Potts Point garages set to be turned into a five-storey boarding house

The group submitted plans to City of Sydney to knock down and redevelop the lodge’s associated triple garage, which they have been using for storage, occupying about 63 square metres on land zoned for mixed use.

About $783,000 has been allocated to transform the site.

Eight rooms will span over the first four levels of the boarding house, with two rooms on each level, while a communal area with a barbecue and pergola is proposed for the top floor.

Rooms will be 17 to 21 square metres in size and will incorporate a kitchen, bathroom and bed.

The building will not have car parking but storage is provided for four bicycles.

Eastend Lodge will manage the new boarding house, which will have its own address of 15 Ward Avenue.

The application acknowledged the site’s small size, noting that this will be “significantly compensated by the location and access to services and transport, the excellent outlook and the generous communal facilities, given the small scale of the proposal”.

Residents are expected to include “key workers”, such as teachers and care-providers, as well as university students who do not rely on a car, especially those wanting to live close to employment, services and public transport.

“The design and layout is such that it is intended and suited for long-term residents, yet affordable due to the size being less than a traditional unit, no strata titling and no provision of car parking,” the application said.

“It is noted that modern boarding houses cater for a wide range of people. Many negative public perceptions of users of such places are neither fair or accurate, as they are occupied by people who provide an important contribution to the economy and society.”

Macintosh Group purchased the site, which includes Eastend Lodge, on 417 square metres for $2.8 million in 2000.

They also own Orwell Lodge in Potts Point, Museum Lodge in Darlinghurst and Balmain Lodge in Balmain.

Macintosh Group declined to comment on their plans. James Cowan, Colliers International’s senior executive of investment services, who has handled many inner Sydney boarding house sales, said the owner’s choice to use the garage site in this way was “logical”.

“This is an appropriate and logical allocation of land, of what likely has been an eyesore for a number of years. This supports local land activation and also the requirement for affordable housing,” he said.

The agent acknowledged that the tight Sydney market has encouraged developers to target such unconventional sites, with developers making use of properties such as the Potts Point garage to provide key workers with accommodation close to their workplaces, which, according to Mr Cowan, is “something no other partner can supply”.

“Demand has shifted for these new generation boarding rooms to a younger demographic often with full-time or part-time white collar jobs, including but not limited to accountants, lawyers and those in the real estate profession, and then also key workers such as school teachers, nurses and council workers,” he said, adding that interstate and overseas students aged 20 to 28 were also among the main tenants.