Virtual Seminar

The Opal Tower Saga

Issues for Unit Owners

Tuesday, 26 April 2022 5.00pm
Virtual Event - Link to be provided closer to event date

Few Sydney-siders will forget the evacuation of the over 320 apartments in the Opal Tower at Sydney Olympic Park on Christmas Eve, 2018, due to structural failures. Completed only months before the sudden cracking of parts of the cladding, the building had been touted to be a high quality build. For our guest, Shady Eskander, chairman of the Owners’ Corporation for the building, this was the start of a three year nightmare as all parties seemed keen to blame each other and the builder’s insurance companies sought to avoid paying out on the policies. For the first year, Shady made the OC his full time work. He sought State Government help for rebuilding and temporary housing for residents forced to evacuate their homes on virtually no notice. He then worked on the matter for a further two years.

The failure of components at the Opal Tower was followed in relatively quick succession by a major structural failure of the Mascot Towers complex on 15 June 2019. Since June 2019, the occupants of the 132 unit complex have been locked out of the building for safety reasons.

Shady will talk about the process of regaining a home for himself and other residents, what lessons were learned, what help was given and by whom. His story is a cautionary tale for the prospective buyers of new apartments and also the owners of older apartments. Shady will be in discussion with Chairman Michael Neustein.

Key Speaker:
Shady Eskander
Chairman of the Owners’ Corporation
Opal Tower

Chairman
Michael Neustein, Chairman, AIUS NSW

This event is eligible for points/hours towards your required CPD