Anyone who wants to read this blog from the start of construction in June 2013 to completion in December 2015, click on the 'November' at the top of the months on the right hand side of this page. Then scroll to the bottom of the page for the first entry. Then go back and follow the months.

This blog has the most recent entry first so its reads in reverse chronological order.

Switching to Harbour Mill Facebook Group from this blog

Hi All,

This blog has been going since the beginning of the construction of Harbour Mill - well, a bit before that actually, and in that time, the topics that have been covered have been interesting and extremely varied.

The building is now complete and many of us have already moved in.

This will be the final entry on the blog and to start a new chapter in a new year, we'll switch our conversation to a private Facebook page.

It's been a long ride but lots of fun. See you around Harbour Mill.

Update on access and paving around HM

Here's an update on three access/paving/stairs/lifts issues around the building.

1. Lift to the light rail

Lift access to the light rail remains closed, and it's not clear why. David from Ceerose told us everything is finished as far as they are concerned, they have done what the Council requested. But Council wrote this letter to us a few days ago:

"Reference is made to your query in relation to the lift at 280 Jones Street, Pyrmont.

I have spoken with Council’s Public Domain department and they have indicated that they are awaiting information from the developer to ensure that the lift, and access to the light rail system is safe prior to it being used.

In this regard Council is unable to advise when the lift will be open to the public, it is envisaged to be early next year however. If you require an update with the lift in the new year please contact Council’s Public Domain section."

This needs ongoing follow up until someone takes responsibility for approving the lift, or we could be without access for a long time. Just do it!

2. Paving onto the Harris Street bridge to Darling Harbour

Better news here. 

Anyone who has walked to Darling Harbour, past the park on Fig Lane and over the Harris Street bridge, will know what an eye-sore and uneven surface the bitumen/paving is. 

Council has contracted the work to replace the bitumen with pavers, and we have spoken to the paving company. Work will begin as soon as they return to work in early January. It will make access a lot smoother and improve the appearance.

3. Completion of lift access into Darling Harbour without steps

Again, some better news. We've previously written about the annoying steps built by Lend Lease near the new lift in DH. In heated discussions with the person in charge of the DH project, he assures us that as soon as they return to work on 4 January, they will make this the first job, as long as it's is not raining. We'll be glad to see these steps gone.

Doesn't look like much but they're enough to prevent many people accessing the lift and DH.

Finally, does anyone feel the doors to the apartments are too difficult to open? We've gone online to check how the door closer works, but cannot make find a way to make opening easier.

Unfortunately, Novas is closed until the middle of January. Has anyone worked out how to make the adjustment?

Merry Christmas everyone, and look at our lights

It's a pleasant surprise to see how the restored grain elevator is lit at night, and the facade of the old flour mill also comes up well. Quite a landmark now.

This photo also shows how few people have moved in - only one northern apartment occupied.

Early Harbour Mill impressions

From Graham:

Elana and her friend have been living at HM for a few nights and they love the place. The apartment is finished in a high standard, and the people we have met are friendly. Seems like a good mix of age and ethnic origins to make for an interesting community.

I've been surprised how few people have moved in. It was busier with removal trucks today, but many people seem to be leaving it until after Christmas. The car park is eerily quiet.

After receiving delivery of some new stuff and a bit of old, the apartment is looking great. Here's a late afternoon shot of the living room, with its good-sized balcony.

One aspect that is seriously annoying is that the access into Darling Harbour by wheelchair is still blocked and has been for many months. I'm complaining at the highest level of Lend Lease.

I met with Lend Lease two years ago when they won the tender to rebuild the Convention Centre, Exhibition Centre and Entertainment Centre. They absolutely assured me that wheelchair access from Pyrmont via the lift into Darling Harbour would remain open at all times. Yet it has been closed since September, due to Lend Lease inserting four steps into the route to the lift while they undertake the changes. They might as well have built a mountain. I have been in constant contact with them and they make false promises every week on when the new bridge (without steps) would be completed.

And today they told me of further delays, and they would not be on the job again until 6 January 2016. Thanks a lot. That makes access to Darling Harbour for work and Christmas and New Year festivities very difficult for anyone in a wheelchair.

I plan to buy some shares in Lend Lease to attend the AGM and give the Chairman a piece of my mind for their disregard of disability access rights.  

And to make matters worse, access to the light rail via the lift will also not open until after Christmas, although nobody at Ceerose knows why the council will not sign off on the new lift.

So while it's great to be in for Christmas, the access issues are compromising the experience, and we're learning that taxi drivers often have a lot of trouble finding the building.

The storage room and storage boxes

Too much excitement at the likelihood of settling this week to worry about trivial matters such as the storage boxes, but we will need to make a decision soon.

What am I talking about? Underneath HM is a large storage room, where people can put their bikes and maybe other stuff, as shown below. So what? (besides the fact it may quickly become untidy).

Well, there are only 66 storage boxes and 136 apartments, and Ceerose has not attached them to any apartments. Who should have them? It's not fair if people just start grabbing them. The body corporate will need to decide an allocation technique, but we could start the conversation.

Most people will want extra storage space. I think the fairest system is for people to bid for them, with all the proceeds going to a sinking fund or a credit to our strata fees. If they are worth say $200 each a year, that would be $13,200 towards the cost of running the building. Any other suggestions?

Or fair enough if the only thing we all care about is actually settling, moving in and Christmas.

Strata Plan is registered

Some good progress.

I spoke to the Land & Property Information (LPI) office and they showed me how to navigate their site. They also confirmed the strata plan was registered yesterday.

This is how anyone can check the progress:

1. Go to LPI website: http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/#a

2. Click the Online Shop box in the middle of the home page.

3. From the list on the left select 'Document and Plan Status' (tenth item down).

4. Insert the document number, in our case SP92496.

5. And there is our document which currently says:

You can see the Document Status is 'Undergoing Folio Creation'. This means they are currently creating the Certificates of Title, which they started yesterday and it normally takes three days.

They will update the status on this page so anyone can check it, but the LPI person said it should be ready by Monday (yes, we've heard that before!). She said everyone she speaks to wants to be in by Christmas.

So it seems all official sign offs are in place and it's now the procedures of certificates and banks we need to wait for. Without 'counting our chickens', should be on for next week!

New fences and bollards installed

We have a new security fence near the south-east corner of HM, protecting access to the eastern garden and offering better security to the apartments on the ground floor. It should also reduce the amount of graffiti on the expressway wall.

Surprised to see bollards installed at the top and bottom of the driveway along the southern side of HM. I guess that confirms we will be driving up and down Jones Street because there will be no through way to Jones Lane (although I think the garbage truck will come this way).

There is a new timber fence along the southern boundary. The old fence belonging to the terrace was falling over and thankfully, Ceerose did not just patch it up - they covered it completely.

Expected ... wait for it ... within 7 days

Legal representatives should have received this from Jason at Ceerose today:

"We have received an interim occupation certificate for the above property (see attached) and are in the process of meeting the requirements for the final occupation certificate.

As indicated in our last email, we have lodged the strata plan. The allocated strata plan number is  SP92496. Since then we have received a few requisitions from the Land and Property Information which have in the main been addressed. We are in the process of meeting the final requisition, which is to obtain a signoff from Council in respect to the public domain works to release the voluntary planning agreement from the title.  Those public domain works have been complete and we coordinating the required release.

Accordingly, we expect to be able to issue the registration package to purchasers solicitors within the next 7 days.

We will be able settle any time after the registration package has been issued to purchasers and would encourage purchasers to coordinate settlements with this office as early as possible after receiving that notice. Otherwise we would refer you to the contract provisions in respect to due settlement dates.

Further instructions concerning the settlement process will be contained in our notice of registration letter."

Good news on Jones Lane vacant land

Received this note from Sailesh, our strata manager. This is good news, as once the builders stopped parking on the vacant land, it could have turned into a mess. I believe once the fence is up, the area will then be landscaped.

Hi Graham

Some very good news in relation to the strip of land next to Jones Lane Pyrmont, which is subject to illegal campers and free parking.

80 Fig Street, which is managed by one of my colleague at Netstrata, who had been in constant touch with Road and Maritime Services, have confirmed that police have been contacted and attended to the site to speak to the illegal campers.

Ventia Boral Amey Joint Venture, on behalf of Roads and Maritime Services, will be responsible for the litter removal around the site and it is planned to do a full clean-up of the site including removing abandoned vehicles and litter pickup when the fencing is installed.

Regards,

Sailesh Shakya

Wheels turning slowly ...

Spoke to Jason today. I told him that Christmas and New Year bring extra urgency, with critical times when people have leases expiring and family plans in place. He assured me he is doing all he can.

Last week, he had sent me this note:

"At the moment we are addressing a requisition from the Land Titles Office concerning the heritage grain shed that overhangs railcorp land. The requisition requests us to register an easement over the Railcorp land, but Railcorp have indicated they are not inclined to support an easement as it is not consistent with their policies. The parties since the begining have proceeded with a licence agreement for this. The matter is currently with Railcorp legal. I am waiting for a formal written response from Railcorp before approaching the Registrar of the Land Titles Office to resolve this issue. There are a few other issues we are dealing with in conjunction with this. I would hope to be in front of the registrar early next week to argue the point, but need to have the Railcorp formal response before doing so."

So there had been a standoff between the LTO and Railcorp relating to the grain shed, but today, LTO relaxed its position and he feels Railcorp will accept a compromise when he puts it to them tomorrow. He said it would be counterproductive if any owners became involved and tried to pressure a government official. If this goes OK, then he would have Railcorp sign off by the end of the week.

He also hopes for the Occupancy Certificate by the end of the week, at which time he hopes to write to owners with new dates. The final 'certifier' is an independent person who signifies everything is ready. He would then take this to the LTO who might sign off in a few days.

So with a bit of luck, it will go like this:

By 27 November, Railcorp signs off.

By 4 December, LTO signs off.

A few days for everything else, ready to settle around 8-10 December. 

But Jason was making no promises. I almost pleaded with him to let everyone know we are all desperate to be in before Christmas. 

I'm not familiar with all these processes so I may not have described this totally accurately, but what matters most is the end date.

Window coverings

Lots of talk on the blog about window coverings.

The Body Corporate will be charged with preserving the overall appearance of HM. The architects have gone to great efforts to develop a so-called 'macro' appearance and it would be tragic if everyone added their own red and yellow curtains and destroyed the look. Same with drying washing on balconies.

There will be a strict enforcement of a simple 'off-white' colour palate for window coverings, and the Body Corporate can ask for coverings to be removed if they infringe the standard. The limited range will be like this:

We are arranging roller blinds for our apartment, with 'block out' blinds on the bedrooms facing east, and 'sunscreen' blinds like the following for the living area:

I believe colour is the main issue rather than type, so there is more flexibility in design choice.

3rd most livable suburb in Sydney! :)

This morning I was excited to read on the SMH.com that Pyrmont has been rated as the 3rd most livable suburb to live in in Sydney.

That's another box ticked for Pyrmont!

How liveable is your suburb?

Index Rank	Area
1	Crows Nest - Waverton
1	Surry Hills
3	Pyrmont - Ultimo
3	Marrickville
5	Potts Point - Woolloomooloo

The roof terrace for a 'housewarming' party

Thanks to Viliala who spotted a leasing advertisement with some great photos of the rooftop terrace, which few if any of us have been allowed to view in person.

All tenants have exclusive access to this area. It looks like a great spot, with views to the city and west over Wentworth Park. I can see a few glasses of chardy and shiraz, and maybe the odd ale or cider, being consumed here after we all move in. Housewarming/Christmas Party anyone? 

Timing update for Wednesday 11 November

I asked Ceerose for an update on settlement timing and received this reply:

"It's hard to estimate. Council has inspected the public domain works and asked for a few extra things. We need their sign off to remove a planning agreement that is currently on title. This is holding up the finalisation of the registration. Some minor redrafting by the surveyor required also. I went to the land titles office today and seemed to be positive. The case officer processing the file said as soon as we get the sign off by council, we can hand it to her and she will process it just before the strata plan is registered. There are one of two other things they are working through as well. As I understand, Heritage signoff and artwork sign off is also with Council.

We are hoping for 1 week, but it depends on how fast council and the land titles office can work. Most of the items are now in their hands. The project team is pushing them daily."

Here's a great angle of HM taken from below, near the train line, showing the path to the lift and the lights down the steps. There is also a lot of lighting on the building itself so it should look good at night.

And keep the feedback coming on your inspections. Good to share impressions.

Post your comments after your inspection

We inspected our apartment today and we're very pleased with the result. It feels spacious and well-finished. We welcome any feedback about your own inspections.

We took a few photographs outside, and HM is looking like a special place to live.

We had mixed feelings about the graffiti along the eastern wall of the road. Some might like the distinctive 'street art', a bit of inner city character and grunge. But will it encourage more graffiti if left in place? What do others think?

Jones Lane vacant land and noise barriers

This is a long posting to address a couple of issues raised on the blog.

There has been a lot of chat on the blog on what we should do about the land next to HM on Jones Lane. Thanks to Elena, Nathan and Mario for these comments:

"Elena

Some thoughts for consideration:
A) should we lodge some kind of petition to the rms/council to clean up the south eastern garden and ensure there are no cars abandoned under the highway?
B) same as above regarding noise barriers installation, same as was done on other parts of the western distributor around the area
C) when everyone inspects their apartments next week - please share your comments/ views if you don't mind
Cheers

Nathan

A) not only the cars - some cars are from workers but most of them just free loader, dont understand why ranger never book this area. and someone setup a temp shelter / tent there looks creepy. 
B) i could really use this , one of my window is facing that distributor and people drive by could see through my window. but which authority should we send petition to??

Mario

Re- abandon cars - I don't think the cars that park there are abandoned - I only noticed the one vehicle that appears to be a home for someone. The other cars simply park there - (most Likely have been doing so for years to avoid paying for parking) 

I think in due course we will understand our surrounding area a little more once we have moved in."

For those wondering what this issue is, here is what it looks like next to Jones Lane. The overhead concrete bulk is the Western Distributor.

I have discussed this with Ceerose, the City of Sydney Council and Roads & Maritime Services (RMS), and here are the issues:

1. Prior to the construction starting on HM, this area was landscaped. But it was a blessing for Ceerose and tradesmen working on HM (and therefore, indirectly for all of us) because they were able to park there all day without cost. There was an unofficial agreement that it could be used for parking in the interests of getting the job done.

2. About a year ago, Ceerose told me that as part of the arrangement, Ceerose had agreed to remediate and landscape the area after HM was finished. When I asked about this recently, another Ceerose person said it had nothing to do with them, and was up to the owner of the land to fix it.

3. I contacted City of Sydney with this letter:

"For the last few years, the vacant land between Jones Lane and Bulwara Road (most of it is under the Western Distributor) has been used by the tradesmen for parking. It has also become known by the public as a place where you can park all day without cost, plus people sleep there. Someone has even pitched a tent.

​Can you please advise what Council plans to do with this space following the completion of the development.

Without prompt action, it will become a dumping ground for garbage and waste. Much of it is covered by the road, so people will sleep there. Generally, the Council has been able to prevent people sleeping under the road in this area, including some urban art near Fig Street and Harris Street. It would also benefit from some dense landscaping.

But if left alone now, it will become a complete mess. Please advise what is planned."

4. I received this reply:

"Dear Graham,

The land you have highlighted (known as 209A Bulwara Rd Pyrmont) including the parking spaces, is owned by NSW Roads & Maritime Services(RMS), not Council.

You should refer your concerns to RMS using the attached web link: http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=feedback.form

I have found recent information about the homeless people in the area, one person is a NZ citizen and not eligible for rehousing, one person has been assisted to find accommodation by the NSW Housing initiative (Link2Home) and we have attempted to have the two homeless people reduce material, but we do not have power to move them on.

I hope that this information is of some assistance.

Kind Regards,

Andrew"

5. To which I responded:

"Thanks, Andrew. Appreciate the feedback.

Not sure I understand how someone can simply pitch a tent and stay there. I'm sure if I went to the Gold Coast or Byron Bay or Bondi and instead of paying for accommodation, I pitched my tent near the beach, it would not be long before I was moved on."

6. And they replied:

"Hi Graham,

Understood, the official Council response about the rough sleepers in Belmore Park (opposite the main entrance to Central Station) is: We wouldn’t support legislation that prohibits people sleeping in public places, however we recognise that setting up tents can infringe on the amenity of the park and people’s ability to enjoy the space with others. The City works to maintain the amenity of public places and ensure that all people who use our parks are able to access them safely. Homelessness is a complex issue and the City takes a compassionate approach. People who are sleeping rough are often disadvantaged, usually for very complex reasons. The City supports the NSW Government’s Protocol for Homeless People in Public Places, which promotes the rights of people who are homeless to access public spaces without discrimination.

That is only the City’s approach, not sure about the Gold Coast, Byron Bay or Bondi.

Kind Regards,

Andrew"

7. So then I contacted RMS which owns the land. After four phone calls, I finally found someone who knew about it, and he promised to find out more. His understanding is that now the work is finished, the RMS will landscape the area and ensure it is not used for general parking. He promised to call back and I will update the blog when I hear more. Good news I hope.

Noise barriers on the Western Distributor. 

We could try a petition as suggested by Elena and Nathan but based on my correspondence with RMS, success is unlikely. I attach two responses on the RMS Noise Abatement Program (NAP), in which they say, "The NAP only considers treatments for buildings with no more than two habitable levels due to the prohibitive cost." So HM is not eligible, although I guess we could apply if we were willing to pay for it ourselves. Should we explore this?

I wrote to RMS suggesting we should have barriers similar to those on the road about 100 metres closer to the city. Why are they there and not on the part outside HM?

RMS replied as follows:

It's looking good ... but expect a few rough edges

Thanks to Reed for posting this expected timeline:

21 October - Strata Lodgement
4 November - Completion of Building Works and Release of Interim (or Final) Occupancy Certificate
9 November - Inspections Commence at Harbour Mill
11 November - Strata Registration Complete and Final Occupancy Certificate Released
25 November - Settlement to complete on or before this date

It feels closer every day.

The stairs down to the lower level of HM and on to the light rail look great, and it would be splendid if a cafe sets up in the retail space so we can sit out on the attractive terrace sipping on strong coffee and eating cannelloni.

The front entrance is also a stylish place, with the mailboxes on the right hand side.

And here is the first photo we've posted of the finished front driveway, with the car park entrance on the right hand side.

But for those who are viewing their apartments next week, here's a reality check. While the apartments are finished, there are still parts of the building that need work and I expect tradesmen will be onsite for a while. Here's an example of the unfinished 'retail' space - no cafe going in there for a while.

And the garden in the south-east corner is a mess and will remain so for a while because it is not part of Ceerose's responsibility. It looks like the garden should be part of HM but it is actually the property of the Roads & Maritime Services. More on that later ... just warning everyone that when you come to inspect, don't expect the entire place, gardens and all, to be finished.

Thanks for making 40,000 views

It's great to reach the milestone of 40,000 views of our blog before we move in.

Thanks for your encouraging comments and for tuning in regularly. We hope to keep this blog going as a way for residents to communicate after we move in.

One issue discussed earlier in the blog which we have not sorted out is how we will manage the flow of cars (and trucks) along Jones Street. I was reminded of this last week when I visited the site and trucks were queuing up to access the site. Maybe it won't be a problem, but I imagine there will be a bit of backing up when cars going in and cars going out meet in the middle.

I guess we'll see.

One of the other owners contacted me last week, advising how important it is to have a good strata manager. He had some bad stories from the building he currently lives is, where some apartments have a dozen or more students living in them, with poor consequences for noise and mess around the building. The strata manager does nothing to stop it.

This is something we need to be active on at HM if we are to create a special community. We don't want overcrowding (which is illegal anyway) and a highly transient population. Of course, many of the apartments will be rented out, but hopefully a solid core will be stable residents who cherish the place.

So I spoke to our appointed strata manager, Sailesh, and I am encouraged by his enthusiasm. He seems like a good guy. He works for Netstrata, which looks like a substantial business. He sent me this friendly note as a way of reaching out to us.

Dear Graham

It was very nice talking to you over the phone.

I intend providing the best management of Harbour Mill in Pyrmont. Hope to chat soon.

Thank you

Regards,

Sailesh Shakya Strata Manager

Front driveway almost there

It feels like a long final straight but we can see the finishing line, especially now the dirt is finally covered. The front driveway has been concreted, and will now be finished in a top 'skin' of asphalt which will look much better than concrete.

We also have an attractive lamp post at the end of the drive - who will be the first to give it a whack?

The external lift also looks pretty sharp, finished in black, like a monument at the end of the forecourt. The lighting goes down the steps so it should look good at night. The whole place is looking stylish from the outside.