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Cloyne, the landmark Toorak residence, has been sold for around $3.8 million.
The Sotheby's International agents Greg Herman and Robert Curtain <a href="/news/cloyne-toorak-trophy-mansion-asking-price-reduced-to-3-95-million">reduced the expectations to</a><a href="/news/cloyne-toorak-trophy-mansion-asking-price-reduced-to-3-95-million"> a $3.95 million asking price earlier this month</a>.
With prominent porte-cochère, Cloyne is one of the few substantially intact homes designed in the 1920s by Harold Desbrowe Annear.
It was built at 611 Toorak Road, Toorak in 1926 for Louis Nelken, reputedly a former Royal family butler, who married into the establishment Baillieu family. He was a director of Australian Knitting Mills.
<a href="/news/cloyne-the-jewelled-toorak-trophy-residence-returns-to-market">It last sold in early 2011 at $3.5 million</a>, thereby reflecting 2.3% annual growth before its latest acquisition by Chinese buyers, Huiqin Zhang and Hongyuan Wang.
The eccentric five bedroom, five bathroom house initially had a $4.8 million asking price.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Cloyne, the noteworthy Toorak trophy home, sells 

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The property at 12 Attunga Street, Woollahra - the former home of artist Charles Blackman - sold at weekend auction. 
The five bedroom-bedroom home sold for $2.8 million. Sotheby’s International agent Michael Pallier was quoting $2.3 million plus.
The upper level was the studio of Blackman when he and wife Barbara lived in the Attunga Street house.
The Blackmans sold the house in 1994 for $1.22 million.  
It has been renovated by architect Anthony Gill, since it last traded at $2.1 million in 2007.
There was an initial weekend clearance rate of 83% from the 319 auctions reported to Domain Group's Australian Property Monitors.
There are another 120 results yet to be reported given the total of 440 auctions.
Sotheby's sold the weekend's highest sale when a five-bedroom house on 697 square-metres at 73 O'Sullivan Road, Rose Bay fetched $4.39 million through Michael Pallier. It previously traded at $3,075,000 in 2007.
The Rose Bay property briefly had high price hopes which were revised down to $4.5 million.
It was available for rent at $3500 a week in 2012.
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Artist Charles Blackman's former Woollahra home sold

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BIS Shrapnel has forecast inner Sydney ­new apartment completions are set to peak in 2017.
Its report, Inner Sydney Apartments 2014 to 2021, showed around 5,800 apartments were under construction around inner Sydney and 11,500 apartments would be finished over the next three years.
The anticipated peak of 4,500 apartment completions by 2016/17 is expected to be on par with the previous 1999/2000 peak, the BIS Shrapnel report author, Angie Zigomanis said.
<img src="/images/2014/08/25/bis-aug-25-one.jpg" alt="">
Source: BIS Shrapnel
Total price growth of around 21%, or just under three percent per annum, is forecast through to 2021.
The report warns landlords of newly completed apartments will have to be more competitive to attract tenants over existing stock, while owners of older apartments may have to discount to attract tenants from neighbouring suburbs,
Zigomanis said declining rental yields will be ­sustainable while interest rates remain low, and the gap between rental income and mortgage repayments is relatively narrow. 
But weak purchaser demand and prices will emerge once interest rates lift, with BIS Shrapnel expecting a rate rise by the end of 2015, and further rises in 2016 and into 2017.
But in the man time short-term demand for inner Sydney apartments is expected to remain buoyant and BIS Shrapnel expects median price growth about 6% per annually over 2014-15 and 2015-16.
The downturn is expected in 2016-17.
Zigomanis said Sydney was still catching up after years of ­under-development and weak demand for new apartments.
He pinpointed three demographics that will assist rental demand including overseas student enrolments increasing for the first time since peaking over 2009–2010; growth in long term overseas visitor arrivals, and professional employment growth in inner Sydney expected to be relatively robust. 
"With most inner Sydney apartments purchased by investors, these groups will contribute to rising tenant demand and help to fill up the new apartment stock," Zigomanis said.
"Owner occupier demand is also likely to grow, with rising inner and middle ring Sydney house prices encouraging some tenants to instead upgrade to a larger apartment in inner Sydney as an owner occupier, while also encouraging empty nesters and retirees to more easily trade down from their existing house to an apartment."
Nevertheless, says Zigomanis, this strengthening in occupier demand is not anticipated to be sufficient to keep pace with the record level of new apartments expected to be completed over the next three years, with vacancy rates forecast to rise in the coming years.
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BIS Shrapnel forecasts 6% annual inner Sydney apartment price growth over next two years

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There is a building block for sale under $200,000 in Sydney.
The only issue is that it is on Scotland Island in Sydney's Pittwater.
The <a href="https://www.mcgrath.com.au/buy/house-scotland-island-nsw-2105/191573/?searchID=41765522" target="_blank">72 Thompson Street</a> offering is 1,018 square metres in a bushland setting high above the magnificent Pittwater.
<img src="/images/2014/08/25/SI3.jpg" alt="">
The block sold in 2001 at $165,000 and at $110,000 in 1997.
It came with $299,000 hopes in its initial 2013 offering. The $210,000 asking price was reduced this month to $190,000.
Some 3,000 people are estimated to be living off shore, McGrath agent Gordon Archibald suggests.
It will necessitate plenty of ferries to Church Point and Elvina Bay. The block would seem suitable for a pole home.
Just a bit further north, some nine properties are on the market at Great Mackerel Beach.
The prices range from $495,000 for a vacant block of land at 26 Diggers Crescent.
Great Mackerel Beach is another water-access only community on the foreshores of Pittwater.
There are some issues, including securing parking over at Palm Beach and rubbish collection.  
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A $190,000 block of land in Sydney! Start rowing

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Mullengandra Homestead at Albury in southern NSW has been sold for $1,525,000.
It was passed in at October auction last year, then given a $1.75 million asking price through <a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/mountain-creek-road-albury/Property-Details-sold-residential-6059019" target="_blank">Geoff Stean at Stean Nicholls Albury</a>.
It sold in late 2013 with the settlement price recently lodged.
There have been four higher sales over the past two years.
Earlier this year there was a $2.57 million sale of 500 hectares at Cookardinia. A 280 hectare holding at Culcairn settled last month at $2,485,000. There was a $2.45 million sale last year at Henty for a 98 hectare holding.
Mullengandra Homestead is located 38 kilometres from Albury in a town best known for the 1950 Russell Drysdale painting of the hotelier, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/arts/drysdale/paintings/46.htm" target="_blank">George R</a><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/arts/drysdale/paintings/46.htm" target="_blank">oss of Mullengandra</a>.
It comes with four bedroom 1900 homestead, plus coach house, machinery shed, hay shed and yards.
The original coach house has been fully renovated to provide guest accommodation.  
The 101 hectare farm has an orchard with apricots, peaches, nectarines, olives and citrus trees. There is also a vegetable and herb garden comprising of eight raised beds. 
It boasts a full size sand dressage arena, two horse stables and a tack room. 
It consistently grows out between 100 and 120 Angus Steers annually. 
There are 10 dams.
It has been a much traded property, last selling at $1.3 million in 2010, the same price as in 2006.
In 2002 it sold at $765,000 and in 1999 at $565,000
There was a $400,000 sale of 329 Mountain Creek Road, Mullengandra in 1997.
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Southern NSW farm, Mullengandra Homestead sells for $1,525,000

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Swinford, the renovated Toorak investment property of Tanya Hird, the wife of returning Essendon coach James Hird, is now "under offer".
It was renovated after being bought for $2.76 million in early 2011.
Set on 837 square metres close to Kooyong Village, it was speculated it came with $4.75 million plus hopes. 
The five-bedroom property at 7 Toorak Avenue has been for private sale through agents Ross Savas and Michael Armstrong at Kay &amp; Burton since February this year.
<div class="cT-imageGallerySnapshot cfix">Tania and James Hird reside<a href="/news/james-hird-toorak-mansion-the-home-of-1930s-high-society"> at another, much photographed, Toorak property</a> bought in 1998 for $2.4 million.</div>
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James and Tanya Hird's Toorak investment mansion under offer

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The 1892 trophy home built for the Northcote's second mayor, fetched $2.52 million at weekend auction through Marek Olech from Nelson Alexander.
Around <a href="/news/grand-view-northcote-listed-by-strange-fruits-roderick-poole">$2 million was the initial price guidance</a>.
It was sold by the Otway-bound Roderick Poole, founder of performing troupe Strange Fruit, and his partner, opera and theatre director Suzanne Chaundy.
They paid $900,000 in 2003.
It was owned between 1974 and 1980 by the then teacher librarian, turned cook Stephanie Alexander with veggie patch of course outback. Stephanie Alexander and her then husband barrister Maurice Alexander sold for $77,500.
The 28 Mitchell Street home is located on the Prospect Grove corner block on Ruckers Hill with views of the Dandenongs.
The two-storey five bedroom home has period detailing. There is as a studio/workshop.
Northcote's second mayor was the Glasgow-born butcher William Smith.
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Northcote's Grand View sold at 20% above guidance

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CFS Retail Property Group has booked a $400 million net profit for fiscal 2014, up 35% on the prior year.
The retail property trust has $14.2 billion of assets under management, including $8.9 billion held on balance sheet.
It is cautious on retail sales in the short-term given the 2015 federal budget impact but expect specialty store sales to steadily improve, chief executive Angus McNaughton forecasted, as Emporium Melbourne comes on line.
It officially opened its $1.2 billion Emporium Melbourne<a href="/expert-insights/investing/the-emporium-melbourne-officially-opens-its-doors"> in Baz Luhrmann-produced extravaganza</a>.
The Emporium comprises 45,000 square metres of retail space.
It is forecast to deliver 5% yield on cost.
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Emporium Melbourne forecast to deliver 5% yield on cost for CFS Retail

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Acclaimed dancer and choreographer Meryl Tankard has relisted her two-storey Bondi penthouse for 17 September auction.
Rather than the more than $2 million being sought in early 2014, this time it is $1.8 million plus.
The penthouse comes with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, three car spaces, views of the ocean and the harbour, and a self-contained roof-top terrace.
There is  534 square metres on title.
The former artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre bought the Penkivil Street pad in 2007 for $1.732 million.
It was for sale in February this year through Alexander Phillips, of Phillips Pantzer Donnelley, but <a href="https://www.mcgrath.com.au/buy/apartment-bondi-nsw-2026/235684/?searchID=41955241" target="_blank">14/2A Penkivil Street</a> did not sell.
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Meryl Tankard's Bondi re-offering with lower price guidance

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The 225 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst time warp has been sold for $1.34 million to an investor before auction.
It has been the longtime home of the local colourful identity, Theresa Kompara, aka Mrs Christmas, who has tentative plans to head to Melbourne where she still regularly partipates in dancing competitions. She often teams up with Paul Cruddas.
It was her dolls-house. The one with the dolls seeming just gathering dust in the shopfront window for the past few decades.
Inner city eccentricity at its most obvious.
"Bring your hard hat and your architect and check out the potential of this rare property," its <a href="https://www.dijones.com.au/1650402/" target="_blank">Di Jones agent, Jeremy Clinton advised</a>.
It was apparently inherited by the entertainer from a shoe maker and his Tivoli chorus girl wife who took Theresa in.
"She tells us she's 60, but she's been there for a good four decades." he said.
Our property contrarians Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok lament the sale as it represents the further diminishment of an eccentric era in Sydney's inner city.
HE SAID:
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" style="float: right;">
When ever I walked passed the tiled shop window and saw the curiousities, I always imagined the life stories that lay behind the shopfront facade. Theresa's eccentric reputation stretches way back, though the highlight for mine must have been when she met Princess Diana at the nearby Dr Victor Chang clinic.
She's been described as a wonderful inner city mix of eccentricity and sweetness.
Theresa taught tap and ballroom dancing to the deaf and ice skating to the blind children. 
She has also been an Easter Bunny at The Royal Easter show for over 40 years.
She was an ice skating champion in the 1960s.
Then in the 1980s an occasional face on Red Faces, Kerrie Anne, Mike Walsh et al.
Her most recent appearance was in the 2007 coming out surf film, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnQhdiaZn4o" target="_blank">Tan Lines</a>.
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" style="float: left;">
SHE SAID:
Surely the Powerhouse Museum could add the dolls to its collection rather than see Theresa put them mostly into storage. I trust too her portrait goes off to the National Portrait Gallery.
Set amid Victoria Street's vibrant restaurants, between Liverpool and Burton streets just footsteps from Green Park, the building certainly does present an opportunity for complete redevelopment with its B4 zoning mix for residential and commercial usage.
The 133 square metre holding offers high-exposure with its wide shopfront.
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Theresa Kompara's Darlinghurst dollhouse shop sold: He Said/She Said

"For me, it's the location." That was the first thing Chris pointed to when reflecting on why he and his wife Marita decided to purchase at Candela Ivanhoe, the under-construction new apartment development by Salter Brothers in the heart of the north-eastern M​elb​ourne​ suburb. ​

"We've lived here before… everything is here," Chris said.

"Our doctor is around the corner, there's dentists, pilates, everything we need, restaurants, fast food places, two train stations, Ivanhoe and Darebin, both in walking distance. You don't need anything else."

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X8K0Bozug7A?si=Puwc6vx_ZO0qQZF8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

Just 10 kilometres from Melbo​urn​e's CBD, Ivanhoe combines direct city connectivity with the amenity of an established village community. Residents have access to highly regarded schools, expansive parklands, public transport, and a thriving retail and hospitality precinct centred around Upper Heidelberg Road, all within a neighbourhood that has retained its leafy character despite its proximity to the city.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/candela-ivanhoe-40-upper-heidelberg-road-ivanhoe-vic-3079">Candela Ivanhoe</a> sits within the heart of this established landscape, positioned just moments from Ivanhoe Village and within walking distance of many of the suburb's most sought-after amenities.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=364553]

From Candela, residents can access cafés, grocers, wine bars, restaurants and essential services on foot, while Ivanhoe Station and Darebin Station provide direct connectivity across Mel​bour​ne. The development is also surrounded by some of the suburb's best-known lifestyle destinations, including Pinkie, Laurent, Enni, Docasa and Woodfire Pizza e Cucina, alongside Ivanhoe Plaza, Woolworths, pharmacies and specialty retailers.

Green space is another defining feature of the suburb. Darebin Parklands, Ivanhoe Park, Nellie Ibbot Park and the Yarra River trail network provide extensive opportunities for recreation, while Ivanhoe Golf Course and Ivanhoe Tennis Club continue to underpin the area's long-established lifestyle appeal.

The suburb's education offering further strengthens demand. Ivanhoe Grammar School, Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School, Mary Immaculate Primary School and Ivanhoe Primary School have helped establish the area as one of Melbou​​rne's most sought-after schooling precincts, attracting families and downsizers alike who want to remain connected to the area.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=357510]

While location was the priority for Marita and Chris, the project itself also needed to meet their expectations.

"Whilst location was paramount, I was also looking at design of the environment and Candela ticked every box," Marita said.

"We're just thrilled with our choice."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=336455]

Developed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/salter-brothers">Salter Brothers</a>, Candela Ivanhoe has been designed to complement its village setting, with an emphasis on generous floorplans, natural light and practical everyday living.

Residents will have access to a range of shared amenities, including a communal rooftop garden and dedicated residential lounge, complemented by a ground-floor café and lifestyle wellbeing centre, helping foster the sense of community already emerging among future owners.

That approach has resonated strongly with the market. More than 90 per cent of purchasers at Candela Ivanhoe are owner-occupiers, with buyers ranging from downsizers and second-home buyers to young families and first home buyers, creating a genuinely multi-generational community of grandparents, parents and children. It reflects a broader shift across Melbo​​urne's apartment market, where buyers are increasingly prioritising neighbourhood quality, lifestyle amenity and long-term liveability.

Currently under construction by Ironside, Candela Ivanhoe comprises 58 apartments. Candela Ivanhoe is scheduled for completion in the coming months, and residents can move in from September. One to four bedroom residences, prices from $649,000 and limited opportunities remaining.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=342]

Joel Robinson

Location and lifestyle drive demand at Candela Ivanhoe

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]

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.

Jonathan Chancellor

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