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The original Great Southern in Melbourne’s south-east was built 125 years ago, and a new development on the site is seeking to pay homage to its predecessor.
The clifftop Great Southern Hotel was opened by property developers in 1889 to provide a seaside resort for thousands of Melbournians who travelled by horse-drawn tram to the hotel. In the 1920s, it was renamed the Beaumaris Hotel.
The elaborate building burned down in the Beaumaris bushfires of 1944, and rebuilt in 1950 as The Beaumaris.
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Now, the site has been converted into 58 apartments. About 60% of the original building has been restored, including its eye catching verandahs. The apartments are selling through Bert Geraerts &amp; Tony Stuart of Kay and Burton, who have put together <a target="_blank" href="https://player.vimeo.com/external/81972562.hd.mp4?s=0ef40ca79e2bb04f747cce2df087f05b">a video on the site’s history</a>.
The development, by Cieran Kayes and designed by Ten32, comes after a <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/historic-beaumaris-hotel-conversion-gets-green-light/2013111266312." target="_blank">three year planning battle</a> with the local council.
Prices range from $450,000 for a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment to $2.3 million for a penthouse in the new development.
<a target="_blank" href="mailto:jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au">jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au</a>
            
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New Beaumaris Hotel conversion pays homage to site's storied history

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There’s a lot more to a good retail space than a pretty storefront. The best retailers engage the customer's senses, guide them through the store, and most importantly, keep them there. Here's our list of the world's top five retail spaces.
Livraria Lello and Irmão, Porto, Portugal
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Photos courtesy of <a href="https://blog.paperblanks.com" target="_blank">Paperblanks</a>.
Portugal (let’s face it – the world’s) most beautiful bookstore is the stuff dreams are made of. A kind of Willy Wonka’s factory for books, Lello and Irmão’s neo-gothic interior has a surrealist bent, thanks to its iconic undulating staircase. The store’s incredible details include floor to ceiling arched bookcases, fan vaulting and stained glass windows. The store itself has become a literary influence - rumour has it that Lello and Irmão’s was part of JK Rowling’s inspiration for Hogwarts.
The Livraria Lello and Irmão was designed by Xavier Esteves.
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Longchamp La Maison Unique, SoHo, US
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Photos courtesy of <a href="https://www.heatherwick.com/la-maison-unique/" target="_blank">Heatherwick</a>.
The sculptural stairs in Longchamps SoHo flagship store are so unusual that they’re the subject multiple features in engineering and architectural magazines, while their designer, Thomas Heatherwick, is the subject of a BBC documentary entitled The Ingenious Thomas Heatherwick.
Rubber covered steel ribbons cascade down the stores walls to form the waterfall-like stairs, which are lit from a central skylight. The staircase’s wide and winding path also allows products to be displayed on top and below, while dividing the store. Heatherwick was also clever enough to avoid using a balustrade that would detract from his work, choosing wavy sheets of transparent glass.
Visible from the street, Longchamp’s staircase entices shoppers inside – once they’re there, the structure serves to guide them around the space.
If there’s a better example of unity between form and function in architecture, we’d like to see it.
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Best Products, various cities, US
The next entry on our list is a bit of an anomaly – not only is it actually a series of buildings, but we haven’t (save for one exception) seen what they look like on the inside.
Best Products was a chain of hardware stores across the US that allowed customers to order items off a catalogue in the pre-internet age and then come to a counter at a warehouse to inspect their product before taking it home. As a result, the suburban stores tended towards the dull and rectangular. The owners, who were apparently art aficionados, decided to engage SITE architecture to re-invigorate their buildings between 1971 and 1984. 
The results? A group of witty, engaging and unforgettable buildings, as you’ll see in the pictures and short film below. The website Architcture and Branding also <a target="_blank" href="https://architectureandbranding.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/architecture-branding-the-utilitarian-box-store-and-design-fodder-known-best/">explains the full history of Best store designs</a>.
<img height="293" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-peeling-site.jpg?w=460&amp;h=287" title="Best Peeling SITE">
Best Peeling showroom, 1971 (source: siteenvirodesign.com) 
  <img height="293" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-indeterminate-facade-site.jpg?w=460&amp;h=287" title="Best Indeterminate Facade SITE"> Best Indeterminate Facade showroom, 1974 (source: siteenvirodesign.com)
 <img height="293" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-notch-cl-site.jpg?w=460&amp;h=287" title="Best Notch cl SITE"> Best Notch (closed) showroom, 1975 (source: siteenvirodesign.com) 
  <img height="293" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-notch-op-site.jpg?w=460&amp;h=287" title="Best Notch op SITE"> Best Notch (open) showroom, 1975 (source: siteenvirodesign.com) 
  <img height="310" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-tilt-profile-view.jpg?w=440&amp;h=290" title="Best Tilt profile view"> Best  Tilt showroom, 1976 (source: seventeeneleven.com) 
  <img height="293" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-antisign-site.jpg?w=460&amp;h=287" title="Best AntiSign SITE"> Best AntiSign showroom, 1978 (source: siteenvirodesign.com)
 <img height="293" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-cutler-ridge-site.jpg?w=460&amp;h=287" title="Best Cutler Ridge SITE"> Best Cutler Ridge showroom, 1979 (source: siteenvirodesign.com)
 <img height="293" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-forest-site.jpg?w=460&amp;h=287" title="Best Forest SITE"> Best Forest showroom, 1980 (source: siteenvirodesign.com)
 <img height="293" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-inside-outside-site.jpg?w=460&amp;h=287" title="Best Inside Outside SITE"> Best Inside/Outside showroom, 1984 (source: siteenvirodesign.com)
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline-width: 0px; font-size: 1.167em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: #516064; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; outline-width: 0px; background-color: transparent;" height="176" width="470" src="https://architectureandbranding.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/best-langhorne-pa.jpg?w=460&amp;h=172" title="Best Langhorne PA">
Best Langhorne Pennsylvania showroom (source: VenturiRauchScottBrownArchitect.com)
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Aesop, Adelaide
<img alt="Adelaide-feb-24" height="293" width="470" src="/images/stories/2014/02/24/Adelaide-feb-24.jpg"> 
A worthwhile Australian contender, skincare brand <a href="https://www.aesop.com/au/article/aesop-adelaide" target="_parent">Aesop’s Adelaide store</a> somehow makes 7560 brown bottles look stylish. This isn’t the first time Australian architects March Studios have incorporated Aesop’s product packaging in their interiors – the company’s <a target="_blank" href="https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2011/01/dzn_Aesop-at-Merci-by-March-Studio-3.jpg">Flinders Street store</a>, in Melbourne, features piles of cardboard boxes held to the wall and ceiling with netting, creating a sort of post-apocalyptic urban cave.
The beauty of the Adelaide store is in its simplicity – with the repetition of a single, unadorned object, the otherwise bare store is given new texture, shape, colour and light. We recall the ceiling of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.highsnobiety.com/files/2013/12/undercover-store-hong-kong-renewal-1-960x640.jpg">Tokyo’s UNDERCOVER store</a>, which uses lightbulbs to a similar effect. The Aesop store’s single elegant display unit is a winner too; its height reminds us of hours spent pouring over CDs and LPs in the local record store.
It’s unsurprising that an Aesop store has made our list – the brand seems to be making an effort to showcase the work of some of the most exciting young architecture firms in the world. As Aesop’s founder, Dennis Paphitis said, “there's a direct correlation between interesting, captivating store spaces and customer traffic within a store."
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Ann Demeulemeester, Seoul, Korea
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Photos courtesy of <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/" target="_blank">De Zeen</a> magazine.
The Seoul store of fashion label Ann Demeulemeester pulls off the contrast between modernity and nature with aplomb. The entirety of the building’s vertical surfaces, save its windows, are covered with densely-packed green foliage. In Seoul’s built up Gangnam district, the building provides a sleek urban oasis.
The building’s simple lines and colour scheme still manage to offer plenty of variance while keeping to its minimalist aesthetic. Inside, the living façade continues, with thick green moss covering the walls along the staircase that leads down to the building’s basement store. Anne Demeulemeester’s ground floor space maximises the greenery, with floor to ceiling windows offering views of foliage.
The Anne Demeuelemeester store, designed by Korea’s Mass Studies, is another on our list that features a wave motif, with a concrete ceiling that subtly rolls and swells across the space. Hopefully, this will put an end to the misconception that minimalist commercial spaces have to be severe.
 
Honourable mention: Maison Martin Margiela, Beijing
Because the only thing better than Thomas Heatherwick's stairs would be a slide.
<img src="/images/stories/2014/02/24/beijing_feb_24_one.jpg" width="470" height="626" alt="beijing_feb_24_one">
 
 
<a href="mailto:jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au" target="_blank">jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au</a>
                         
 
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The top five best retail spaces in the world

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A development site at a former hosiery factory in Sydney’s inner west is <a target="_self" href="https://rca.colliers.com.au/property-land+development-nsw-leichhardt-501000847">now for sale</a>.
The 10,130 square metres <a target="_blank" href="/news">Leichhardt</a> plot, located eight kilometres west of Sydney’s CBD, was once home to Kolotex Glo. The company was acquired by Pacific Brands in 2003, which shut the Leichhardt factory and warehouse down soon after.
The site has been rezoned from industrial to B4 mixed use and R3 medium density residential, with a site specific Development Contribution Plan allowing five buildings between three and eight storeys and a total of 21,780 square metres of building area, including 1,400 square metres of mixed use space.
The indicative architectural scheme for the site includes 244 apartments, with 1,126 square metres of mixed-use space, with three street frontages.
Leichhardt residents voiced their opposition the rezoning last year, claiming that the suburb did not have the infrastructure and amenity to support a residential development. There were also concerns that a development of that size would change the demographic makeup of the suburb.
In August last year, NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure deputy director general Stephen McIntyre said that the development would provide hundreds of new jobs. He also noted that new residents would be served well by local public transport options, including buses along Parramatta Road, the Lewisham railway station and the new Taverners Hill light rail station, set to open later this year.
The decision to rezone the Kolotex Glo site, along with the nearby former Labelcraft site at 30-40 George Street, was made late last year. Prior to the rezoning decision, Save Our Suburbs Leichhardt published claims that existing residences would be overshadowed by any new developments, while a residential complex would worsen the suburb’s shortage of on-street parking.
The George Street sale is being handled by Guillame Volz and Ryan Bennetts of Colliers International, with Charter Keck Cramer serving as transaction advisors. Expressions of interest for the property close Wednesday March 12 at 3pm.
news@propertyobserver.com.au
   
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Leichhardt residential development site at former Kolotex Glo factory on the market

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With the Abbott-led Coalition government set to hand down its first federal budget in May, organisations have already begun releasing their pre-budget submissions, calling for the 2014/15 budget to help boost certain sectors of the economy.
Earlier this week, the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) released a statement calling on the federal government to use the budget to help boost investment in housing and improve housing affordability. The UDIA has called for the reduction of excessive regulation, including removing barriers to land supply and lowering housing taxes and charges. Of the UDIA’s submission, UDIA national president Cameron Shepard said:
“Despite record low interest rates, the dream of homeownership is still out of reach for far too many households. We’re calling on the federal government to work with state and territory governments to address the problems holding up investment in new housing, such as constraints on land supply, poor investment in urban infrastructure, excessive red tape, and hefty taxes and charges. “In addition to improving housing affordability, increased investment in housing will create new jobs, improve business activity, and add to government revenue.  This boost to the economy and Budget bottom line will be particularly crucial over the coming years as the mining investment boom winds down.”
The organisation also called for the government to commit additional funding to the National Rent Affordability Scheme (NRAS) and the Housing Affordability Fund (HAF).
Property Observer took the question to a team of experts: “What do we need to see from the 2014/15 federal budget?”
Andrew Wilson - chief economist for <a target="_blank" href="https://apm.com.au/">Australian Property Monitors</a> <img src="/images/stories/2014/02/21/AndrewWilson-profile.jpg" width="125" height="150" alt="AndrewWilson-profile" style="float: right;">
It’s a fine balance between the need for the government to improve the budget position, with the significant deficit, and helping local economies. With growth below trend for the last couple of years, prospects for increased income are still problematic.
But we are starting to see more positive signs from the economy that may start to help improve income. The lower dollar has improved exports, certainly, with businesses starting to show positive results.
And there have been significant early initiatives from this government in cost cutting – there’s been talk of privatising Medibank, and other measures to deal with the expense side.
Keeping the deficit in line  will involve more fiscal consolidation and more cost cutting. But that may lead to issues such as public sector job losses, and there needs to be a balance, particularly given that there are some dark clouds on the horizon for parts of the economy. We’re seeing unemployment at a 12 year high in Victoria – the resource states like Queensland and Western Australia will have a brighter future, with the lower dollar.
The jury’s still out on New South Wales – it’s still a fluid situation. Low interest rates have certainly boosted housing, but there hasn’t been as much construction coming through as we might have expected.
So overall, we’re looking for some balance – there needs to be a level of cost cutting, but we need to be mindful of the local economies, and not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
 
Robert Simeon - director of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.randw.com.au/">Richardson &amp; Wrench</a> Mosman and Neutral Bay
<img src="/images/stories/2014/02/21/Robert-Simeon-profile.png" width="125" height="150" alt="Robert-Simeon-profile" style="float: right;">
The upcoming federal budget will come under greater scrutiny, given its arguably the most important for decades, given what’s happening presently in the Australian economy. There are three things I would love to see.
<ol>
<li>The appointment of a Federal Housing Minister given it's ludicrous to suggest that such a key portfolio does not warrant a Minister. </li>
<li>The Treasurer Joe Hockey to start referring to the Australian economy as an asset not a liability. For six years the LNP proclaimed to all and sundry that they could run the economy better – so now it’s time to stand - up and deliver a budget with economic vision.</li>
<li>Tony Abbott is on record when he said that he wants to be remembered as “the infrastructure prime minister”. It will be a fascinating budget to see how they marinate fiscal consolidation with a massive infrastructure spend which is what is needed now more than ever before.</li>
</ol>
One can only hope that like so many before this budget is not built on a wing and a prayer.
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Shane Oliver - chief economist at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ampcapital.com.au/news/olivers-insights">AMP Capital<img src="/images/stories/2014/02/21/shane-oliver-profile.jpg" width="125" height="150" alt="shane-oliver-profile" style="float: right;"></a>
What we need to see at a high level is a plan to reduce the size of the budget deficit in the years ahead. But it needs to be done in way that doesn’t threaten economic growth the short term – the government should be focussed on long term measures to reduce the deficit, rather than tax hikes or “slash and burn” measures.
I certainly don’t think there should be any change to the taxation environment around property. There’s a lot of talk about the need to abolish negative gearing – but that would only further hamper our efforts to improve housing supply.
When it comes to supply, it’s really a state issue. It would be good to see the federal government working with the states, but I worry that could turn into a “motherhood” issue, because really, it’s up to the states to deal with issues to do with slow land release, stamp duty and excessive red tape.
So really, the best position the federal government could take would be “do no harm”; anything they can do to bring the states together to embark on more concrete measures to improve supply would be a good thing.
At a federal level, it’s really about the government coming up with policies that help support the economy. Obviously, they can’t go on a spending spree – they have to cut back. But any spending should focus on reinvigorating the economy; focussing government spending on infrastructure and making suburban fringes more economical to live in.
For example, Sydney’s so-called second airport. There would obviously have to be transport links to that, which could possibly open up land release, and could improve property development in those areas.
We also need to to boost productivity and keep a low interest rate environment. Part of that is ensuring more competition in the economy. We’re still sort of a protected economy, and if the government signals another round of reforms to cut down excessive regulation, that would be a good thing.
Keeping a lid on inflation in the longer term would ensure that we have a favourable environment for interest rates, which is vital for property.
 
Louis Christopher - managing research director with <a href="https://www.sqmresearch.com.au/">SQM Research</a> <img src="/images/stories/2014/02/21/Louis-Christopher-profile.jpg" width="125" height="150" alt="Louis-Christopher-profile" style="float: right;">
It’s a difficult one. It all depends on what you’re trying to achieve. I generally agree that we need to cut expenditure in certain parts of the economy – but we need to support other sectors of the economy as well.
With regard to housing, a first home owners' grant is not warranted, and we do not need that. The problem with housing is that a lot of the policies that are required are at the state level. One thing that is practical is to keep the NRAS going, with some tweaks being made to it, so dodgy developers aren’t getting involved, and so it’s organised and executed in a transparent way. The NRAS is a good idea, and we’re supporters of it.
The Liberals were the ones who first brought in the 50% discount on capital gains tax. With the view of cutting expenditures, they may wish to look at that. I also think long term they should also consider cutting company tax, and it’s going to be very difficult to do that in the current environment.
We’re being quite internationally inefficient – there are several first world countries with better tax environments that are competing for the business of big companies, while company tax here is a flat 30%. Sadly, the tax take on the productive side, which is small businesses and companies, needs to be looked at. Something along the lines of pay as you go, a proportional tax; we should see that for companies as well. The higher the amount, the higher the tax; the lower the amount, the lower the tax. That would be far fairer.
We do need to get back to a balanced budget, so some tough decisions need to be made, and we need those decisions to not be hypocritical.
<a href="mailto:jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au" target="_blank">jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au</a>
   
 
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What do we need to see from the federal budget? The experts have their say

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The return of local buyers to Brisbane’s apartment market is behind this year’s upswing in new apartment sales, according to new data from Colliers International. Colliers International is forecasting 2,500 apartment sales in Brisbane for 2014, up 10% from last year.
Director of residential at Colliers International Andrew Roubicek says that local buyers are acknowledging current the affordability of apartments in Brisbane, while the low vacancy rates and attractive yields on offer in the city are attracting interstate investors.
“Local investors are well and truly back in the Brisbane market with December and January, historically a quiet period for this group, recording very strong sales results,” said Roubicek.
“Locals want to take advantage of the market now as it represents very good value compared to Sydney and Melbourne.
“With more buyers in the inner Brisbane market than has been experienced for some time, the pent up demand is putting pressure on available stock, particularly in the CBD, which currently has the biggest supply shortage,” he said.
As a result, Colliers International is expecting that apartment prices will rise by about 7% across the city in the coming year, while vacancy rates are likely to stay around 1%. 
According to Roubicek, after investors, local owner occupiers were the second most active group in the city’s apartment market, many of whom are first home buyers or couples who were downsizing. He also pointed out that Toowoong, Cannon Hill and the Brisbane CBD were all hotspots for buyers, saying that Toowong was “one of Brisbane’s most tightly held suburbs”, due to its close proximity to the CBD and access to major infrastructure, along with Toowong Village retail precinct, which is soon to undergo a $50 million refurbishment.
“The University of Queensland is also a major driver for investment in Toowong,” Roubicek said. “The number of students at the St Lucia campus is now in the order of 33,000, of which 9,200 (28%) are full fee paying international students, a potential target market for apartment developers.
“There are very limited development sites in Toowong with an exception of the 1.5ha former ABC site purchased by Sunland Group in September 2013 with plans for an apartment development.”
Roubicek said that Colliers International was anticipating a strong year, currently marketing six projects with a combined value of about $800 million, with another five projects launching in the next six months.
<a target="_blank" href="mailto:jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au">jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au</a>
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Brisbane apartment market on the rise: Colliers

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The owner and managing director of Century21 Australasia, Charles Tarbey, says that people who have taken Harry Dent's advice should be holding the US property commentator to account.
In the country to speak at the Secure the Future events in Sydney and Brisbane, Dent has <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/property-crash-is-like-popping-popcorn-especially-in-melbourne-harry-dent/2014020567560" target="_blank">claimed</a> that Austalian property prices will drop by up to 50% as our property market bubbles bursts.
But far from being in a "bubble", Tarbey says that our property market still hasn't experienced a full recovery. 
"He said this last year, he said this the year before, and one of these years, he’s going to be right," Tarbey said of Dent. 
"But in the meantime, you should be taking that guy to account.
"If you had have listened to Harry Dent two years ago when he came out, and you didn’t buy, you should be taking that guy to task right now, and saying 'You said, two years ago, that prices in Australia were going to drop 50%. You said that, two years ago, publicly. Why are you saying it today? I didn’t buy, when I could have bought and sold three or four properties in the last 24 months. But I didn’t because of you.'"
Australia is yet to see a real recovery in discretionary spending after the global financial crisis, said Tarbey, pointing to the sluggish performance of the holiday property market.
"When you have a holiday home, and you have your own home, and you’re forced to sell one, which is going to go first? It’s going to be the holiday home," said Tarbey.
"So the discretionary spending market and the coastal areas, and some magnificent holiday areas, drop by 50%. They haven’t actually started to recover."
According to Tarbey, we'll see real signs of a strengthening market when top end buyers in the holiday market are spending again.
"Harry Dent is wrong in the sense that we have not even had a recovery in the market," said Tarbey.
Tarbey claims that countries that are considered discretionary markets by overseas buyers tend to be the most exposed to global economic conditions, citing Spain as an example.
"There were massive, massive amounts of complexes and apartments to cater for the overseas investors and so on," said Tarbey. 
"So Spain became a large discretionary spending area for investors." And when the GFC hit, Tarbey says, it was felt in the country's property market.
"That was the first place [buyers] were going to trash and let go, and that affected the market. But Australia’s not like that.
"What Harry Dent needs to understand," said Tarbey, "is that the reality is that 90% of Australia’s population lives in capital cities.
"So there’s so much out there if we need to spread. 90% of the people in Australia live in the coast. We live in larger houses on average than our counterparts in Europe. We live in an economy that’s been stable and safe, that’s been distant from many of the other issues in the world.
"We live in an environment where we have a climate that is mild, to say the least, most of the year, not erratic like what you see in the US. And we have a political system here that’s been tried and tested and is very strong.
"Why wouldn’t you pay more to live here?"
<a target="_blank" href="mailto:jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au">jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au</a>
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Harry Dent is wrong and should be taken to task: Charles Tarbey

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The remainder of the 200-lot Gabriel’s Run release at the Hermitage community development in Sydney’s south west have now been sold. The sale of the final 37 lots at Gabriel’s Run marks a total of $150 million in sales for the development.
The Hermitage is to be the first Australian masterplanned community by Japanese developer and builder Sekisui House. Located in Gledswood Hills, the development is being marketed towards young families and first home buyers, with its open green spaces offered as a major drawcard.
According to Craig Barnes, estate sales and customer relations manager at The Hermitage, word of mouth has been a big driver in demand for the estate.
“More than 60% of sales are from referrals, which is certainly impressive,” Barnes said.
“The demand for land at the Hermitage has been so strong with previous releases that people had been camping outside the sales office for days. To avoid this, we asked people to first register interest and then offered them priority numbers and a personalised approach, making the weekend a lot smoother but still completely – if not more – fair.”
Buyers from the development’s Chilsolm’s Corner and Hardy’s Rise releases have now moved in. Lots in the development have averaged $275,000.
Lots in the Gabriel’s Rise release ranged from 400 square metres to 625 square metres, and were priced from $243,000.
When completed, the Hermitage will be a 312 hectare community which will include a 10 kilometre cycling path and the regenerated South Creek. The development will also include a “hilltop village”, with boutique shops, cafes, restaurants and community facilities.
The Hermitage's next release will be a new precinct, planned for Easter. 
<a target="_blank" href="mailto:jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au">jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au</a>
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Gabriel’s Run release sold out at The Hermitage with a total of $150 million in sales

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As anyone who lives in a bushfire prone area knows, fire doesn’t discriminate. Earlier this month, Barefoot Investor Scott Pape and his family sadly lost their home as fires engulfed Romsey, Wallan and Kilmore in Victoria, showing that even the savviest homeowners can find their property in peril.
A CFA member, Pape wrote that after his wife and son left the area, as they always do on potentially bad bushfire days. He remained, and with others fought to protect his property, before rounding up his livestock and evacuating his dogs.
Thankfully, the Pape family is safe. But they and many others are now faced with the reality of restarting their lives after losing their homes in tragic circumstances. While the emotional and physical effects of the bushfires will be long felt, those losing their properties must also bear the financial cost of the fires.
For those in areas prone to bushfires, insurance is one of the key ways to protect yourself in the event that your property is lost. Home building and contents insurance, offered by most major insurance providers, can offset a good proportion of the financial costs of losing your home.
Make sure you understand exactly what level of coverage you have under your insurance plan when you purchase it. And before bushfire season begins each year, take the time to go over your insurance policy again to make sure it covers all of your major assets.
When it’s time to renew your policy, or when purchasing it, it’s worth making an inventory of all the assets you want to insure in your home. As for the home rebuild itself, get a builder in to get a quote for the cost of rebuilding your property should it be destroyed. These can be time consuming tasks, but ones that will ultimately help you make the best decision about the appropriate level of coverage and hopefully reduce any hidden costs further down the line.
If your home is damaged or destroyed by a bushfire, make sure you photograph any damaged goods as evidence for your claim before you discard them. As always with insurance claims, the more evidence, the better – this is where your inventory of goods will come in handy again, so you can keep track of exactly what has been damaged for your claim.
It’s also a good idea to contact your insurer as soon as possible to begin processing your claim and so that you can get started on any major repairs quickly.
If your vehicle is damaged, your insurer may also be able to provide you with an interim vehicle while your claim is being processed. And remember, the insurance market in Australia is highly competitive – shop around before picking your insurance policy.
For many rural residents, the loss of their property also means the loss of their income generating asset, whether that’s a farm or a bed and breakfast. While most insurers only offer income protection for individuals who cannot work due to injury or illness, your state government may offer support following a natural disaster, as the <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/centrelink/dra-nsw-bushfires-october-2013" target="_blank">NSW government did</a> after the bushfires of October last year. However, there’s no guarantee that this will be provided, and it isn’t available for those who lose their homes in circumstances that don’t have a wide impact, like a house fire. As always, it helps to have some savings on hand to make up for any loss of income.
The loss of one’s home is always an incredibly difficult experience. There will always be an emotional cost, no matter what you do. But at the very least, a good insurance policy or sound forward planning may protect you from some of the financial burden, and free up your attention to focus on the bigger things.
Our thoughts are with all affected.
<a href="mailto:jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au" target="_blank">jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au</a>
 
<hr>
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Losing your home to bushfire: How to protect yourself financially

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Bli Bli's Sunshine Castle is on the market.
The property, which boasts the title of Australia's only Norman style castle, was built in 1972 by a Scotsman to exhibit his apparently enviable collection of dolls and fairy tale themed paraphernalia. Over the years it's served as a children's tourist attraction, catering to motorists passing along David Low Way, back when the road was a major transport link between Noosa and Brisbane.
According to Benecke family, the current royals of <a target="_blank" href="/news">Bli Bli</a>, the castle attracts about 100,000 visitors per year.
When visiting, tourists can take part in a treasure hunt, feast in the great hall or enjoy the comforts of the castle's dungeon. The castle's various venus can be hired out for children's parties, weddings, private and corporate functions, and, according to one website, the castle cafe also offers a German sausage platter "to die for."
Selling through James Zhou of Ray White and Nick Dowling and Daniel Vella of <a target="_blank" href="https://rca.colliers.com.au/property-hotel+leisure-qld-bli+bli-501007303">Colliers International</a>, the Sunshine Castle is being packaged with two adjoining lots, making a total land allotment of 8,242 square metres.
While the two lots on either side of the castle are currently residences for the the manager and caretaker, the listing agents think the local council is likely to support a change in zoning from neighbourhood residential to tourism, allowing the new owners to develop more function facilities or a hotel on the site.
Sitting over the quiet suburb of Bli Bli, the Sunshine Castle apparently received its fair share of notoriety from the neighbours in the 70s and 80s. It first entered into the Benecke family's hands at $550,000 in 2002, with Property Observer estimating that the castle will attract offers between $3 million and $5 million. 
Colliers International and Ray White are accepting expressions of interest until March 13.
news@propertyobserver.com.au
  
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We'll never be royals? Sunshine Castle, Bli Bli in search of a new king or queen

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A Queensland tenant terminated his lease early after a guest heard a snake hissing in his wall, but the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has ruled that he must continue to pay rent.
Aaron Holesgrove’s guest reported to him twice that a snake could be heard hissing and moving around inside the wall of his home’s spare room. Holesgrove told the tribunal that his property managers, First National Real Estate, took no action to remove the snake.
He issued a notice to remedy the breach to an agent. The tribunal heard that Holesgrove was then told to call the agency immediately if he spotted the snake, keep it in sight, photograph it and call a professional snake catcher named Jeff.
But instead Holesgrove vacated the property without notice, and the agency sought to claim compensation for unpaid rent, water use, repairs and a fee for breaking the lease. Two Justices of the Peace at QCAT allowed the claim, with Holesgrove filing to appeal the decision.
If the matter was in Victoria, the situation may have been somewhat different. According to James Bennett, policy and liaison officer at the Tenants Union of Victoria, there are no specific provisions in the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Victoria) addressing dangerous animals or pests.
“A tenant can make an application to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an urgent repair if the rental property has a fault which renders the property unsafe,” Bennett said.
“For example, if there were holes in the walls that enabled the snake to enter the wall of the rental property then this may be an urgent repair.
“A tenant can issue an immediate notice to terminate the lease if the property is unfit for human habitation.  However, if the tenant does this and vacates during a fixed term lease, the landlord may claim that the have broken the lease and seek compensation.
“In the event of a compensation claim for lease breaking costs, the Tribunal would need to decide whether the presence of the snake meant that the property was in fact unfit for habitation.”
Holesgrove’s snake case was made even more slippery when his guest did not appear at tribunal to provide evidence. In fact, Holesgrave did not even hear the snake’s noises after his guest brought them to his attention, as senior tribunal member Peta Stilgoe pointed out.
At the hearing, Stilgoe said that Holesgrave could have gotten rid of the snake himself, after the agency did not attend to his for an emergency repair. But Holesgrove claimed that he could not afford snake catcher Jeff’s fee.
Stilgoe responded that Holesgrove could have applied to the tribunal for orders, instead of terminating his lease.
<a href="mailto:jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au" target="_blank">jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au</a>
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Shady snake not reason enough to vacate, says QCAT

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-5" data-turn="user" data-turn-id="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" data-turn-id-container="e65dbe94-e3b6-47f7-b62a-9cbb30c9bf79" dir="auto">Time &amp; Place’s plans to transform the former David Jones factory building in Surry Hills into a mixed-use residential precinct have gone on exhibition through the NSW Government’s In-fill Affordable Housing pathway.</section>

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-6" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:f4d533b7-64a5-413d-86fd-5c99649c2b73-2" dir="auto">
The Marlborough House proposal, lodged for the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/marlborough-house-47-97-marlborough-street-surry-hills-nsw-2010">47-97 Marlborough Street</a> site, would see the adaptive reuse of the heritage-listed warehouse building alongside the construction of new residential additions and a separate apartment building on the northern portion of the site.

The proposal seeks approval for 172 apartments across three buildings, including 15 per cent affordable housing managed by a community housing provider for at least 15 years from occupation.

<img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5d1d3c2a-bf13-47d6-a335-7c01102cdee1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=cjMYrbR.BLUlWH4dar0RVDDo0bG.u2YT" />

Interior view from the Northern Building Penthouse overlooking the park

&nbsp;

The redevelopment is planned for the prominent 3,413 sqm site bounded by Marlborough Street, Goodlet Street and Lansdowne Street, directly opposite Eddie Ward Park and around 200 metres from the Surry Hills light rail stop.

Time &amp; Place acquired the former David Jones building in 2024, marking the first time the property had changed hands in around 50 years.

Designed by Wardle, the proposal centres around the adaptive reuse of the former David Jones factory, originally constructed between 1913 and 1935 in the Inter-War Chicagoesque architectural style.

Wardle noted in its Architectural Design Report that the building “occupies a significant place in the industrial and cultural history of Surry Hills” and at its peak was “the largest department store manufacturing facility in Australia, employing over 800 people and fuelling the growth of Sydney’s fashion and retail industries.”

The practice said the project positions itself “not as an isolated intervention, but as a contributor to the civic, social, and architectural grain of the precinct.”

The proposal would deliver 75 apartments within the retained southern heritage building, 59 apartments within the central addition, and a further 38 apartments within the new northern building fronting Lansdowne Street.

Planning documents show the scheme would comprise a mix of heritage apartments, new-build apartments, townhouses and penthouses.

<img alt="Marlborough" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="57758518-40a3-4b83-958c-d06e96a2cffa" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.42%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=VerlX9ST5xgBi8.1_YRsqdWTJeT6ygjs" />Interior View of the Heritage Building Apartment

The development would also include a ground-floor retail tenancy on the corner of Marlborough and Lansdowne streets, rooftop communal open space, a landscaped pedestrian link along the western edge of the site, and basement parking accessed from Lansdowne Street via a car stacker system.

&nbsp;

The scheme emerged from a competitive design process run by Urbis, with Wardle ultimately selected as the winning architect ahead of FJC Studio, TZG, Architectus and Wilkinson Eyre.

The Design Integrity Panel later described several aspects of the Wardle scheme as fundamental to the project, including “the stepped character of the new addition to the north of the site”, the landscaped western pedestrian link, and the “garden arrival” experience separating the original Marlborough House from the heritage addition.

Wardle’s design heavily references the site’s industrial and heritage history, while also responding to the surrounding Surry Hills streetscape.

The Architectural Design Report describes Surry Hills as “a finely grained neighbourhood with beautiful and expressive brickworks throughout the suburb,” with the proposal introducing a material palette intended to sit comfortably alongside the existing warehouse fabric and neighbouring terraces.

The report also outlines the project’s relationship with Eddie Ward Park and the broader landscape context of the area.

“Marlborough House occupies a site of deep cultural memory and the neighbouring Eddie Ward Park is of local ecological significance, where natural systems, topography, and stories have long shaped human experience,” Wardle noted in the report.

The architects said the proposal sought to “rebind built form to Country” through landscape, materiality and the adaptive reuse of the heritage structure.

<img alt="Marlborough House" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9ae3f2f9-c85f-477a-a6f8-b43f6cb97c41" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.29.53%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=B.qUCLqRvJOR.n9CvYcTpaknIX9LuqKZ" />

The project is also being progressed under the NSW Government’s in-fill affordable housing provisions, allowing developments that include affordable housing to access additional height and floor space incentives.

Under the plans, 2,593 sqm of the project’s floor space would be dedicated to affordable housing, slightly exceeding the required 15 per cent threshold.

In its Design Excellence Strategy, Urbis said the project aimed to “sensitively adapt and enhance the heritage-listed building on site through alterations and additions that preserve its historical significance” while delivering “high-quality market and infill affordable housing development in Surry Hills.”

Time &amp; Place has been one of the most active developers nationally in the last 12 to 24 months. Late last year they completed&nbsp;The Queensbridge in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/southbank-vic-3006">Southbank</a>, a mixed-use tower with 353 apartments and a hotel. They are currently selling Park Modern, 246 apartments near the famous Botanic Gardens in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/south-melbourne-vic-3205">South Melbourne</a>, and have future projects, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-wilmot-173-burke-road-28-hope-street-glen-iris-vic-3146">The Wilmot</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/glen-iris-vic-3146">Glen Iris</a>, the redevelopment of the Northcote Plaza, and another tower in South Melbourne.

The developer broke into Sydney just a few years ago with Two Tides in Manly. They have another project nearby, which is at the ultra-luxury end of the market on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/shoreline-manly-beach-89-90-north-steyne-manly">North Steyne</a>, fronting the beach.

It is also continuing to work through the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-time-place-settles-on-design-for-the-chimes-potts-point-redevelopment">redevelopment of The Chimes building</a> on Macleay Street in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/potts-point-nsw-2011">Potts Point</a>, as well as a project on <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/time-place-to-take-on-mosman-apartment-market">Mosman's Redan Street</a>.
</section>

Joel Robinson

First look: Time & Place unveils Marlborough House redevelopment designs for former David Jones warehouse in Surry Hills

The residential transformation of St Kilda Road is set to continue into with more new apartment plans for the sought-after boulevard.

Wing Tai Asia has lodged plans for a major residential tower at 464-466 St Kilda Road, replacing the former VACC House with an 18-storey mixed-use development designed around a retained heritage podium and a sculpted contemporary tower.

The proposal, prepared under Victoria’s Significant Residential Development with Affordable Housing pathway, would deliver 325 apartments and ground-floor retail across the prominent 4,653 sqm boulevard site in Melbourne’s St Kilda Road North Precinct.

The project centres on the adaptive reuse of the site’s heritage-listed VACC Building, an eight-storey office designed by Bernard Evans that has occupied the address for decades. Planning documents state the development would involve “carefully dismantling and conserving off-site the original metal fabric of the podium visible from St Kilda Road,” before reinstating it as the defining frontage of the new scheme.

Above the restored podium, Wing Tai is proposing a curvilinear residential tower. The scheme includes 172 one-bedroom apartments, 63 two-bedroom apartments, 66 three-bedroom apartments, and 24 four-bedroom apartments, alongside two ground-floor food and beverage tenancies fronting St Kilda Road.

The tower has been designed with substantial articulation and variable setbacks to minimise perceived bulk and maintain view corridors along the boulevard. Urbis, which prepared the planning report, said the design “has been significantly articulated through a curvilinear design” with “an interplay with materials, façade expression and depth” to create visual separation and visual interest.

The proposal also includes 254 basement car spaces, landscaped pedestrian links connecting St Kilda Road and Queens Lane, and a biophilic landscape strategy featuring canopy trees, raised planters, cascading greenery and a glass oculus pool overlooking the eastern frontage.

Planning documents confirm the $270.1 million development will contribute 3 per cent of project costs to the Social Housing Growth Fund as part of the application process.

Wing Tai acquired the St Kilda Road property in 2018 alongside Abacus Property Group for $95.38 million, before later consolidating ownership of the site. The property previously served as the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce headquarters for around 60 years.

The transformation of the St Kilda Rd boulevard is already beginning to materialise, with a number of high-profile projects recently completed, launched, or approaching launch as developers continue to back the long-term appeal of the precinct.

Among the most notable recent completions is Louise by Samuel Property Group, just off the strip on Queens Lane, the same pocket Hirsch &amp; Faigen recently launched The Queensbury. Mirvac is too on the same street with The Albertine, which is approaching completion.

Dexus recently secured approval for its slice of St Kilda Road, while Gurner also has approved plans for the precinct.

Wing Tai unveils 325-apartment St Kilda Road tower on former VACC House site

Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/s-p-setia">SP Setia</a> is the latest to jump into St Leonards booming Transport Oriented Development precinct.

The developer, which has previously delivered Sapphire by the Gardens apartment development in Melbourne, identified the Atchison Street site in 2023. It filed a Scoping Report around 12 months ago, and now has revealed the designs for the new&nbsp;40-storey mixed-use tower.

The State Significant Development Application covers <a href="https://next-portal.urban.com.au/projects/14650/summary">20-22 Atchison Street</a>, a 1,374 sqm site positioned between St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, the project would deliver 181 apartments, above a four-storey commercial podium, five basement levels, and new public domain works along Mitchell Street. The apartment mix comprises 35 one-bedroom apartments, 39 one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, 85 two-bedroom apartments, and 22 three-bedroom residences.

The proposal has been lodged as a shop-top housing development under the NSW Government’s TOD planning pathway, which allows increased density around key transport infrastructure. The site sits within the recently rezoned Crows Nest Accelerated TOD Precinct.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b799673d-48e2-46b0-801a-0e33a9330100" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20site.png?VersionId=dPh0UfwfaHpbFL1R7H1cbZNbIW0CHbCC" />

SP Setia acquired the Atchison Street site as part of its continued expansion into the Australian apartment market. In comments made to City &amp; Country (The Edge Malaysia) in 2023, SP Setia President and CEO Datuk Choong Kai Wai described the acquisition as “a strategic move” aligned with the group’s post-pandemic market recovery strategy.

“Our target for this exceptional development is local and overseas buyers, including first-home buyers, downsizers and investors,” Choong said.

The tower has been designed as a slender vertical form rising from a mixed-use podium, with COX Architecture positioning the development as a response to the evolving St Leonards and Crows Nest skyline.

“The purpose of the project is to facilitate the delivery of high-quality housing at a strategically located site and deliver a built tower outcome that is consistent with the desired future character of St Leonards and aligns with the TOD controls,” the design report stated.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1a85eee-76f7-436c-a6da-73ba827b9b13" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20entry.png?VersionId=dA9jHGPMcm.dDbwk4QfxqWiY5bfh3UVt" />

The podium would incorporate retail uses fronting Atchison Street, commercial tenancies, landscaped communal areas, and pedestrian improvements along Mitchell Street. Vehicle access and loading would be consolidated via Atchison Lane.

Residents would have access to more than 665 sqm of communal indoor and outdoor spaces, while the development proposes 96 parking spaces across five basement levels.

The proposal also includes a commitment for 10 per cent of residential floor space to be allocated toward affordable housing through a monetary contribution.

COX said the tower form responds directly to the emerging high-density character of the precinct while seeking to maximise solar access, cross ventilation, and outlook from apartments.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2163f85c-f63b-4be3-aafa-f8763976cec5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Article%20Feature%20Image%20%28Grid%29_5.png?VersionId=WiAmtIKJ6.ZQ41EtYEQ1fol7AeorKBlL" />

“The building is orientated towards north,” the Apartment Design Guide compliance report noted, adding that the tower’s slim form was driven by the constrained inner-urban site dimensions.

The design also incorporates landscaped setbacks and communal open space at podium level, intended to soften the interface with surrounding streets and improve pedestrian amenity.

The project adds to a growing wave of redevelopment proposals reshaping St Leonards and Crows Nest following the opening of the Sydney Metro City line and the NSW Government’s push for higher-density housing around major transport nodes.

Last week Stockland filed plans just down the road. They want to build a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/601-pacific-highway-st-leonards-nsw-2065">52-storey tower on Pacific Highway</a>.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">First look: Stockland plans 52-storey, 538-apartment St Leonards tower&nbsp;</a>

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> has revealed plans for a new mixed-use tower at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham, advancing a proposal that would reshape the southern gateway to Newcastle’s city centre with one of the city’s tallest residential buildings.

The State Significant Development proposal, now on exhibition, seeks approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bowline-10-dangar-street-wickham-nsw-2293">43-storey tower</a> immediately adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange. The project would deliver around 200 apartments, including 42 affordable housing dwellings, alongside 99 co-living units, a 171-room hotel, retail space, and new public domain integrated through the site.

The scheme marks a significant escalation of plans previously approved for the site. Urban Property Group took over the prominent 2,904 sqm parcel, where excavation and demolition had already commenced under an earlier consent for a 14-storey mixed-use development.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="58a96dd9-407f-4d20-86b4-94e4bfeef74b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20podium.png?VersionId=LGlf08pdFGAZDzvx_CXC4XakHNZRuEE0" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the tower has been conceived as a landmark transit-oriented development anchored to the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The proposal includes 245 build-to-sell apartments across a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences, as well as two penthouses. Fifteen apartments and one operational unit are earmarked for NDIS housing. The co-living component would add a further 99 units, while the podium would accommodate retail uses and hotel facilities.

SJB said the site presents “a valuable opportunity to anchor the precinct by setting the standard for design, active ground planes and character at the key southern gateway.”

The architecture responds directly to the site’s position beside major transport infrastructure and within one of Newcastle’s fastest-evolving urban renewal precincts. The tower form sits above a sculpted podium designed to frame new public spaces, including a through-site pedestrian link connecting Station Street to Hannell Street, landscaped plazas, and activated retail edges.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7bd6ff0-f7db-4ce8-a6dc-ea56e72c6149" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20lanne.png?VersionId=xzf39VADyhj7zBQY2I9fx9vI62u2tuSb" />

The design report describes the project as part of the broader transition of Wickham into “a vibrant, high-quality mixed-use urban precinct” that leverages proximity to the station, open space, and regional connectivity.

A detailed public art strategy has also been prepared for the development. The strategy positions the project as “a transit-oriented development of state significance at the gateway to Newcastle’s city centre” and outlines a series of integrated artworks responding to Newcastle’s industrial and transport heritage.

Creative Road’s curatorial framework for the project, titled Unveil, draws on “stratified surfaces, carved volumes, and light-filled apertures” while referencing Newcastle’s transformation from an industrial city into a contemporary education and technology hub.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="77a882bb-14b1-4d28-99ff-9438e39508c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20site.png?VersionId=cevgo_vN0eKPK78P8YcEu3mKPLkpFqE7" />

The proposal is being advanced through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway after being declared State Significant Development in June 2025. The accompanying scoping report states the development aims to “maximise the site’s proximity to the Newcastle Interchange by delivering transit-oriented development” while increasing housing supply and affordable housing provision within the Newcastle LGA.

Urban Property Group’s plans align with the long-term strategic vision established under the Wickham Master Plan, which identified the interchange precinct as suitable for substantial uplift in height and density. The current proposal would significantly intensify that vision, positioning the tower among the tallest developments proposed for Newcastle.

The site sits immediately north of the Newcastle Interchange, bounded by Dangar Street, Hannell Street, and Charles Street. It is surrounded by a rapidly growing cluster of residential towers and mixed-use projects that have emerged following the completion of the light rail and transport interchange.

First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s latest tower at Wickham interchange

Bottega House has completed settlement of a landmark riverfront site in Macquarie Street, St Lucia, representing its first major Brisbane development.&nbsp;

Positioned on the banks of the Brisbane River, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">premium site at 180 Macquarie Street</a> features uninterrupted river frontage in one of Brisbane’s most tightly held residential precincts.&nbsp;

The proposed development, currently under assessment with Brisbane City Council, has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and will deliver a boutique collection of premium residences positioned specifically for owner occupiers and downsizers.&nbsp;

The residences are set to redefine luxury apartment living in the area, with a focus on architectural quality, refined finishes, landscape integration and elevated amenities including curated wellness facilities, resort-style pools and recreation spaces rarely seen in the local market.&nbsp;

Exclusive sales for the project will be led by Keenan &amp; Byrne, ahead of an anticipated launch later this year.&nbsp;

Bottega House Managing Director Nick Malloch said the project reflects the group’s ambition to deliver a highly curated residential offering within one of Brisbane’s most tightly held precincts.&nbsp;

“This is an incredibly rare riverfront opportunity and one we have approached with a long-term perspective,” Malloch said.&nbsp;

“Our vision from the outset was to create a boutique collection of residences that feel more like private homes than traditional apartments, with generous proportions, refined finishes and exceptional amenity throughout."

Malloch says there is a&nbsp;lack of premium owner-occupier stock of this quality in the market, particularly for downsizers wanting space, privacy and a true lifestyle offering without compromise.&nbsp;

"Demand is expected to be strong given the scarcity of premium riverfront opportunities of this nature within Brisbane’s inner-west."&nbsp;

Jessie Richardson

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