Plan to turn inner-city vacant block into affordable housing scrapped

Dreams of turning a decaying Glebe apartment block into affordable rentals are dead in the water after charity owner Wesley Mission put the land up for sale as potential luxury flats or student housing.

The plan to turn the long-abandoned seniors housing building into rentals for low-income families was put on ice when the charity couldn’t afford to follow through on the construction.

The RJ William Building has fallen into disrepair.Credit: Sam Mooy

Wesley Mission had been approved for $3 million in City of Sydney funding for the project, but a perfect storm of zoning complexities, issues with the existing building, and a knock-back for federal funding has meant the charity has given up all hope of housing low-income families at the site.

A real estate listing for the Glebe Point Road building suggests its prime location would be suited for developers looking to build luxury apartments or a co-living building for students.

A spokesperson for Wesley Mission confirmed the intention to sell, and said any profits would be directed to other projects, including an essential worker housing development in Canberra.

The $16.5 million project was originally slated to be completed by mid-2025, and would have provided 39 homes, with rent capped at 30 per cent of the tenant’s income.

An artist’s impression of the proposed redevelopment. Credit: City of Sydney

The major blow to the project came when the federal government knocked back an application from the charity for funding through the Housing Australia Future Fund.

“Alternative funding avenues were also explored but could not generate the capital required,” the Wesley Mission spokesperson said.

The impending sale was met with disappointment from City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who has called on the state government to invest more in rent-controlled housing, and local Greens MP Kobi Shetty, who called the sale a “poor outcome”.

“It would be really disappointing to see this opportunity to have public, social or affordable housing on a fairly significant piece of land in the inner city turned into luxury apartments – it would be a very poor outcome for our community,” Shetty said.

The building has fallen into disrepair. Credit: Sam Mooy

When the block went up for sale, Shetty wrote to NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson to suggest the government purchase the site. Jackson said the government was considering the acquisition.

“It’s incredibly disappointing to see a project with such promise fall through – especially when the need for affordable housing in Sydney has never been greater,” Jackson said.

“We know that delivering these kinds of projects is complex, especially when older buildings require significant remediation. This is why we will carefully assess our options here. It may be that this is not financially viable for the NSW government to purchase this site.”

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Jackson said the government has reached out to Wesley Mission to discuss the matter further.

The block, known as the RJ Williams building, was originally built as a motel for American servicemen before being used by Wesley Mission as seniors housing.

The building was shut down soon after an elderly man fell from a balcony to his death in 2010.

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