By ANNA USHER

Dozens of elderly residents at a Catholic retirement village in Lavender Bay will be forced to leave their homes to make way for a 20-storey apartment tower proposed by the Sydney Archdiocese and St Vincent de Paul Housing.

The redevelopment would see the demolition of Xavier Terrace – a 40-year-old, 31-unit complex for seniors – located within the 5,990 sqm grounds of the heritage-listed St Francis Xavier Church on Mackenzie Street.

A State Significant Development (SSD) application is currently in the early planning stages, with a scoping report lodged with the NSW Department of Planning on 30 June.

If progressed, the site would be rezoned to allow for 186 new apartments, including 50 affordable housing units to be managed by St Vincent de Paul.

Parish priest Father Richard Leonard SJ confirmed the proposal in a letter to parishioners and during a private meeting with Xavier Terrace residents last week.

“We are seeking to build a housing development with around five times as many units as now, many of them affordable units,” Fr Leonard said.

“It does mean that the residents have to move out of Xavier Terrace in 18 months to two years’ time because the 40-year-old block needs to be demolished for the new development.”

Fr Leonard said residents would be supported in relocating and kept informed as the project progresses.

“We are going to assist those residents, as best we can, to help them find alternative accommodation,” he said. “We will be holding optional meetings every three months or so, so the residents are appraised of developments as they take firm shape.”

A scoping report uploaded to the NSW Planning Portal described the site as “currently underutilised” and within a high-density precinct undergoing “significant transformation”.

That transformation includes two major nearby proposals: a 200-unit development above North Sydney Station at 15 Blue Street, and a 400-dwelling project at 5 Blue Street, the former Zurich building.

Fr Leonard said the decision had not been made lightly.

“I fully understand how hard this news was to hear,” he said. “Even though this is the right and best decision for the future of the parish, I can only imagine the personal pain, anxiety and dislocation this will cause them.”

“As a parish, however, we have to steward our assets as best we can now, and for generations to come.”

A spokesperson from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney told Mosman Collective the aim of the development was to “deliver more well-located affordable housing on this site”.

The spokesperson said of the 31 existing retirement units, most were occupied by just one person.

“Only a minority are retirement village contracts, the rest are short term rental agreements,” the spokesperson said.

“The Parish and St Vincent de Paul Society Housing have met with residents to express the support that will be provided to occupants to help find alternative accommodation in the years ahead and this will be done as compassionately as possible and via regular updates and meetings.”

The development is still in the preliminary planning phase. Once a formal application is submitted, a public exhibition period is expected, during which community feedback can be provided.

Until then, locals watching the future of the St Francis Xavier church site unfold are encouraged to stay informed and engaged. You’ll find the SSD link HERE.