J. Anderson Building

The J. Anderson Building, also known as The Glasshouse is a multi-use building and railway station in Central Hurstville.

History
In 1862, Jacöb Anderson purchased large lot in Central Hurstville. The lot had previously been the location of the Colonial Square Building (1795-1859).

Plans for a castle-like building for mixed use were completed in 1864.

Construction began in March 1865 and was completed in August 1872. The building was opened on the 8th of August 1872.

The building was originally rented out for apartments and office space.

In 1881, the Hurstville Rail Company purchased the building. The upper floors of the building continued to be rented out, while the basement levels were transformed into a railway station.

The building continued to function as office space and apartments until 1998, when the upper floors were evicted. They remained vacant until 2019.

In 2015, the North-Western Tower collapsed onto Monument Street. The incident caused a government inspection of the building. Many of the upper floors had collapsed and the windows were boarded up. Parts of the exterior walls had collapsed.

The Fortusan Government gave the building heritage listing in 2016. Because of this, Transport Strateené would be faced with up to $4.5m for restoration work. The building was put on sale in early 2017. The J. Anderson Trust, set up by Jacöb Anderson's ancestors in 2001, purchased the building for $15 million in June 2017. The railway station closed in August.

Restoration work began in late 2017. The upper floors were stripped and rebuilt in their original style. All of the windows were repaired and the exterior walls were fixed.

The building reopened in 2018. The upper floors were modified to create a small shopping centre. The basement levels were rented out to Transport Strateené, and the railway station reopened in May 2018.