Whoopsies!
An old building on a valuable piece of land where a colourful developer wants to build a 61-floor apartment tower mysteriously caught on fire:
"A fire that broke out in an old PCYC building formerly owned by fugitive developer Jean Nassif in Parramatta’s CBD is being treated as a suspicious incident.
"Authorities were called to 12 Hassall Street about 7.50pm on Thursday after reports of a building fire. The blaze took about 100 firefighters to contain. No injuries were reported.
“As inquiries continue, anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000,” a NSW Police spokesperson said.
"The Parramatta PCYC youth charity occupied the Parramatta building for more than 50 years, before it was sold in 2016 to developer Toplace, operated by Nassif, for more than $30 million.
"Nassif sold the site for about $70 million in 2021 to a partnership between Gurner Group and Australian real estate fund manager Qualitas, which has plans to transform the site into a 61-storey tower with 385 apartments. The building is unoccupied."
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/suspicious-fire-on-parramatta-site-planned-for-61-storey-apartment-20251107-p5n8i6.htmlNo paywall:
https://archive.is/OHNUcSome background from The Guardian on the site's former owners, who allegedly has some very interesting political friends:
"Appearing in court via audio-visual link from a prison in Sydney on Wednesday, the 27-year-old lawyer Ashlyn Nassif, wearing an orange tie-dyed top, waved through a pair of handcuffs to the large contingent of family watching in the public gallery.
"Her mother, partner, sister and brother-in-law were all there, having agreed to put up a $2.6m surety to secure her release. Absent was her father, a colourful Sydney property developer whose company, Toplace, is the owner of a multimillion-dollar apartment complex named Skyview at the centre of the police investigation.
"While her father, Jean Nassif, is not accused of any wrongdoing, he loomed large during the hearing."
...
"Most recently, Nassif and Toplace have become the focus of a separate and unrelated probe by a New South Wales parliamentary committee into allegations of “impropriety” against Liberal party councillors on the Hills Shire in north-west Sydney.
"The inquiry – which has drawn in two of premier Dominic Perrottet’s brothers as potential witnesses – was sparked by a speech made in parliament last year by Liberal MP Ray Williams in which he alleged senior members of the party had been “paid significant funds” to install new councillors to support development applications by Toplace. Neither of the Perrottet brothers are accused of wrongdoing."
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/01/meet-the-nassifs-the-sydney-property-developer-a-lamborghini-and-a-daughter-on-bail#politics #nswpol #auspol #Parramatta #Sydney #nsw