Heritage Impact Statement Alexandria

Trace Heritage prepared a Preliminary Statement of Heritage Impact for the proposed demolition and redevelopment of a site in Alexandria. This commission required us to assess the heritage implications of demolishing an existing building within a conservation area and replacing it with a four-storey residential apartment building.

The Property and Its Heritage Context

The site contained a Federation-era warehouse built around 1913, located within the Cooper Estate Heritage Conservation Area. The Cooper Estate HCA is significant for its demonstration of the transformation of inner Sydney's industrial and residential landscape during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Our assessment found that the warehouse had been extensively modified over its lifetime, with the loss of most of its original fabric, character, and historical associations. The accumulated alterations had fundamentally changed the building from its original form.

The Challenge

Demolition within a conservation area is inherently sensitive. The heritage framework requires a rigorous assessment of whether the building retains any residual contribution to the conservation area and whether a replacement building would maintain or enhance the area's heritage character.

Our Heritage Assessment

Our analysis confirmed that the extensive modifications over time had removed most of the original Federation-era fabric and detailing. We assessed the building as a non-contributory element within the conservation area.

The proposed replacement building — a four-storey residential apartment development — drew on the traditional warehouse typologies of the area, interpreting the scale, proportions, and material language of the industrial buildings that define the precinct's character. The assessment found that the proposed building would enhance the legibility of the conservation area compared to the heavily modified existing structure.

Outcome

The report concluded that the demolition would not result in adverse heritage impact, given the building's non-contributory status. The proposed replacement was assessed as a high-quality design that sensitively interpreted the traditional warehouse typologies of the Cooper Estate. The report recommended approval on heritage grounds.

Navigating Demolition in a Conservation Area

For developers and architects working in Alexandria's heritage precincts, a well-prepared preliminary heritage impact statement at the pre-DA stage can provide early clarity on whether a demolition and rebuild approach is supportable on heritage grounds, and what design parameters will need to be met to achieve Council support.