EXCLUSIVE

“WE PAY expensive strata fee! Why we live with brothel!”

Desperate residents of one of inner-city Sydney’s most exclusive high-rise developments say their building has been overrun with illegal sex workers, turning their award-winning home into a condom-strewn, $300 million brothel tower.

News.com.au can reveal that The Quay development in Haymarket is now home to a thriving sex trade where foreign sex workers, many overseas students, charge up to $1800 a night.

The Quay, located in the heart of Sydney’s Chinatown and directly opposite the University of Technology Sydney, was last year hailed as breathing new life into a site that had lain dormant for 25 years.

But residents and owners, many of whom are foreign buyers who purchased off the plan, say the building has been overrun with sex workers and their clients since the building was completed in 2014.

“Warning! Illegal brothel in our building! Destroy our sweet home!” read a note distributed to residents via letterboxes and posted in the building foyer this week.

“They are operating on [multiple] floor. Lots of their clients came to our building! Condoms which are used in our rubbish bin and lift anywhere!

“We pay expensive strata fee! We pay expensive rent! Why we live with brothel! We cannot be next Central! Save our home! Save our children! Building manager, police, council, arrest hookers soon!”

Last year, news.com.au revealed a similar situation facing residents of the swanky Central Park development, located five minutes away in neighbouring Chippendale. One resident of Central Park said many of the sex workers had shifted operations to The Quay.

The mixed-use residential and commercial development, designed by WMK architecture and developed by Ausbao Pty Ltd, features 282 apartments in two towers, one 17 and the other 16 levels.

From 1912 to the 1950s it was the poultry section of nearby Paddy’s Market, before it was turned into a retail warehouse. The building burnt down in 1985, but a corner section of the facade was saved.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, said “so far as I can gather” there were a number of illegal brothels operating out of the building.

“Obviously this is organised crime and we don’t want them to know we dobbed,” he said.

The resident said he had previously decided not to sell his unit “but if hookers are entrenched I may rethink [and ask my wife] to do the same”.

He said there were a number of car spaces used by clients that were “often vacant or used by a variety of different expensive cars”.

Adding insult to injury, residents recently received flyers for a local business advertising soundproofing door upholstery — the type commonly used in brothels.

The proliferation of sex workers has some owners concerned about the value of their apartments. But the City of Sydney Council says as long as there are only two sex workers per room, in line with NSW law, there’s no problem.

The Quay complex, like the rest of the suburb, has experienced around 40 per cent capital growth in four years. In 2012, a two-bedroom unit started at $810,000. CoreLogic data shows one recently sold for just under $1.12 million.

A number of one-bedroom units, which sold off the plan from $510,000, are currently on the market starting at $720,000.

One owner, who rents out two apartments in the complex, said he feared the looming inner-city apartment glut and NSW Government’s two-per-dwelling sex worker law would lead to a similar situation as in Hong Kong.

There, the biggest sex worker website, described by Timeout as Hong Kong’s “Wikipedia for whoremongers”, is known as “Sex 141” or “HK141”.

“In Hong Kong it’s only legal if it’s one girl and one john — hence why it’s called ‘141’ — so the triads partition them out like dorms,” he said. “Our laws are worse than theirs. In Australia it will be called ‘SYD241’.”

A spokesman for The Quay’s building manager, JLL, said he had reviewed the security footage and believed the person who left the note was a nonresident, as he appeared to have waited for someone to enter before following them into the foyer.

“A person entered the building from the street, erected that notice and decided to mailbox the building,” he said. “I’ve looked at video footage of this guy. He’s not a resident of this building. I believe he’s a disgruntled neighbour.

“If he was a real resident, he would only be able to identify one floor [where the activity is occurring]. I need to know the unit number, and then we can take action.”

Advertisements for one escort service posted on a Korean-language forum list 178 Thomas Street as the business address. “We are an adult service located in Sydney City,” the ad reads.

“We are looking for attractive girls only who will work with us. You’ll be anonymous. Your customers will never be Koreans. If you want to earn a lot of money please contact me.”

The escort service uses a social media page to advertise and communicate with clients. “Sexy hot Korean five new girls,” one post reads.

Online messages provided to news.com.au appear to show sex workers directing customers to the building, and in one photograph of a sex worker posing the distinctive kitchen fit-outs can be seen in the background.

Lachlan Jarvis, managing director of private investigation firm Lyonswood, said there was an increasing number of sex workers operating in CBD high-rise towers, outside of known, established brothels.

Mr Jarvis said it was work favoured by some overseas students as a way to pay for their studies and a “natural consequence of the rising cost of living in Sydney”.

“The internet has enabled those seeking the services to communicate directly and inexpensively with those providing the services,” he said.

“Because of this, we’re seeing an increase in the number of sex workers operating privately from residential apartment towers. There are even unlicensed brothels operating from some of these towers and this can mean a significant number of customers in the building.”

Mr Jarvis said the steady influx of visitors to the building could lead to security risks. “Doors can be left ajar and normal security protocols will not be adhered to,” he said.

“Business operations often create more waste than residences so there have been instances of illegal dumping of rubbish near unlicensed brothels. These issues naturally create concern for residents.”

Mr Jarvis said Lyonswood had assisted local councils and private entities in “obtaining objective evidence that reveals whether certain apartments are being used for the provision of sexual services” on many occasions.

In a statement, a City of Sydney spokeswoman said the council had not received any complaints about alleged brothels operating out of The Quay.

“Based on the information provided by news.com.au we will now investigate these allegations to ensure that such activity, if occurring, is undertaken in accordance with the Local Environmental Plan (2012) requirements,” she said.

“In NSW, charging for sexual services is legal. Under the Local Environmental Plan (2012), a maximum of two permanent residents can offer sex services, which is considered a legal home occupation.”

frank.chung@news.com.au