No progress.

A huge renovation awaiting and we are at a standstill. 

A while back we dismantled the air-conditioning ducts that snaked through our house when it was home to the Royal College of Radiologists. Out came the sprinkler system as well, and we discovered beneath the chipboard most of the timber flooring on the first floor was missing.

Now we have two floors out of action, and we are keen to get back to work to make our house livable again.

We had a meeting with planners from the City of Sydney and they were fabulous, going through our plans and advising how we should proceed. It seems we can submit a Section 96 amendment to our approved plans.

It looked like we were good to go, but somehow we remain stalled. It might be to do with heritage architects -- we have our own of course, and there is at least one other who has taken an interest in our house. Correspondence has occurred.

This blog was to be the story of our renovations, and those of people around us who were embarking on similar work. Three months ago this is what we wrote to everyone we knew who had signed on to renovate one of these old houses...

People who are buying the old houses of Millers Point and Dawes Point are finding they have much in common. All of us want to join the vibrant community that already exists here, and we want to save these heritage houses from further deterioration. We are repairing, restoring, maintaining, adapting and making habitable houses that are a significant remnant of Colonial Sydney, and we are learning to work with several authorities, including Heritage Branch, Housing and Sydney CIty Council.

This was an introduction to say we were looking for ways to share our experiences and connect with people we hope will be part of our community for a long time. Three months later and we are doing this with several of the renovating future-residents of Lower Fort Street and beyond. Some are planning the most exciting renovations, keeping within the strict heritage guidelines but still finding ways to make these houses vibrant, contemporary and personal. Lower Fort Street has attracted some adventurous folk and already there are many whose friendship we value.

So in spite of our lack of progress, we are seeing something of our new community emerging, forming friendships with existing and future residents, and becoming involved in plans that will reinvigorate this whole area -- not only the Barangaroo development that will bring thousands of new people to live our area, but also the new town plan for all our area that we are encouraged to develop with the City of Sydney planners. 

History has become our other distraction -- uncovering the people who built our house and its history. We have become very taken with them as well.

So all of these subjects will be coming up in this blog, and together they might provide some insight into life in Lower Fort Street at a time of change. But the day we really look forward to is the one when we can report on more change within our house as well as what happens beyond.