Building Commissioner David Chandler believes another Mascot Towers may have been avoided thanks to his department’s intervention in a high-rise development in Wollongong.

“The nightmare at Crown View in Wollongong continues,” he said in a recent post on Linkedin. “This project was supposedly due for completion in late 2021. Except for the basements, where extensive remediation was taking place the apartments were essentially completed.”

However, correlating prior issues with the builder and certifier raised red flags and the block was inspected before being subject to remediation orders.

“The developer and financier have reportedly tipped in some $37m to repair defects so far, over the original build cost of $54m,” Mr Chandler wrote.

“How much more are they now up for, on a journey to discover what they don’t know? How will they satisfy the essential tests of achieving an Occupation Certificate?

‘How will the Certifier obtain an unconditional assurance of structural adequacy along with other key compliance certificates? And would future purchasers consider buying an apartment in this building?”

Mr Chandler cites the Crown View development as an example of how his team’s forensic examination of patterns of failed or problematic projects has identified new developments most likely to have problems, triggering further of investigation.

“Going forward the depth of intelligence available to the regulator deepens as the red flagged players, their associates and practices build up deep intelligence of where to prioritise proactive audits,” he wote in his Sundy Roast post.

“There are over 70,000 residential projects covering Class 1, 2 , 3 and 9c buildings across the state. A new layer of intelligence is the frequency of lenders who have high portfolio exposure to risky developments and players.

And he has once again urged home buyers and investors to take advantage of the government’s iCIRT star rating system when deciding whether to buy off the plan.   

‘Please prefer iCIRT rated developers. This developer would never get a rating or 10-year Warranty Insurance,” he wrote. “Going forward, apartment purchasers now have these tools to guide their choices.

“Lenders have the same tools available to them to decide which developer is worth the risk of construction finance or not.”

You can read Mr Chandler’s post in full, and subscribe to it, HERE.