It was traditional working class and still has a large number of public housing tenants, but it's becoming rapidly gentrified. House and land prices are skyrocketing. From the street, McCole's Glebe Estate Community Centre looks like a disused warehouse, its windows are broken and the graffiti-covered brown brick walls seem to be long neglected. The building was owned by the New South Wales Department of Housing, but was sold to a developer who has plans to gut the gym and build 32 apartments. Inside it's a massive space.
Old sofas line the walls, while in the centre of the room punching bags hang from the ceiling.
To one end is a boxing ring. The man behind the gym is John McCole. Then I got the girls coming and all the boys, and oh mate it just snowballed over the years. It's become home to a lot of the kids in the area. I get a lot of respect off the kids, and a lot of the kids have turned out to be very good citizens.