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Emulation Hall, one of Australia's last remaining examples of Egyptian Revival architecture, has been listed for sale with offers due 4 September.
Designed by Dunstan Reynolds &amp; Partners in 1927, the longtime Masonic Centre has quite extraordinary dimensions.
It is marketed for sale at the moment as suitable for possible educational or commercial application. Even a home, the <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-canterbury-117663955" target="_blank">Jellis Craig listing agent Paul Batrouney</a> suggests.
More than $1.5 million is tipped.
Emulation Lodge finally in the 1990s and the temple was acquired by Chatham Lodge No 459 which still meets there. 
From the start, the hall was also made available for community use, including the Canterbury &amp; District Horticultural Society annual flower show, dances and local chess clubs.
{qtube vid:=7Q6pgpi7miU}
The property at 3 Rochester Road, Canterbury was designed in the Egyptian Revival style that remains especially rare and unusual in Victoria.
The best known example of the style is the Syme Memorial at Boroondara Cemetery, Kew, designed by Walter Butler in 1908 – effectively, a scaled replica of the Temple of Isis at Philae.
There are only two other Egyptian Revival masonic temples in Victoria – the Zetland Lodge in Piper Street, Kyneton, which has a lavish Egyptian-themed interior (1905) within an older building of conventional form, and the Sandringham Lodge at 23 Abbott Street, Sandringham (1931), a purpose-built venue where the Egyptian influence is expressed both inside and out.
Example of inter-war Egyptian Revival buildings of other types include the former Bank of NSW in Bourke Street, Melbourne, (1929) and the Wimmera Stock Bazaar in Horsham (1935).
The inter-war Egyptian Revival building has a symmetrical façade importing two pylon-like wings that flank a central projecting porch.
Its Egyptian-inspired detailing includes large coved and fluted cornices and matching window heads, tapered walls, small windows, scarabs and winged sun motifs. Internally, the main hall and lodge room are decorated with elements including pilasters, dadoes and stencilled and moulded ornament depicting Egyptian motifs and masonic symbols.
The building was erected in 1927-28 for Emulation Lodge No 141 (which was founded in Box Hill in 1889) and was designed by architect Dunstan Reynolds, who was both a local resident and a lodge member.
<a href="https://dsewebapps.dse.vic.gov.au/shared/ats.nsf/(attachmentopen)/32476EF1B7CB8ADACA25799F001932B1/%24File/Boroondara+C153+Supporting+Document+3+Rochester+Road+Citation+Exhibition+Gazetted.pdf?OpenElement" target="_blank">His original working illustrations</a> are included in the local heritage listing. 
<img src="/images/2014/08/29/canterbury-aug-29-one.jpg" alt="">
Courtesy of the Victorian Department of Primary Industries and the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
Declared insolvent in 1938, Reynolds left his wife and moved to Sydney, where he made an unsuccessful attempt to re-launch his private practice. Dogged by litigation as well as illness, he died in 1949 at the age of 51 years. 
What to make of its ball-room-style main hall regally crowned with towering decorative ceiling.
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Emulation Hall, the 1927 Egyptian Revival Canterbury offering

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Dan Hunter’s new three hats restaurant,<a href="https://braerestaurant.com/"> </a>Brae, at <a href="/news">Birregurra</a>, some 90 minutes south-west of Melbourne, has been named The Age Good Food Guide restaurant of the year.
It is only the third time the award has gone to a restaurant outside of Melbourne.
Brae was also named best new and best regional restaurant in the Gourmet Traveller awards last week.
<img src="/images/2014/08/29/brae_0004_BraeRestaurant%205.jpg.jpg" alt="">
Chef Dan Hunter and his wife, Julianne established the $180 set price multi-course menu less than a year ago.
Drawing many of its ingredients from the surrounding gardens and local farms, The Age Good Food Guide co-editor Janne Apelgren said Brae was “a benchmark in contemporary fine dining”.
As for "the Brae Effect" what is very obvious is the surge in new B&amp;B's as without doubt the restaurant has created huge demand for short-stay accommodation. 
That means the 15 or so staff at the restaurant have found local accommodation challenging - some renting in nearby towns like Winchelsea and Colac.
<img src="/images/2014/08/29/brae_0002_BraeRestaurant%203.jpg.jpg" alt="">
There have been around 40 property sales since early 2013 at Brae, with prices ranging from $90,000 on Main Street to $1.8 million for an 80 hectare farm on Cape Otway Road. Sales are a bit too erratic to make out an obvious price growth trend.
The restaurant is on a seven hectare holding that sold in May 2013 for $1.05 million to the McCorkell Brown Group, directed by Howard McCorkell and Damien Newton-Brown, who have been building and developing iconic properties together for 15 years.
The property came with the original 1868 cottage, with Corkell and Newton-Brown commissioning James Legge, principal of Six Degrees Architects, to work on the design of the new operation.
Accommodation is currently on the drawing board with Damien Newton-Brown telling Property Observer that he is close to lodging the planning permit application for the accommodation, and if all things go well construction might get underway in early 2015.  
<img src="/images/2014/08/29/brae_0001_BraeRestaurant%202.jpg.jpg" alt="">
Brae was formerly Sunnybrae, the pioneering paddock-to-plate restaurant owned and run by chef George Biron who farmed organically with his partner, Di Garrett, who sold the property.
Tulip in nearby Geelong was named the new regional restaurant of the year.
<div class="display-media image secondary pull-right"><img class="size_secondary filetype-jpg" src="https://edge.alluremedia.com.au/uploads/businessinsider/2014/08/age-cover-an-300x0.jpg" alt="" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></div>
2015 marks the 35 edition of The Age Good Food Guide which is on sale for $24.99.
Photos: <a href="https://www.colinpage.com.au/#See" target="_blank">Chris Page</a>. Source: Supplied. 
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Brae restaurant awards puts Birregurra on the foodies B&B map

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Jennifer Hawkins and her husband Jake Wall are selling the Bondi apartment she bought off the plan in 2007 for $895,000.
The 23/7 Henderson Street, Bondi investment property of the former Miss Universe has a price guide of $1.1 million-plus <a href="https://www.mcgrath.com.au/buy/apartment-bondi-nsw-2026/233599/?searchID=42141699" target="_blank">for its 20 September McGrath auction</a>.
The two bedroom, two bathroom 92 square metre apartment has district views towards the ocean. 
It cost $895,000 in 2007 in the BondiVue Apartments complex, a $20 million medium density development of 25 apartments and four terraces built for ING Bank. 
The BondiVue's highest resale was <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-bondi-116777215" target="_blank">$1.2 million in May this year</a> through Ray White for a garden apartment first sold in 2008 at $915,000. It came with 110 square metre internal space plus 110 square metre courtyard.
Its listing follows their $4 million waterfront <a href="/news/jennifer-hawkins-spends-4-million-on-newport-waterfront">purchase on Pittwater</a> (pictured below) at Newport<a href="https://www.domain.com.au/property/for-sale/apartment-unit-flat/nsw/bondi/?adid=2011389651&amp;sp=1" target="_blank">.</a>
<img src="/images/2014/07/18/newport%20one_0003_4.jpg.jpg" alt="">
 
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Jennifer Hawkins' latest discard - her stylish Bondi investment apartment

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Greenland, the newly arrived Chinese property giant have been embarrassed by accidental marketing that suggests they are yet to know Sydney like the back of their hand.
<a href="https://lucentnorthsydney.com.au/Location/" target="_blank">The map selling the location of their Lucent, North Sydney project</a> (pictured above) being marketed by CBRE was skewiff, until the errors were highlighted by Property Observer.
<img src="/images/2014/08/28/map-aug-28-one.jpg" alt="">
For instance:
<ul>
<li>The North Sydney swimming pool (6) is on the wrong side of the harbour on Pitt Street.</li>
<li>Martin Place (22) is at what we know as the Opera House.</li>
<li>Getting a drink at the Opera Bar (18) is over on the lower north shore.</li>
<li>Luna Park (4) isn't on the harbour anymore, but the MCA (23) is, though across the bridge not far from the relocated The Rocks (20) and Pitt Street Mall (19).</li>
<li>Mirvac/Eureka's Greenwood Plaza (11) is on Circular Quay! </li>
<li>
Not sure what 24 onwards are. Gremlins presumably.
</li>
</ul>
The $200 million Lucent development from Greenland Holding Group includes one, two and three bedroom apartments priced from $528,000.
The sales spiel says Lucent is perfectly placed to make the most of Sydney's world-famous lifestyle. 
In March last year, I wrote the arrival of the Chinese-based Greenland to Australian shores was an <a href="/news/nsw/chinese-breathing-competitive-life-into-sydney-high-rise-scene">auspicious occasion</a> with their plans for building Sydney's tallest residential highrise on the former Water Board site in the CBD.
As they reach for the sky, perhaps they need a better compass at ground level.
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Greenland's embarrassingly skewiff Sydney sales map 

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Losing applicants to Victoria, the NSW government has scrapped its minimum investment in NSW Waratah bonds for its Significant Investor Visa (SIV) requirements.
The decision will make it easier for overseas applicants to seek NSW investment.
The Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Stoner from 1 September, applicants seeking NSW nomination will be able to invest 100% of their funds in the complying investment of their choice.
“Nominations will no longer be tied to a minimum investment in NSW Waratah bonds,” Stoner said.
Under the Significant Investor Visa, successful applicants are required to invest $5 million in complying investments for a minimum of four years before being eligible to apply for a permanent visa.
Up to now, NSW nominated applicants have had to make a minimum investment of 30% of this, or $1.5 million, in NSW Waratah Bonds used to fund state infrastructure projects. Returns on a Waratah bond are less than that desired by some investors.
“To make it easier for investors, and to give them more choice, the NSW government is removing the requirement to invest a minimum amount in Waratah bonds," Stoner advised.
Victoria has attracted 49% of investment from SIV applicants, while NSW has received 35%.
In the past year, $300 million from Chinese nationals has been invested in Waratah bonds, which are transferred into Restart NSW and applied solely to new infrastructure projects.
"It will provide a level playing field between NSW and other Australian States to attract SIV investors," David Chin, the BasisPoint Consulting managing director said.
The federal government has attracted $1.7 billion and granted 343 residency visas to foreigners, 85% to Chinese, under the significant investor visa program.
The figures show that at 31 July, another 602 people applied.
Since the 2012 scheme started slowly, the Abbott government implemented processing measures that has increased the approval rate, granting 31 investor visas in June and 57 in July.
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NSW Waratah bonds no longer compulsory for Significant Investor Visa applicants

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Construction work value fell for a third straight quarter in June as strengthening residential work failed to offset slumping engineering work.
Westpac economist Andrew Hanlan noted construction activity, which represents around 16% of the economy, softened in the June quarter, as he expected.
 Construction work declined by 1.2% in the quarter, and over the past year, work declined by 0.6%.
"The construction sector is feeling the impacts of cross currents," he said.
"Private building work is trending higher, boosted by record low interest rates, while private infrastructure activity is retreating from record highs as the mining investment boom deflates.
"Public works are in a soft spot ahead of a ramp-up on major transport projects."
Private infrastructure work declined modestly in the quarter, down 2.1%, with larger falls in prospects.
Private new residential building work advanced by a further 3.2% in the quarter, to be 11.7% higher than a year earlier and up 20% from the low of mid-2012.
Private non-residential building activity increased by 2.8% in the quarter and expanded by 6.6% over the year to be 20% above the low of early 2011. The work pipeline is now 9% above the peak of mid-2008.
Renovation work of private residential buildings provided a surprise, recording a 2.2% fall in the quarter, reversing a 2.0% rise in Q1, Westpac noted.
Across the nation, construction work in the June quarter declined in NSW, Victoria, WA and Qld, while a partial rebound in Tasmania continued and SA stabilised following recent sharp falls. 
In NSW, construction declined by 1.2% in the quarter, to be 1.2% lower than a year earlier. An upturn in building work is broadly offsetting a downturn in infrastructure construction. 
Work in Victoria was little changed in the quarter, down 0.3% in the quarter. However, over the past year, work is up 3.2%, centred on a near 6% rise in building work. 
WA recorded a modest fall in work in the quarter, -1.1%, and over the year, -1.4%. Total infrastructure work is now down 13% from the peak of early 2012. 
In Queensland, work edged 1.2% higher over the year, despite a 1.8% fall in Q2. Infrastructure work over the year was little changed, down 0.8%. 
South Australia is the only state to experience a pronounced fall in work over the year, down almost 8%, from record highs. 
Tasmania's construction sector turned the corner over the past year, with work recovering by 9.3%, led by infrastructure activity. 
Construction fell 1.2% to $51.9 billion from the March quarter in ABS figures showed.
The decline was greater than the 0.4% fall in March, but less than the December quarter’s 2% fall.
Building work grew 1.5% overall, boosted by a 2.2% rise in residential construction, but this was insufficient to compensate for a 3.1% quarterly decline in engineering work.
Engineering, the largest single component of construction, fell in value to $27.9 billion from $30.7 billion. In a reflection of the reduction of resources-based investment taking place, the sector’s value has fallen almost 9% from its September quarter level of $32.6 billion.
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Construction work falls in June quarter: ABS

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The Singaporean developer Fig Tree Holdings has purchased the Duke of Kent hotel  development site in central Melbourne.
The $14.08 million sale <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/property-land+development-vic-melbourne-501212843" target="_blank">was through DTZ</a> by private investors George Yankos, Antigone Yankos and Lambros Yankos.
Figtree Holdings Ltd is incorporated in Singapore with Danny Siaw its executive chairman.
Siaw and another of its board members have had tertiary education in Australia. Siaw started his career in November 1990 as a site engineer with Civil &amp; Civic Pty Ltd. He holds a Bachelor of Building from the University of Melbourne.
The 503 square metre Melbourne CBD site is at 293 to 299 LaTrobe Street with frontages to Sutherland Street and Flanigan Lane.
It came with a preliminary development scheme for 322 apartments and ground floor retail.
<img src="/images/2014/08/28/1.jpg" alt="" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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Melbourne's Duke of Kent hotel sells to Singaporean developer

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Australia’s four leading bank economists, Bill Evans from ­Westpac, Alan Oster from National ­Australia Bank, Michael Blythe from Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Warren Hogan from ANZ, recently met up with The Australian Financial Review.
The four declared during their discussion there was no housing bubble 
Evans, who has been chief economist at Westpac since 1991 said that if you look at the growth in incomes over the past 15 years, “it’s sort of kept pace with the growth in house prices. I think you get ­bubbles when house prices run well ahead of income growth we just haven’t seen that”.
Alan Oster – chief economist at NAB since 1992 – was deemed equally unequivocal: “no bubble”. He thinks the problem with Australia, should one emerge, will lie in unemployment. “If unemployment in our models gets to around 8 or 9% then you get the same problem as you’ve got everywhere else but we’re undersupplied, interest rates are low, we think unemployment’s gone up but nowhere near 9%, so no bubble.”
“Certainly no bubble,” said Warren Hogan. “The perceived expensiveness of our property market is, as much as anything, a social issue – affordability issues. We simply don’t have the speculative credit element there to describe it as a bubble. Low-income earners getting heavily ­leveraged was the problem in the United States we don’t have that issue here,” Hogan added.
Michael Blythe, who has been at the CBA since 1995, said that for it to be a real bubble you’d need to see increase in prices being driven by debt, but that’s not happening.
“No bubble. Housing credit’s running at the bottom end of the range the past 30 years. You need to see banks easing their lending standards as they chase more dubious borrowers that’s certainly not happening and you need a general expectation that house prices are going to keep rising forever. Now there is an element of that I think.”
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No housing bubble: The big bank economists' conclusion

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Spring auction numbers are emerging in both Sydney and Melbourne, but the small spike is no serious test yet.
APM has around 570 scheduled listings this weekend in Sydney, up from the 430 last weekend.
In Melbourne there are 715 offerings, up from 646 last weekend.
Then the early September weekends will see around 520 and 520 offerings in Sydney.
It's about 700 and 800 auctions per weekend in Melbourne over the first two weeks.
Neither city is showing signs of listings surging well in excess of last spring's volumes.
The Sydney estate agent John McGrath told the Australian Financial Review he did not expect the market to change much in spring and summer, after it showed strength over winter.
“The indicators remain positive, with record-low interest rates, a solid economic growth cycle in play and renewed demand from both local investors and overseas buyers,” Mr McGrath said.
“I believe this market has at least two years left in its growth cycle before we see a plateauing.” 
However, McGrath said Sydney’s current rate of growth would moderate.
It would likely settle back at a more sustainable 5% to 10% per annum over the next two years, he suggested.
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Two years left in property growth cycle: John McGrath

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Craigholme, built in 1856 on the Darling Point ridge line, has been listed for sale by the Allianz Australia chairman John Curtis.
One of Darling Point's most beautiful homes, the Victorian Gothic residence was designed by colonial architect Edmund Blacket seemingly for the family of then NSW Surveyor General, Sir Thomas Mitchell.
Title Tattle gleans there has been a fastidious reinvention for modern indoor/outdoor living by the architect Howard Tanner with interiors by Michael Love.
It last traded in 1993 for $1,615,000 when bought by the Curtis family from the Punch family.
The professional company director John Curtis, the former St George bank chairman and then longtime Westpac deputy chairman, bought Craigholme from Sue Punch. The Yarranabbe Road property had been bought by her late husband, politician Leon Punch.
The downsizing John and Anna Curtis have been told more than $20 million is possible by Clint Ballard of Ballard Property and Michael Pallier of Sotheby's International.
<a href="https://ballardexclusiveproperty.com.au/darlingpoint-4415644" target="_blank">The three-level family home</a> with gardens, comes with swimming pool and separate self-contained apartment.
It has a grand drawing room with 4.5 metre high ceiling and French doors flowing to a sandstone garden courtyard as well as covered verandah with harbour views.
Known as Yaranabee Estate (spelt differently to today’s spelling of Yarranabbe Road), the land was purchased 1835 by Sir Thomas Mitchell, but he didn’t built a house there until the 1850s. 
In 1827 Mitchell arrived in the colony with his wife Mary and is best known for his other homes, Craigend, a grand mansion set on more than nine acres of the ridge at Darlinghurst, then Carthona, an impressive Gothic Revival sandstone mansion on Darling Point’s northern foreshore in the 1840s. 
Craigholme, the house set on about 2.75 acres, sold in 1856 for £450 to Henry Dangar, a surveyor and highly successful pastoralist who lived at Grantham, a vast and ornate sandstone mansion at Potts Point.
Samuel Hordern of the dynastic retailing family bought it next in 1898, when the property was known as Treveallyn. In 1918 Hordern’s executors sold it to Marion Orchard, the wife of merchant jeweler, Richard Beaumont Orchard. 
Mrs Orchard held it for just 15 months before selling to Hugh Samuel Paterson, a builder of Darlinghurst, who disposed of it five months later in 1920 to Dr Pierro Francis Fiaschi who held it for 32 years.
In 1946, Dr Fiaschi reduced the land holding by selling the westerly half of the land fronting the lower New Beach Road portion.
Dr Fiaschi’s father, Dr Thomas Fiachi, lived at the house for some years when not supervising his vineyards in the Hawkesbury region. For three decades, Thomas Fiachi was an honorary surgeon at Sydney Hospital. A bronze statue of a boar (named “Il Porcellino”), set outside the hospital on Macquarie Street, remembers him. Given in 1968 by his daughter, Machesa Torrigiani, it is a replica of the original statue in Florence, Thomas Fiachi’s birthplace. In 1952, the administrator of Piero Fiaschi’s estate sold Craigholme to Walter Raymond Ewing and Emily Francis O’Leary. 
In 1963 Craigholme sold to the Paynter family of the leading construction company, Paynter Dixon. 
The Paynters restored the house and made major improvements including landscaping the gardens and building a swimming pool and a garage. 
A year or so later in 1967, Craigholme was bought by Brigadier General John O’Brien who continued the preservation and restoration of the house, as well as extending the garage. 
In 1973, Craigholme sold to Leon Punch, a New South Wales politician, the NSW Deputy premier (1975-1975), and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin, Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis. Punch was a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly for 26 years from 1959 until his retirement in 1985.
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Craigholme, the 1856 Darling Point Edmund Blacket trophy home listed

As apartment buyers increasingly look beyond the four walls of their residence, the quality and depth of shared amenity has become a defining factor in how developments are designed and experienced, particularly in the high-rise, new apartment development space.

In Southbank, where high-density living continues to evolve, developers are placing greater emphasis on creating environments that support wellbeing, connection, and convenience as part of everyday life.

That approach sits at the heart of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/aura-at-melbourne-square-7-hoff-boulevard-southbank-vic-3006">AURA</a>, the latest residential tower in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/osk-property">OSK Property</a>’s $3.5 billion Melbourne Square precinct. Rising 67 storeys above Hoff Boulevard, the 673-apartment development has been conceived around what OSK describes as a “vertical wellness ecosystem”, a layered collection of amenities that extends throughout the building rather than being confined to a single podium level.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=370263]

The amenity offering begins on the seventh level within the AURA Club, a dedicated resident hub focused on health, relaxation, and daily convenience. Here, residents will have access to an indoor swimming pool, cold plunge, spa, sauna, and steam room, alongside a fully equipped gym, reformer Pilates studio, and yoga room.

The wellness facilities are complemented by a range of spaces that acknowledge the changing ways people live and work. Work-from-home lounges and co-working areas sit alongside a library, music room, games room, cinema facilities, and open-air terrace spaces, providing residents with flexible environments that can adapt throughout the day.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367468]

Beyond the internal amenity, AURA introduces a series of Japanese-inspired gardens that form a quieter counterpoint to the tower’s social spaces.

Landscaped retreats feature curated outdoor dining, tranquil courtyard seating, fire pit, and a tea house pavilion. Rather than functioning as simple recreational areas, the gardens have been designed as places for reflection and informal gathering, drawing on principles of balance, nature, and calm that underpin the project's broader design philosophy.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367810]

The social amenity continues to evolve as residents move higher through the building. Levels 49 and 50 house the Meridian Club, where a lounge bar, conservatory spaces, and private dining rooms take advantage of elevated city views. At the summit of the tower, the exclusive Cumulus Club spans Levels 66 and 67, offering additional lounges, private dining, and meditation and treatment rooms positioned above Melbourne’s skyline.

For OSK Property, the extensive amenity offering reflects a broader focus on wellbeing as a core component of apartment living rather than an added feature.

“Aura stands tall as an exemplar of holistic wellness – its focus on social, physical and mental health culminate in a building that is calming, restorative and relaxing, where residents will have their own sanctuary within the well-connected and sought-after Southbank,” says OSK Property CEO Chong Boon Woon.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367796]

AURA’s amenity strategy extends beyond the tower itself through its integration with the wider Melbourne Square precinct.

Residents will have direct access to Kennedy Park, Southbank’s 3,745 sqm landscaped public park, alongside a full-line Woolworths supermarket, childcare centre, hospitality venues, and approximately 1,600 sqm of additional retail planned within AURA’s lower levels. Together, these elements create a highly connected residential environment where daily needs, recreation, and wellness are woven into the fabric of the community.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=370253]

As Melbourne’s apartment market continues to mature, developments are increasingly judged by the lifestyle they provide beyond individual residences.

Through its combination of wellness facilities, landscaped retreats, social clubs, and precinct-wide amenity, AURA represents a shift toward a more comprehensive model of vertical living, one where shared spaces play as significant a role as the homes themselves.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=151921]

Joel Robinson

AURA elevates amenity living at Melbourne Square

Builder-developer Scion is the latest to target Sydney's booming Hills Showground Metro precinct, filing plans for more than 100 apartments within walking distance of the station.

Scion has lodged a concurrent rezoning and State Significant Development Application for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/27-33-middleton-avenue-castle-hill-nsw-2154">27–33 Middleton Avenue</a>, where it plans to replace four existing homes with an 11 and 14-storey mixed-use development comprising 109 apartments, six affordable housing dwellings, and a ground-floor café.

Designed by BHK Architects, the proposal includes three levels of basement parking with 174 spaces, more than 1,200 sqm of communal open space, and extensive landscaping across the 3,791 sqm site.

The development has been designed as two buildings connected by a recessed wintergarden spine, with the 14-storey building positioned to the south and the 11-storey building to the north.

<img alt="Scion" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="64dc359d-736b-43b8-87a8-70a8285cab47" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-25%20at%208.47.01%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=PXh.m8id_aevBPHEckPf88wQ2RQThPos" />

The apartment mix has been weighted towards owner-occupiers, with 13 one-bedroom apartments, 55 two-bedroom residences, 31 three-bedroom apartments, six three-bedroom lofts, and four four-bedroom homes. Six apartments will be dedicated as affordable housing in line with the NSW Housing SEPP.

According to the Architectural Design Report by BKH, the proposal seeks to create "a place-responsive architecture" inspired by the natural landscape surrounding Cattai Creek, while strengthening the public domain through landscaping, active frontages and a neighbourhood café.

Atlas Urban, in its Urban Design Report, says the proposal takes a different approach to increasing density around Hills Showground Station by favouring a more slender, vertically articulated built form over a conventional mid-rise outcome. The report argues this allows for greater deep soil planting, improved solar access and a better public domain outcome, while still delivering additional housing close to rapid public transport.

The site sits around 500 metres from Hills Showground Metro Station, within a precinct earmarked for significant residential intensification following the opening of the Sydney Metro Northwest line. Planning documents accompanying the application note that Greater Sydney's population has grown by more than one million people since planning for the precinct first began, reinforcing the need to accelerate housing delivery around existing transport infrastructure.

Scion is expanding its development pipeline which also includes <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/chatham-west-ryde-2-6-chatham-road-west-ryde-nsw-2114">Chatham in West Ryde</a>, 62 apartments which are approaching completion. They also have a State Significant Development Application with the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/96-anzac-avenue-west-ryde-nsw-2114">145 apartments on Anzac Avenue</a>, also in West Ryde.

First look: Scion plots Castle Hill apartment development near Hills Showground Metro Station

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a>&nbsp;has unveiled its scaled-back plans for a pair of towers rising up to 49 storeys directly opposite Bella Vista Metro Station.

The builder-developer will deliver 674 apartments and a new mixed-use hub at the gateway to the station precinct.

The State Significant Development Application has been lodged under the Housing Delivery Authority pathway for the 6,979 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/9-11-mawson-avenue-bella-vista-nsw-2153">9-11 Mawson Avenue</a>, with the apartments sitting above a mixed-use podium. Initial plans were for closer to 900 apartments across two 40-storey towers.

Located around 30 metres from the Bella Vista Metro Station entrance, the development is intended to act as a catalyst for the long-planned Bella Vista Station Precinct, transforming a vacant site into a transit-oriented residential and commercial destination.

Planning documents describe the project as delivering "a high-density mixed use destination that combines housing, retail and community-serving uses in a highly accessible setting."

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group plans 674-apartment Bella Vista towers opposite Metro station" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="21c08216-589e-490d-ad08-2d88b6fa62d9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bella%20vista%20podium.png?VersionId=3TnwjjQCNwTsmyQRaWnFrLTSAF0CJeka" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/turner-studio">Turner</a>, with landscape architecture by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/arcadia-landscape-architecture">Arcadia</a>, the project comprises 674 apartments, including 102 affordable housing dwellings representing 15 per cent of the residential floor space. The housing mix spans studios, one, two and three-bedroom apartments, alongside a collection of townhouse-style residences integrated into the podium levels. The development also includes specialist disability accommodation and an elevated provision of adaptable and liveable housing.

The mixed-use podium has been designed to create an active urban centre around the Metro station, incorporating a 1,423 sqm supermarket, a 3,029 sqm gym, specialty retail spaces, a 100-place childcare centre and a publicly accessible "city room" community space. A secondary laneway, active frontages and landscaped public areas are intended to improve pedestrian connectivity through the site and strengthen links between the station precinct and surrounding neighbourhood.

In the project's design report, Turner said the proposal responds to Bella Vista's emerging role as a higher-density centre within Sydney's north-west growth corridor.

"The project transforms a strategically located site into a high-density mixed use destination that combines housing, retail and community-serving uses in a highly accessible setting," the report states.

"Active frontages, a publicly accessible city room, a secondary laneway and a mix of uses including a local supermarket, child care centre and gym create a more complete and socially useful urban environment for residents, workers and the wider community."

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group plans 674-apartment Bella Vista towers opposite Metro station" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0fde6220-82de-4f6a-9b63-d0fd8157acc9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bella%20vista%20da.png?VersionId=7hEmuSutH8plTd_RqqdmPu055F6qe554" />

Urban Property Group has been one of the busiest developers across Greater Sydney this year.

The developer is progressing around 1,000 apartments across <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-urban-property-group-plans-next-major-wollongong-tower">two projects in Wollongong</a>, with several thousand more homes in the pipeline across Newcastle, Castle Hill, Little Bay and Penrith.

First look: Urban Property Group plans 674-apartment Bella Vista towers opposite Metro station

Burwood's southern town centre precinct is set for another major injection of housing, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/holdmark-property-group">Holdmark</a> unveiling plans for three mixed-use towers containing 900 apartments above new retail and commercial space.

The State Significant Development Application covers a consolidated 10,265 sqm site at 36-46 George Street and 16-26 Elsie Street, immediately south of Burwood's commercial core and within walking distance of Burwood Station, Westfield and Burwood Park.

The proposal comprises <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/36-46-elsie-street-burwood-nsw-2134">three mixed-use towers</a> ranging between 32 and 43 storeys.

<img alt="First look: Holdmark unveils 900-home mixed-use precinct for Burwood town centre" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="84b90b18-a54c-426d-885b-6f205bc2b883" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/burwood%20da1.png?VersionId=cJrb7Snn7qNpRzgXBOXK13PKF2CK021Z" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/studiosc">Studio.SC</a>, the scheme is positioned as a significant extension of Burwood's evolving high-density centre. The project would be delivered across two interconnected development parcels, replacing existing commercial buildings and creating a new pedestrian-focused precinct linking George Street, John Street, Elsie Street and Railway Crescent.&nbsp;

The design report describes the proposal as "a contemporary response to this evolving urban condition," adding that it seeks to "reinforce George Street's role as a human-scaled, active street while contributing to the broader rhythm and grain of the town centre."

The development features a mix of residential, commercial and retail uses, with activated ground-floor frontages intended to strengthen pedestrian connections between Burwood Station, Burwood Place, Westfield and the wider town centre.&nbsp;

The proposal also incorporates extensive communal facilities, landscaped open space and new through-site links designed to encourage public movement across the precinct.&nbsp;

<img alt="First look: Holdmark unveils 900-home mixed-use precinct for Burwood town centre" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="89a6bccc-b78b-4a97-a49f-cac1761f34b6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/burwood%20podium%20a.png?VersionId=6HBYg_pKxAc3yCND_wDKZmfMfzfneHmz" />

Studio.SC said the project draws inspiration from Burwood Park and the area's mature tree canopy, with "warm, earthy tones and robust materials such as brick and sculpted concrete" used to anchor the buildings within their urban context.

The scale of the proposal reflects Burwood's growing role as one of Sydney's key metropolitan centres. Planning documents note the suburb's strong population growth, high apartment living rates and increasing transport accessibility, particularly with the future Burwood North Metro station expected to further strengthen the area's connectivity. The development is designed to capitalise on those transport links while introducing a substantial amount of new housing stock into the town centre.

Burwood is expected to see a development boom, with the NSW Government rezoning the Burwood North Metro Precinct, a move expected to deliver around 15,000 new homes surrounding the new station.

Earlier this month, Nascon lodged plans for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-nascon-targets-burwood-growth-corridor-with-112-unit-apartment-tower">100-apartment development on the edge of the town centre</a>.

Holdmark's broader portfolio includes plans for nearly 800 new homes at Macquarie Park, currently before the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority. The developer is also behind a significant portion of the Melrose Park masterplanned redevelopment, as well as the former Caddens Corner drive-in site, where around 500 homes are planned.

First look: Holdmark unveils 900-apartment, mixed-use precinct for Burwood town centre

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hyecorp-property-group">Hyecorp</a> has completed construction of Audrey, its parkside apartment development in St Leonards South, becoming the first residential project within the St Leonards South Precinct to reach completion.

Residents are expected to begin moving into the Canberra Avenue development at the end of June, making Audrey the first opportunity for buyers to take up residence within the emerging precinct.

Positioned at the highest point on Canberra Avenue, directly opposite Newlands Park, the project enjoys protected parkland outlooks and district views that cannot be built out as the precinct continues to evolve.

Unlike many of the larger developments planned across St Leonards South, Audrey comprises just 102 residences, making it one of the more boutique offerings within the precinct. The smaller scale has enabled Hyecorp to place a strong focus on owner-occupier design, resident amenity, and long-term liveability.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110379 project_image_fid=368333]

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, Audrey comprises a mix of three-bedroom apartments and a double-storey five-bedroom townhouse, with many residences positioned to capture views toward the Sydney CBD and Harbour Bridge. The project has been underpinned by a strong focus on design continuity, with Hyecorp working alongside interior designers <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/jackson-teece">Jackson Teece</a> and landscape architects <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/site-image">Site Image</a> to shape both the private residences and shared amenity spaces.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/audrey-st-leonards-13-19-canberra-avenue-st-leonards-nsw-2065">Audrey</a>’s interiors feature open-plan layouts, floor-to-ceiling glazing, oak timber flooring, bespoke joinery, and large-format stone finishes throughout the kitchens and bathrooms. Integrated Miele appliances, brushed metal tapware, and concealed cabinetry detailing were specified across the residences, reflecting Hyecorp's emphasis on quality and owner-occupier appeal.

The upper levels of the building are home to the Tiffany Collection, a premium offering occupying Levels 12 to 15. The residences include upgraded appliance packages, fluted standalone bathtubs, heated bathroom flooring, custom walk-in robes, and larger internal layouts ranging from 155 to 159 sqm.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110379 project_image_fid=367164]

Backed by a 30-year legacy, Audrey reflects the experience of Hyecorp, an Australian family-owned developer with an award-winning track record across Sydney. As locals, Hyecorp understands the needs of local communities, creating homes and precincts designed for long-term liveability, connection, and lifestyle.

Despite its boutique scale, Audrey delivers an extensive suite of amenities typically associated with much larger developments. Residents have access to an indoor lap pool and spa, personal training studio, private cinema, music room, rooftop entertaining terrace, residents lounge, and private dining room overlooking the Sydney skyline.

The rooftop terrace and communal lounge spaces were conceived as extensions of residents' homes, supporting a lifestyle-focused environment that encourages wellbeing, flexibility, and community connection.

The project also incorporates a ground-floor café and an integrated daycare centre, adding to the growing mixed-use character emerging across the St Leonards South precinct.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110379 project_image_fid=198680]

Audrey arrives as <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/st-leonards-nsw-2065">St Leonards</a> continues its transformation into one of Sydney's most strategically located urban renewal areas. The precinct's proximity to Royal North Shore Hospital and the broader health, research, and commercial corridor has made it increasingly attractive to medical professionals, healthcare workers, and owner-occupiers seeking housing close to employment and transport infrastructure.

Residents are within walking distance of St Leonards Station and the Crows Nest Metro, while nearby retail includes Mall 88, Forum Plaza, Woolworths, and the recently opened Coles supermarket. Nearby green spaces including Newlands Park, Gore Hill Oval, and Naremburn Park further reinforce the area's lifestyle appeal.

As the first completed project within the precinct, Audrey demonstrates the direction of St Leonards South's evolution, combining higher-density living with generous amenity, strong transport connectivity, and access to green space.

A limited collection of premium residences remains available, including spacious three-bedroom apartments, a four-bedroom townhouse and a selection of penthouses.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=110379]

Jonathan Chancellor

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