Builder faces prison sentence after committing illicit act to improve view: 'It was my castle'
"They were on Crown land not his," said Shelly Pomtiak, one of the shack owners.
Families were heartbroken after their historic holiday homes were destroyed illegally and without warning by George Lavrentiadis. The two shacks were built on the coast in 1934 and had been maintained by the Robertson family of South Australia for almost 60 years. Another shack that was owned by eight people was also destroyed.
Lavrentiadis explained that Julian Johnston, a realtor from Miami, paid him $5,000 to clear the land so he could have a better view for the $2 million home he has plans to build on an adjacent plot of land. Johnston has denied any involvement and has not been charged.
The owners of the shacks said that to rebuild the dwellings to current standards would cost significantly more and that what they lost was irreplaceable.
In addition to having destroyed the historical homes, building a mansion on the adjacent land can have significant environmental impacts on the natural landscape. Fragile natural areas can be destroyed, which would disrupt the balance of the ecosystem.
It is important for construction projects to include plans for offsetting the environmental impacts of the construction process.
It seems the process of destroying the South Australian shacks wasn't thought out much at all. Lavrentiadis said that he should have checked to see if leveling the homes was against the law, but that he didn't because Johnston, whom he said hired him to do so, spoke with confidence, so he didn't question the legality of the demolition.
Lavrentiadis apologized for demolishing the shacks, but that does not bring the historical homes back.
"The shacks had to go because he didn't like the look of them," said Pomtiak.
Barry Robertson, the owner of one shack, said that "it was much more than a shack. It was my castle."
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