domain Group, a leading property technology and services marketplace. The appointment will see Adhesive support PR & communications and campaign media activity for Domain, across consumer, corporate and B2B market remits. Adhesive will work closely with Domain’s in-house communications, […]
New Podcast ‘Come Out Wherever You Are’ Launches On LiSTNR For Pride Month
Sean Szeps is a gay father and a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community who believes he does not know enough about those within his community that have different gender and sexual identities to his own. Feeling compelled to explore the unique experiences of every member of the community, Szeps’ new podcast, Come Out Wherever […]
Façon Magazine Celebrates Powerful Women In Femme Issue
Façon Magazine’s ‘The Femme Issue’ launches June 17, highlighting a collection of powerful women from the fashion industry and beyond. The 11th issue celebrates fierce women and passionate entrepreneurs who have made their mark in fashion, beauty, wine and finance industries. Cover star DJ Shiralee Coleman (pictured) shares her incredible journey from childhood to dominating the […]
triple j To launch Blak Out, New First Nations Show
triple j’s new First Nations show Blak Out is taking over the airwaves every Sunday from 5-6pm! Hosted by Yuin and Thunghutti man and rapper Nooky, triple j’s Blak Out will feature the best and latest music from First Nations artists across all genres, plus interviews, premieres, and playlists. To celebrate, it’s a Blak Out on triple j today! From now until 3.30pm, you’ll hear music from Indigenous artists only. Then Blak Out […]
Tuesday TV Wrap: Celebrity Apprentice Winner Announcement Tops Entertainment Charts
Shaynna Blaze was crowned the winner of this season’s Celebrity Apprentice, netting 733,000 viewers, as per OzTAM’s metro data. She beat comedian Ross Noble, he of the excellent hair, for the top spot. In reward, she raised $100,000 for anti-domestic violence charity Voice of Change. The rest of the episode peaked at 614,000 viewers. Top overall […]
Thinkerbell Unveils Trio Of Spots In First Work For Bupa
In their first major communications since becoming Bupa’s creative services agency, Thinkerbell has extended the ‘Because Life Happens’ platform with a timely six weeks free retail offer for new customers. The campaign urges young Aussies to join Bupa… right now…because life could happen…to anyone…seriously…any second now… Jim Ingram, national chief tinker at Thinkerbell added: “We’ve […]
Carrefour Partners With LiveRamp To Deliver Next-Generation Retail Offerings
Carrefour may sound like a character from Beauty and the Beast, but fear not, this is still a tech story.
Broadcaster Forced To Apologise After Reporter Threatens To Beat Up Heckler
British broadcaster ITV has been forced to apologise after one of its journalists was filmed threatening to beat up a young man who’d allegedly heckled him while he was attempting to deliver a live cross. As reported on B&T on Monday, journalist Callum Watkinson was reporting live from the British city of Birmingham when young […]
Can Data Sharing Marketplaces Take On The Tech Giants?
Data marketplaces are just like your local farmer's market, just without the gozleme or giant orange juice machine.
A Road Map To The Right Marketing Combination
In this guest post, Dan Hojnik (pictured below), head of strategy and planning at Involved Media, argues that brand and performance are more closely linked than many marketers care to admit… I remember trying to explain the benefits of brand and performance marketing working together early on in my career only to have a strong-headed […]
LiSTNR Announces Collaborations With Apple Podcast Subscriptions
Good news this morning for podcast enthusiasts. Not so good for podcast advertisers, however.
10 ViacomCBS And Football Australia Announce Largest Socceroos And Matildas Broadcast Deal Ever
10 ViacomCBS and Football Australia today announced a landmark media rights agreement which will see all the Australian National Teams and the FFA Cup matches broadcast across Network 10 and Paramount+. The agreement, which encompasses the media rights for all national teams (Socceroos, Westfield Matildas, Young Socceroos, Young Matildas, Joeys, and Westfield Junior Matildas) owned […]
A Home For Marketing: How Medibank Centralised Their Marketing Operations For An Agile World
With a goal to provide Australians with “Better Health for Better Lives”, Medibank is Australia’s leading private health insurer, with more than 3.7 million customers through the Medibank and ahm brands. In addition to private health insurance, the Medibank group also offers a suite of diversified insurance products including travel, life and pet insurance. With […]
Ron Ramaiya Joins The Lab As Head Of Data Science
Ramaiya will be responsible for The Lab's data science capabilities and will take out the yellow bin on Tuesdays.
No Measurement, No Worries? What Apple’s Latest Privacy Changes Mean For Marketing
Privacy added to the list of reasons why Apple can charge you $2,000+ for an iPhone.
Life At LinkedIn With Head Of Agency & Channel Sales Lara Brownlow
Close your eyes and transport yourself into the LinkedIn offices here. Although, that will make it very hard to read.
“We Will Play By The Same Rules”: Google Says No To Self-Preferencing Ahead Of Third-Party Cookie Removal
Google says it will play by the rules here, although it isn't really a fan of the draw four rule in Uno.
The Turning Tide Against Surveillance Capitalism
Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched? If so, read this piece... or just close your blinds.
Kim Kardashian Spruiks Risky Cryptocurrency In Controversial Instagram Ad
Kim Kardashian unfortunately stops short of calling it 'kryptocurrency' in this latest promotion.
Great Southern Bank Rebrands With ‘Happily Clever After’ Via Indie Agency Richard Rose
Great Southern Bank has launched a brand campaign this week, ‘Happily Clever After’, coinciding with its name change from Credit Union Australia, bringing to life its purpose of helping all Australians own their own home. The journey to changing from Credit Union to Great Southern Bank began back in 2020. When Australia’s largest customer-owned bank, […]
Nine Promotes Jo Clasby To Commercial Director, Publishing
Nine has promoted Jo Clasby to the role of commercial director – publishing, where she will report to Nick Young. She was previously director of client partnerships – publishing. Her new role establishes her at the same level of seniority as Anthony Smyth, commercial director – radio. Smyth was promoted at the start of this […]
“No F*cking Way!”: Why Pink Floyd Frontman Turned Down A Facebook Ad
What is more rock n' roll: turning down a Facebook ad or swearing for no reason during an interview?
The Ben Roberts-Smith Defamation Trial Heats Up, With 21 SAS Soldiers Set To Testify
Has the whole Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case left you exhausted? Well, apparently we're only in week one of 12.
The Chaser Temporarily Changes Twitter Name To ‘The Stalker’ In Support Of Arrested Friendlyjordies Producer
If you're going to piss someone off on YouTube, best it's not anyone with the NSW Police Force at their disposal.
Accor Celebrates Aussie & NZ Cities With New ‘Go ALL Out’ Campaign
Hospitality giant Accor is shining a light on the joy of cities through its newest campaign, ‘Go ALL Out’, which launches in Australia and New Zealand today. The gateway to the ‘Go ALL Out’ campaign is ALL – Accor Live Limitless, a lifestyle loyalty program that integrates rewards, services and experiences throughout the Accor portfolio […]
Marketing Firm Silverbean Set To Double Headcount To Support New Client Wins
Global affiliate and partner marketing firm Silverbean has secured new contracts with 13 major Australian brands and is now working to double the size of its Asia-Pacific team. Silverbean launched in Australia in 2019 and has seen steady growth through its work with retailers. Now, with 15 new brands joining the Silverbean portfolio, the agency […]
YouTube Bans Alcohol, Gambling & Political Ads From Masthead Unit
YouTube bans alcohol, gambling & political ads from its masthead. Sadly, dodgy real estate agents remain unaffected.
Xandr Launches New Guide Exploring The Future Of Identity
Xandr, AT&T’s advanced advertising company, today released “Shaping the Future of Identity,” an industry guide exploring the approaches for buyers and sellers, as well as market participants, as they evaluate identity solutions in preparation for a future without third-party cookies.
