Clover Moore is appealing to Barangaroo developer Lendlease to buy and preserve the Sirius building for social housing.
But the lord mayor's appeal may fall on deaf ears, with Lendlease insisting the building is a matter for the state government, while the government says it wants to start selling the building this year.
Cr Moore wrote to Lendlease chief executive Steve McCann this month requesting a meeting to discuss using the Sirius building to meet Lendlease's affordable housing obligations in the inner city.
As part of its planning approval for the Barangaroo South development, Lendlease is required to provide 39 affordable housing units at Barangaroo, and another 25 affordable units within five kilometres of Barangaroo.
"As Sirius has 79 apartments, within close proximity to Barangaroo, the building could accommodate the off-site requirement for affordable housing at Barangaroo South, and also provide for a mix of affordable [key worker] and social housing," the lord mayor wrote.
"This proposal would benefit the government, social housing residents, provide key worker housing for the community and satisfy Lendlease's requirements for off-site affordable housing," she wrote.
The future of the Rocks building has been heavily controversial since Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward said in March 2014 that it would be sold, with the proceeds reinvested into the social housing system.
Community and political campaigners have since rallied to preserve the structure, which was built in the 1970s to accommodate low-income residents displaced from the Rocks.
Despite a unanimous recommendation of the Heritage Council that the building be preserved for its historical and brutalist features, former heritage minister Mark Speakman declined to list the building on the state's heritage register. The Land and Environment Court ruled Mr Speakman's decision invalid, but his replacement, Gabrielle Upton, has since remade the decision to not list the Sirius on the heritage register.
The government has said listing the building would deny it as much as $70 million in potential sale proceeds.
Shaun Carter, from the advocacy group Save Our Sirius, said the likely value of the building would probably be only $60 million. It would not be easy to lift development controls at the site to allow for a taller building while still preserving views from the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House, Mr Carter said.
"I reckon you would be lucky to get more apartments on that site than Sirius currently provides," said Mr Carter. He is also attempting to organise super funds to buy Sirius and preserve it for social housing.
Cr Moore wrote to Lendlease on November 9. Contacted for this story, a spokesman for the developer said: "The future of the Sirius site is a matter for the state government. Lendlease's obligation to provide a proportion of affordable housing for the Barangaroo South development is already underway."
Ms Goward said: "The NSW government will proceed to market to sell the Sirius building later this year.
"Any potential buyer is welcome to make an offer when the building goes on the market."
