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Pauline Hanson has bought former hotel premises on the main street in the NSW Hunter town of Maitland.
The One Nation party founder has bought the former Exchange Hotel property in partnership with a business partner. It sold late last year through Rhonda Nyquist at PRD Nationwide for about $449,000.
While <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/property-retail-nsw-maitland-500082991" target="_blank">the 1940s P&amp;O-style premises</a> has no liquor licence and there is ‘‘no intention’’ to seek one, Hanson says she'd briefly considered the premises for returning to her days flinging fish and chips in Ipswich.
‘‘I’ve got to say the thought crossed my mind,’’ she says.
‘‘There’s always room for a good takeaway, and I can’t believe the price of a piece of fish now.’’
But neither will she completely rule it out.
At this stage Hanson says the downstairs part of the old pub willbe leased out commercially.
Located on the southern end of the mall, the 300-square-metre ground-floor premises with 70-square-metre cellar are listed for lease at $28,000 a year through PRD Nationwide Hunter Valley. There is a current antique shop occupant for some of the premises.
“Let’s see what happens down there first,” Hanson told The Maitland Mercury.
“It would need a lot of work done. At the moment, no, I have got a lot of other things on my plate.”
She says the business partners have plans to renovate the building and lease the upper level as residences.
The former 1940s Tooths hotel dates back to 1866 and closed in the early 1990s.
Hanson says she invested in Maitland because she believes it is a growing city.
“I think that end of town, although it was dying in the past, I think in time it will come good slowly,” she says. “I think it has a lot of potential.”
Hanson said yesterday that the pair had already started advertising for a commercial tenant to lease the building’s ground floor, which sits on the corner of Lee and High streets.
Maitland mayor Peter Blackmore welcomed Hanson’s investment in the city’s centre.
Hanson says she chose the former hotel after a search ‘‘over the years’’ and based her decision it on Maitland’s growth and the potential to add units to the site.
She says she also considered selling her bayside home for the Coalfields.
‘‘I’m enjoying it [in Port Stephens] but I have come from the land – I have had 500 hectares around me – and I’d like to go back to that,’’ Hanson says.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Pauline Hanson buys former Maitland pub premises - and won't completely rule out her return to fish and chips

The property movers and shakers of Byron Bay during 2011: Title Tattle

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Peta Minton, wife of the equity firm Archer Capital managing director Greg Minton, has spent $4.76 million at <place><city>Palm Beach</city></place>.
It’s a 1917 house – last sold 40 years ago – with sandstone basement and shingle-clad upper level with polished floors, three-metre-high ceilings and a sandstone open fireplace. All very much a throwback to the pioneering days when <place><city>Palm Beach</city></place> precincts garnered enduring nicknames such as “Pill Hill”, given the prevalence of <street><address>Macquarie Street</address></street> doctors on the hillside overlooking the beach and “Spin Hill” given the many spinsters on Sunrise Road.
Quite possibly the lower strip of Palm Beach Road will in future become known as Archer Capital Slopes, as the Minton’s near neighbour is Peter Wiggs, another managing director at Archer Capital. Wiggs and his wife, Electra, paid $4.5 million to secure Awarua in 2007. Wiggs, one of the longest-serving executives in the Australian private equity industry, having previously been at Rothschild <place><country-region>Australia</country-region></place>, joined Archer Capital in 1997. There's one house between the two acquisitions.
Awarua, a 1930s weekender that sits on an 873-square-metre block, previously traded in 1960 when it was bought by Edeline Jenkyn, wife of <place><city>Sydney</city></place> barrister Norman Jenkyn, QC.
The Mintons’ recently purchased property is listed on the Pittwater Local Environment Plan given its heritage significance, but extensions are possible given council approval. It was sold by the Boden family through LJ Hooker Palm Beach agents David Edwards and Amethyst McKee, who had marketed the property with $4.5 million-plus hopes.
Before joining Archer Capital in 2000, Greg Minton spent six years in management roles with CSR Limited including CSR Humes, the manufacturer of precast concrete products. Archer Capital, with $2 billion in funds under management or advice, has notched up over 30 acquisitions in leveraged buyouts since 1996 involving total aggregate funding of $5 billion. But the directors have some way before catching up to catch up with the long-acquisitive merchant banking types from Macquarie Bank et al.
In some years over the past three decades there have been $100 million plus in acquisitions by banking types as enriched old-timers depart the pricey peninsula. At <city>Palm Beach</city>, and also <place><placename>Whale</placename><placetype>Beach</placetype></place>, the emerging banking takeover can be traced back to the late 1980s when merchant banker Jim Dominguez and wife, Suzanne, snapped up their hillside double block for just $215,000. In 1990 the 2,200-square-metre Moonrising property was bought by merchant banker Stephen Higgs for a record $3 million. Merchant banker Rob Barry and wife, Mary, then spent $2.2 million on a house in 1992.
A property called Tehongi, on <street><address>Florida Road</address></street>, sold for $1.9 million to merchant banker Chris Roberts and wife, Frances, in 1993. And merchant banker Rob Rankin bought a property in 1995 for $852,500.
Nick Whitlam, when of the merchant bank Whitlam Turnbull, jokingly called his former <placename>Whale</placename><placetype>Beach</placetype> holiday home Wokka Waters – a reference to the estimated $9 million fee his firm received for its 1988 advice to the <city><place>Fairfax</place></city> publishing group.
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Summer Beach Spotlight: Archer Capital's acquisitive Palm Beach weekender buy-up 

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A luxury penthouse at Lumiere Residences in the Sydney CBD has been sold for $8.1 million in a sign of continued interest from Asian investors in top-end residential Australian property. 
<img src="/images/stories/lumiere1.jpg">
The 54th-floor apartment, developed by Frasers Property <country-region>Australia</country-region>, was sold by Savills <country-region>Australia</country-region> in conjunction with Savills <country-region><place>Thailand</place></country-region>. 
Set opposite St Andrew's Cathedral, the <a target="_blank" href="https://lumieresydney.com.au/lumiere/html3/home/home/index">Lumiere Residences building</a> was designed by Australian architects PTW in collaboration with international award-winning British architect Lord Norman Foster of Foster + Partners. 
Shayne Harris, Savills <country-region><place>Australia</place></country-region> head of residential, says the sky penthouse was purchased by a wealthy Asian investor. 
“This is a significant sale for <city><place>Sydney</place></city>’s CBD market, secured at approximately $27,000 per square metre,” Harris says. 
“It highlights that Asian investors continue to actively seek opportunities to acquire premium properties at the top end of <country-region><place>Australia</place></country-region>’s residential market. 
“They are attracted to the very best properties in the best locations, and the world-class Lumiere development in the Sydney CBD certainly meets these requirements.” 
Located in <city><place>Sydney</place></city>’s mid-town precinct at <street><address>101 Bathurst Street</address></street>, Lumiere is a multi-award-winning development based on a vertical village design that encompasses retail, commercial offices, the luxurious Fraser Suites Sydney apartment hotel and Lumiere Residences. 
It’s been marketed as “<place><country-region>Australia</country-region></place>’s first vertical village”.
<img src="/images/stories/lumiere2.jpg" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial;">
“"Residents will have everything there that they can find in a horizontal village like Paddington,” the developer Dr Stanley Quek advised during 2006 off-the-plan marketing.
Frasers Property is now undertaking the construction and marketing of the Central Park eco-friendly project on a 5.8-hectare former brewery site at the southern end of the city.
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Luxury Lumiere Residences Sydney CBD penthouse fetches $8.1 million through Savills Australia/Thailand

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Belvedere, a limestone 1897 Cottesloe residence, has been listed with $5.5 million-plus hopes. 
It’s been listed by <city><place>Perth</place></city> lawyer Liz Barclay through estate agent Justin Davies of Space Real Estate. 
The heritage-listed house with turret views to <place><placename>Rottnest</placename><placetype>Island</placetype></place> is one of three limestone homes in a rare grouping that includes Tukurua and Le Fanu. They are examples of grand beachside homes exhibiting the affluence that accompanied the gold boom of the 1890s. 
Belvedere was constructed by a wealthy mining investor, J. J. Campbell, who managed a tin mine in <state><place>Queensland</place></state> and built Belvedere for his father, mother and siblings. 
It was used as a family residence until the 1930s, when it was let out as a boarding house. 
In 1974 the house was put on the market as a development site but purchased by Loretta and Tom Pell, who restored the house for family use. 
Belvedere was set for demolition in 1974 but the <street><address>Rosendo Street</address></street> house, which sits on a 1,300-square-metre block, was saved and restored to its former Federation Queen Anne-style glory. 
Cottesloe was named by Governor Frederick Broome, in 1886, soon gathering the wealthy of <city><place>Perth</place></city> during the summer months as the beach is sheltered from the south-west winds in summer and protected by reefs and islands off the coast. 
Although the <city><place>Perth-to-Fremantle</place></city> railway opened in 1881, the beach remained relatively unsettled, with only six permanent residents living there in 1893. 
But by 1897, the population of the Cottesloe area was approaching 1,500 permanent residents. 
Its three-storey, 11-metre-tall tower was reputedly built so that retired sea captain Thomas Campbell could watch shipping movements with a telescope. 
The property which originally stretched to the beach reserve is now 50 metres from the beach. 
It has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, wrap-around verandas and pool. It last traded in 2005 at $3.85 million. 
Another Cottesloe Federation Queen Anne-style property, Trafalgar House, constructed in 1915 for William Liddell, the manager of Hoskins Foundry and Kalgoorlie Foundry, is listed through Chris Shellabear at Shellabears.
 
 
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Summer Beach Spotlight: Cottesloe 1890s mining boom offering with captain’s turret

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The redundant Stanwell Park, NSW coastal holiday home of Peter and Divonne Holmes à Court has been sold for $1.9 million.
Its McGrath Thirroul listing agent Amanda Moore had expected $2.1 million-plus bidding when it was auctioned in conjunction with LJ Hooker Helensburgh in early December.
Last traded at $2.1 million in 2008, it is understood to have been bought by a surfwear entreprenuer.
Set about one hour south of Sydney, the four-bedroom oceanfront home at Stanwell Park attracted no bids at its auction.
It comes with Luigi Roselli-designed and council-approved plans for extensive additions.
Due to spending more time in Europe, the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/new-south-wales/peter-holmes-a-courts-nsw-coastal-retreat-listed-for-sale/2011113052622" target="_blank">Holmes à Court family decided they would not build their dream beach house extension</a> on the 1,568-square-metre Kallaroo Avenue site.
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Summer Beach Spotlight: Tide goes out on Peter Holmes a Court's Stanwell Park offering

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There was only Christmas cheer for buyers following from 2011's last prestige <place><placename>Mermaid</placename><placetype>Beach</placetype></place> sale. Crown chief executive Rowen Craigie's three-bedroom <street><address>Hedges Avenue</address></street> beachfront cottage was snapped up post-auction in late December for $3.65 million.
It had been listed through McGrath Broadbeach agent Chez Fraser with $3.9 million-plus hopes. Roy Schwenke of Ray White CBD Residential notified RP Data of the sale in the week prior to Christmas.
Its sale price represented a 46% drop on its $6.75 million sale in 2008. It was marketed as the chance to secure one of the most affordable beachfront cottages in the strip.
"This property is one of the last remaining original cottages and offers the choice of an immediately liveable home or a fantastic opportunity to build your ideal beachfront home on its full 405 square metre block," Fraser suggested.
It had been for sale since its August 2009 auction, with its price expectations dropping from $5.75 million in January 2011 to $4.75 million hopes.
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/the-8-biggest-losses-on-mermaid-beach-s-millionaire-s-row-show-no-post-gfc-recovery-in-sight/2011113052610">Craigie is certainly not the first to take a huge hit in Mermaid Beach.</a>
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Summer Beach Spotlight: Rowen Craigie's Mermaid Beach misgamble

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<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wX8CRvG6Nb8" frameborder="0" width="470" height="264"></iframe>
In keeping with the holiday spirit, billionaire hedge fund philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones has once again shared his Christmas light extravaganza with the public at his waterfront home in the Belle Haven section of Greenwich, Connecticut overlooking Long Island Sound.
Jones, one of Wall Street's legendary hedge fund traders, has done so since 2000.
Susie Costaregni at The Dish column in <a href="https://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Keeping-up-with-the-Jones-Billionaire-lights-up-852217.php" target="_blank">greenwichtime.com</a> wrote last weekend it was on again. His daughter Caroline features singing in this year's presentation.
In 2010 it was <a href="https://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/12/17/how-a-billionaire-does-christmas-lights/" target="_blank">featured on the Wall Street Journal website</a> and on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&amp;NR=1&amp;v=Vep5vnNGfio" target="_blank">YouTube</a>.
His family occasionally spend Christmas Down Under since they bought the $7 million hillside Bronte house sold by the actor Heath Ledger in 2006. It’s the summer base for Jones and his Sydney-born wife, former model Sonia Klein, when visiting her family and taking in the sun at Palm Beach.
The Jones clan flew to Australia for the 2004 summer, hiring six houses at Palm Beach, and are tipped to be heading down this year too.
He’s currently ranked by the Forbes Rich List as the world's 107th richest person with a $US3.2 billion worth and met his future wife after she won the 1985 Cosmopolitan Look of the Year model competition and was rewarded with a two-year modelling contract in New York. The couple now have four children.
Jones founded the New York City poverty-fighting Robin Hood Foundation.
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Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones' Christmas light extravaganza

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2011 was the year that the capital city prestige residential prices went backwards. No dramatic forced sales yet, just plenty of luxury listings with unrealistic prices that languish unsold.
There were some negative directional price indicators emerging – although that said, there's still the occasional sales that suggests not everyone's caught in the downturning market.
But there have not been the stellar prices.
And a few who've been around long enough sense it is reminiscent of those final months of the late 1980s – sales such as Rona's bullish $9.6 million snuck through by the late Double Bay sales doyen Ron Pillinger – which within months in 1990 had turned decidedly bearish for a long time.
Some savvy 2012 buyers are waiting in the wings, understandably hesitant in part because of the international economic headwinds, but also for want of price comparables. Realists expects top-end prices will pretty much remain clipped until the financial services industry returns to its heyday, such is the interconnectivity between share market excess and a rampant prestige property market.
In the meantime, top-end prices have come back 30% from peak levels.
<img src="/images/stories/sydneytopsale.jpg">
Certainly in Sydney you know it’s an off year when a non-waterfront house (pictured above) takes the prize as the year's top sale at just $21.5 million.
Although of course the actual highest Sydney spender was the entreprenuer Brett Blundy, who bought two adjoining Vaucluse properties, including one on Kutti Beach, for a $25.7 million total.
But all credit to estate agent Alison Coopes who secured the $21.5 million deal when Hong Kong buyers bought on the Vaucluse hillside from John and Jo McNiven.
Some things remain constant, as it comes with a Howard Tanner-designed residence – he's forever getting the priciest design commissions and secured 2010's top sale. This year's top sale was built after the 1,981-square-metre block cost $3,925,000 in 1996.
Until we know officially what price Albert Bertini got in Balmoral - its reputed $18.5 million sale, reflected a let-off lightly 17% price drop, the reward for living next door to billioniare buyers - the second-highest known Sydney sale was $18.5 million on the Point Piper harbourfront. The Wolseley Road residence sold through Christie's International agent Ken Jacobs and LJ Hooker Double Bay's Bill Malouf to Gelatissimo vendors. The five-bedroom Philip Thalis-designed Wolseley Road house on 1,100 square metres had been listed with another agent in distant November 2008 with $32.4 million plus expectations. So make that 40% off, and a serious meltdown although it was only one agent's folly of a record-setting price expectation.
<img src="/images/stories/towersrd3.jpg">
Nothing happened saleswise in Melbourne's Toorak during 2011 – with two Towers Road listings going unsold (1 Towers Road pictured above)  – which has therefore left the $26 million Portsea record intact.
<img src="/images/stories/dalkeith.jpg">
So Perth took 2012 honours with the $39 million sale of the former Dalkeith mansion built for the 1980s entrepreneur Alan Bond. The seven-bedroom riverfront mansion set across six titles totalling 6,417 square metres (pictured above) sold through Mack Hall, of Mack Hall Real Estate.
The Swan River mansion was bought by the mining entrepreneur Steve Wyatt and his wife, Sue and was sold by businessman Barry Patterson, who was Sonic Healthcare chairman from 1999 to 2010. The gold mining magnate Ross Atkins had bought the property in 1993 from the Bond family trust company, Armoy Pty Ltd, for $7.3 million, selling it six years later to Patterson after extensive renovation for $9.5 million, which was to stand as Perth’s record for seven years until 2006.
Of course Wyatt’s business associate Chris Ellison set the WA real estate record when he paid $57.5 million for iron ore heiress Angela Bennett's riverfront property in Mosman Park in 2009. The 7,567-square-metre estate sold through Willie Porteous of William Porteous Properties International.
Wyatt and Ellison set up Crushing Services International Pty Ltd, which operated ore-crushing plants for mining companies.
Estate agents ought to set up Crushing Expectations Locally Pty Ltd, as there aren't going to be many sales next year unless the discretionary vendors are told the truth about the new pricing levels.
{yoogallery src=[images/stories/december23sydneytop]}
And in the meantime the good old listings hang around, none more so than Altona (pictured above), on the harbour's edge at Point Piper. Deke and Eve Miskin are in residence, still seeking somewhere upwards of $50 million, perhaps rueing they never took the $55 million offer in 2007 by the shopping centre scion David Lowy and his wife, Margo.
Oh how the tide has turned as at the time the 2007 prestige market was also paralysed – not for want of big-pocketed buyers, but by sellers fearful of selling too cheaply as no high end-sales had exceeded Altona's $28 million record set five years earlier in 2002.
Of course there were very soon some benchmark sales with the horse breeder Warwick Miller selling Routala, Point Piper to the Fell family, which briefly held the Australian record at $28.7 million in 2007 through Bill Malouf from LJ Hooker Double Bay in conjunction with James McCowan and Greg Carr from Richardson &amp; Wrench Double Bay.
Then Coolong, the stately Vaucluse harbourfront house was sold by Allco founder David Coe to Ivan Ritossa, global head of foreign exchange at Barclays Capital, in 2008, for $45 million through Hamish Robertson from McGrath in conjunction with the veteran agent Bill Bridges.
In 2009 Perth chimed in when Angela Bennett sold at $57.5 million but that was really a compound and not the typical single dwelling.
<img src="/images/stories/villaveneto1.jpg">
Back in Sydney in 2010, Villa Veneto (pictured above and below), the grand Italianate villa in Point Piper with a 21-person lift, sold for $52 million after being listed with expectations of $60 million.
<img src="/images/stories/villaveneto2.jpg">
The luxury Villa Veneto was finished in 2004 after two years building to a design by Michael Suttor. The five-level house cost Andrew and Andrea Banks a reputed $15 million, having consolidation of the 1,424-square-metre double block for $14 million in 2001.
Its August 2010 sale – reported by me within seven days – is mired in intrigue given the official viewable paperwork dating the deal as December 2010 suggests just a $44 million transfer. But those in the know stick with the $52 million sale tag, presuming the deal was either front- or back-ended by an $8 million amount. And those who reckon it’s $44 million probably have ulterior motives.
Anyway Altona's next sale will be the sixth in my memory, which dates back to Christmas 1986, when Peggy Moore was in two minds about shutting up her exclusive antipodean pensione for international celebrities. Moore felt guilty about selling Altona, her century-old Point Piper waterfront mansion, shutting the door on entertainers Max Bygraves and Ronnie Corbett, singers Dame Vera Lynn and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, even the ice-skating pair Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
It was $180 a night for serviced apartment in the two-storey Georgian mansion – complete with jetty, pool, cabana and views of Shark Island and the Harbour Bridge, and given it was pre-paparazzi the only barking came from her two dogs, Sydney-silky Eliza Jane and pekingese Beau.
<img src="/images/stories/lyndsay1.jpg">
Altona was joined on this year's prestige listings by an overly ambitious waterfront asking price at Darling Point (pictured above and below). It’s Sir William Tyree's 1,800-square-metre Lindsay Avenue property at the tip of Darling Point and next door to Glanworth, owned by the media tycoon Kerry Stokes.
<img src="/images/stories/lyndsay2.jpg">
Sir William bought it in 1967 for $170,000 from the estate of Margaret Wirth of the Wirth Circus family.
Maybe 18 months ago it was doable, but now it would take an estate agent's best conjuring expertise to secure the suggested $50 million-plus hopes. And the $40 million estimate suggested by Title Tattle might also be over the odds.
Probably all depends on Kerry Stokes's patience, acquisitorial generosity and someone else who wants to make a play for their own piece of the harbour.
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Capital city prestige markets went backwards in 2011: Title Tattle

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Da-yangyu, the first island ever to be put up for auction in China, sold last month for 20 million yuan ($3 million). Ningbo Gaobao Investment, which deals in real estate and tourism development, won a three-way bidding war for the right to use the land for 50 years and build a luxury resort.
The <a target="_blank" href="https://202.108.9.138/news.jsp?fileId=121272">start bidding price was set at 15 million yuan</a>, with the tourism development companies required to have had a registered capital of 50 million yuan or above.
<a target="_blank" href="https://202.108.9.138/news.jsp?fileId=121272"><img src="/images/stories/chineseisland.jpg"></a>
Covering an area of 0.258 square kilometres, Dayangyu Island is 300 metres far from the mainland.
"It has rich natural resources, especially in vegetation and seafood, and it's a great spot for sailing on the big, blue sea," buyer Yang Weihua, general manager of Ningbo Gaobao, said.
She advised her company would invest about 500 million yuan into the project, but declined to reveal more details. The losing bidders for the island were Xiangshan Tourism Group and Xiangshan Movie Development.
Dayangyu Island, which lies off the coast of Ningbo in Zhejiang province, was once an orchard and hunting site.
It is among the first batch of 176 uninhabited islands made available to domestic and foreign developers by the State Oceanic Administration.
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Year in review: first Chinese island ever auctioned sells for $3 million

ASX-listed developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/stockland">Stockland</a>&nbsp;is continuing its push back into the new apartment market, filing plans for a prominent gateway site between Collingwood and East Melbourne.

The development giant, which moved back into the new apartment space when it announced Stanton Place in Sydney's Rosebery and have since filed plans for a 50-storey tower, are jumping into the off the plan Melbourne market.

They are hoping to create a mixed-use neighbourhood precinct for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/79-81-victoria-parade-collingwood-vic-3066">79-81 Victoria Parade</a>, replacing an existing commercial building with a scheme by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/john-wardle-architects">Wardle</a>&nbsp;for 478 apartments,&nbsp;ground-floor retail, new public open spaces and a publicly accessible pedestrian laneway.

<img alt="First look: Stockland plans new mixed-use neighbourhood precinct for Collingwood gateway site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="72dbbca9-3918-4073-afad-a0c0c35be8e7" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/stockland%20pers.png?VersionId=bzMVUKKxvwuNK1m0v_td126Rgct32uk_" />

The design report identifies the public realm as a central driver of the proposal.

"Collingwood has limited access to high-quality parks and public open space, and the proposal delivers valuable new areas for respite, social interaction and fine-grain retail activity."

The development would deliver a diverse mix of housing, including studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments alongside townhouse-style residences. Two basement levels are proposed beneath the development, providing resident and retail parking as well as extensive bicycle facilities.

Wardle's design draws heavily on Collingwood's industrial character, using articulated building forms, brickwork and robust materials inspired by the suburb's warehouse and manufacturing heritage. The built form has been broken into a series of smaller volumes to better respond to the surrounding streetscape while extensive communal gardens, rooftop amenities and shared resident spaces are integrated throughout the project.

<img alt="First look: Stockland plans new mixed-use neighbourhood precinct for Collingwood gateway site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7b2135ed-65df-4253-ad53-f216f06bd467" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/stockland%20podium.png?VersionId=l1B6Hqn8zs772VxH6L1fDPg0KHshan9v" />

The planning documents describe the existing office building as offering little engagement with the public realm, with the redevelopment intended to create a more permeable and active neighbourhood destination.

"The proposed scheme presents a significant opportunity to deliver a vibrant retail plaza and a local neighbourhood hub serving both existing and future Collingwood residents."

The 79–81 Victoria Parade site occupies a strategic location about 1.5 kilometres east of Melbourne's CBD, at the threshold between Collingwood and East Melbourne. It is well served by tram services along Victoria Parade and sits within walking distance of St Vincent's Hospital, Fitzroy Gardens, the Fitzroy activity centre and a broad range of employment, retail and hospitality destinations.

Joel Robinson

Stockland plans new mixed-use neighbourhood precinct for Collingwood gateway site

An 1880s timber cottage that has survived Kangaroo Point's transformation from riverside suburb to high-density apartment precinct is set to become the centrepiece of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/zephyr">Zephyr Group</a>'s proposed Banksia development.

Rather than see the locally heritage-listed Alpha Cottage as an obstacle to navigate, plans integrate the landmark home into a new 18-storey residential tower, giving one of the suburb's oldest surviving residences a new role as the project's communal hub.

The development application covers a 1,177 sqm amalgamated site at 127-133 Lambert Street and 30 Shafston Avenue, where Zephyr Group plans to deliver 64 apartments above three basement levels. Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/joe-adsett-architects">Joe Adsett Architects</a>, the proposal carefully weaves the retained heritage cottage into a contemporary residential scheme, with the tower elevated above the historic building to preserve its presence within the Lambert Street streetscape.

<img alt="First look: Zephyr Group's Banksia to wrap new Kangaroo Point tower around 1880s Alpha Cottage" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f9dc5bdb-d691-4c60-bf2b-c3ed405a3e75" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Banksia.png?VersionId=Jh4bjlewU.o8HXWt0V4KaFA_lPcF7KWM" />

Named after the native Australian Banksia flower, the project draws inspiration from its distinctive form through curved balconies, sculpted planter boxes and cascading subtropical landscaping that soften the building's profile.

As the design report explains: "The tower's identity is defined by its feature facade, drawing direct inspiration from the Banksia wildflower. The building departs from traditional rigidity through the use of elegant, GRC-moulded planter boxes that appear as if shaped by the breeze."

Plans propose 64 apartments, comprising 32 two-bedroom and 32 three-bedroom residences, across an 18-storey tower. Residents would have access to rooftop amenities including a swimming pool, spa, gym, sauna, private cinema, dining spaces and landscaped recreation areas, while more than half the site is dedicated to planting and open space.

<img alt="First look: Zephyr Group's Banksia to wrap new Kangaroo Point tower around 1880s Alpha Cottage" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="16041b5f-033e-47fa-8fbe-9886e072c1f2" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pool.png?VersionId=kpx5w4EbLx0_TdWfDoD1vrSs0_cZ5Ao1" />

The heritage component is the defining feature of the proposal. Constructed in the early 1880s and occupied from at least 1883, Alpha Cottage is recognised by Brisbane City Council as an important surviving example of Kangaroo Point's nineteenth-century residential development and as a representative transverse-gable timber cottage. Despite extensive redevelopment across the peninsula, the building has retained a high degree of its original form and internal fabric.

As part of the redevelopment, the cottage will be carefully relocated a short distance within its original allotment to facilitate construction before being returned to a prominent position along Lambert Street. Original verandah elements will be dismantled, catalogued and reinstated, while significant internal features, including timber flooring, wall linings, joinery, doors, windows and hardware, will be retained. Later additions, including the enclosed rear verandah, will be removed to better reveal the building's original form.

Once restored, Alpha Cottage will accommodate the building manager's office, mail room and parcel facilities, providing an active everyday use that supports its long-term conservation rather than preserving it as a static display. The heritage strategy also maintains landscaped space around the building, allowing it to remain visually distinct beneath the new tower.

<img alt="First look: Zephyr Group's Banksia to wrap new Kangaroo Point tower around 1880s Alpha Cottage" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="43b027e1-576e-4624-a66c-7cc54ea8b7be" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/banksia%20tower.png?VersionId=2W6E2yfkj2AQlWlLeV986grA5zB9f817" />

The Heritage Impact Assessment concludes that "the proposal secures the ongoing occupation, maintenance and conservation of Alpha Cottage," finding the development would result in "no more than a minor impact on the cultural heritage significance" of the building while ensuring its long-term future.

Joe Adsett Architects have designed the tower to sit above the heritage building rather than overwhelm it, creating a clear visual separation between old and new. The development's flowing balconies, integrated planting and organic façade respond to Brisbane's subtropical climate while complementing the restored cottage below.

Banksia occupies a prominent corner in Kangaroo Point within walking distance of the Kangaroo Point Bridge, Brisbane River, ferry services, QUT, the CBD and the Woolloongabba precinct. The site also benefits from direct access to active transport infrastructure and sits within an area earmarked for continued higher-density residential growth.

Zephyr Group's Banksia to wrap new Kangaroo Point tower around 1880s Alpha Cottage

Buying into a masterplanned community often means committing to a vision still years from taking shape. At <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kew-tallawong-23-27-schofields-road-tallawong-nsw-2762">Kew Tallawong</a>, that vision is already visible.

Residents have moved into the completed first stage, landscaped spaces are established, and the next chapter is now underway. Stage 1 has been completed and settled, with Stage 2 now selling off-the-plan.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/pbd-architects">PBD Architects</a>, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kew-tallawong-23-27-schofields-road-tallawong-nsw-2762">Kew Tallawong</a> combines attainable apartment living with sustainability initiatives rarely seen at this price point, including rooftop solar, battery storage and a resident EV-sharing program.

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Located on Schofi​elds Road, just moments from Tal​lawong Metro Station and Schof​ields Train Station, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kew-tallawong-23-27-schofields-road-tallawong-nsw-2762">Kew Tallawong</a> has been designed to appeal to a broad mix of buyers, from first-home purchasers looking for a foothold in Sy​dney's property market to downsizers seeking a connected, low-maintenance lifestyle.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kew-tallawong-23-27-schofields-road-tallawong-nsw-2762">Kew Tallawong</a> has been conceived as a thoughtfully planned masterplanned community that will evolve over multiple stages, with buyers now able to secure one, two and three-bedroom apartments within a neighbourhood that is already beginning to establish its identity.

One of the project's defining features is its focus on sustainability. Solar energy systems, battery storage and future EV charging infrastructure have been incorporated throughout the development, reflecting a long-term approach to both environmental performance and everyday convenience.

Sustainability sits at the centre of the development's vision, with solar energy systems, battery storage and future EV charging infrastructure integrated throughout the community.

That emphasis on future-ready living extends beyond the technology. Landscaped communal gardens, outdoor gathering spaces and plans for a future retail precinct aim to create a neighbourhood where residents can access daily conveniences without travelling far from home.

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The apartments themselves have been designed with liveability front of mind. Rather than chasing maximum density, the focus has been placed on creating practical homes with generous natural light, usable layouts and strong connections to outdoor space.

Importantly, these design principles have been applied consistently across the one, two and three-bedroom apartment offerings.

The appeal of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kew-tallawong-23-27-schofields-road-tallawong-nsw-2762">Kew Tallawong</a> is also closely linked to its location within Syd​ney's rapidly evolving north-west growth corridor. Over the past decade, major infrastructure investment has transformed the area, with new transport links, business precincts and community facilities reshaping suburbs like Talla​wong and Schofiel​ds.

The agent says buyers are increasingly recognising the area's long-term potential.

"Typical buyers that we're finding across <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kew-tallawong-23-27-schofields-road-tallawong-nsw-2762">Kew Tallawong</a> especially are your first-home buyers, your investors, your upsizers as well as your downsizers," Hawes says.

Connectivity remains one of the project's strongest drawcards. Residents have access to both Tallaw​ong Metro Station and Schofi​elds Train Station, providing links to the Sydn​ey CBD, Norw​est Business Park, Macquari​e Park and other major employment hubs. Retail centres including Rous​e Hill Town Centre and Sch​ofields Village are also nearby, alongside schools, parks and future healthcare infrastructure.

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For Stage 1 resident Roji, it is the balance between convenience and comfort that has defined the experience of living at Kew.

"For me, it's a balance of quality and convenience," she says. "Everything I need is right here."

"If I wanted to catch the train, Scho​fields Station is just around the corner. Tallaw​ong Metro connects me to the city."

More importantly, she says, the development has delivered something that cannot be measured in floorplans or specifications.

"<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kew-tallawong-23-27-schofields-road-tallawong-nsw-2762">Kew Tallawong</a> feels like home."

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As Stage 2 enters the market, that lived experience may be one of the project's strongest selling points. Buyers are not purchasing into an untested concept or a future promise. They are joining a community that is already taking shape.

Ongoing investment in transport, retail, healthcare and public open space continues to strengthen the appeal of Syd​ney's north-west growth corridor, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kew-tallawong-23-27-schofields-road-tallawong-nsw-2762">Kew Tallawong</a>'s established first stage provides buyers with a tangible sense of the community's future direction.

For a limited time, buyer can secure a new home at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/kew-tallawong-23-27-schofields-road-tallawong-nsw-2762">Kew Tallawong</a> with just a $10,000.

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Kew Tallawong: A growing community taking shape in Sydney's north-west

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/freecity">Freecity</a> has received development approval for its 51-storey mixed-use tower at 153-157 Walker Street, North Sydney, set to be one of the tallest mixed-use residential-led buildings in one of Sydney’s most sought-after commercial and residential addresses.

Lodged as a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) through the Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) pathway and approved by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure following a comprehensive public exhibition and submissions process, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/153-walker-street-north-sydney-nsw-2060">the project</a> will deliver 296 apartments, alongside a 170-room, luxury hotel, activated retail and significant public domain improvements.

Situated just 200 metres from Victoria Cross Metro Station, on one of the largest developable sites in North Sydney, the development will rise to 234 metres, making it one of the tallest buildings in the suburb. With an end value of approximately $1.5 billion, the project responds directly to the NSW Government’s mandate to accelerate housing delivery in well-located, transit-connected areas.

<img alt="Freecity gets green light for mixed-use residential and hotel tower in North Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="192ec455-94bf-4e01-83ef-922b1b269d67" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Freecity%20-%20Walker%20Street%20North%20Sydney%201%20RESIZED%20.jpg?VersionId=Bzqp0SBHCDvLAHjA4QXkjuGoOEIh73Jl" />

The apartment mix will cater to a broad range of buyers, with 65 studio and one-bedroom apartments, 139 two-bedroom residences, 35 three-bedroom apartments, 48 four-bedroom homes, and nine penthouses. Residents will have access to a dedicated amenity level on Level 33, featuring a swimming pool with views towards the Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and North Sydney CBD, as well as a gym, library, shared kitchen, lounge and outdoor entertaining areas.

The hotel will occupy the lower six levels of the building and include meeting and function spaces, a wellness centre with gym, yoga studio, swimming pool and sauna, further strengthening North Sydney's growing hospitality offering.

At ground level, the development has been designed to improve pedestrian connections through the precinct. More than 700 sqm of retail space will activate the street frontage, while a landscaped through-site link connecting Walker Street, Little Walker Street and Doris Fitton Park will provide new public open space with seating, paving and extensive native landscaping.

Freecity Group Co-Founder and Joint CEO Tony Sun said the project represents one of the most significant development opportunities currently available in North Sydney.

"This is one of the most significant development sites in North Sydney and it comes at a pivotal moment for the precinct," Sun said.

"North Sydney is undergoing a genuine transformation, and this project will contribute housing the city urgently needs while creating a landmark destination."

Executive Director of Development Michael Romano said demand for both residential and hotel accommodation would continue to strengthen as the Metro precinct matures.

"The structural demand for high-quality housing and hotel accommodation in North Sydney is compelling, and will only grow as the precinct continues to evolve around the new Metro station," Romano said.

Architectus has designed the tower, orientating the apartments to maximise views towards Sydney Harbour while introducing a sculpted façade intended to respond to light, wind and the surrounding skyline.

Architectus Principal Marko Damic said the design sought to create a tower that contributes to the public realm as much as the skyline.

"We wanted to design a tower that doesn't just sit in the skyline but actively participates and contributes to city life," Damic said.

First look: Freecity gets green light for mixed-use apartment and hotel tower in North Sydney

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/abadeen">Abadeen</a> and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/perifa">PERIFA</a> have celebrated the topping out of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf,</a> marking a significant milestone in the delivery of one of Syd​ney's most anticipated waterfront communities.

Located on Sydney's harbourfront at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/putney-nsw-2112">Putney</a>, the project has now reached its highest structural point, with construction progressing strongly towards completion in 2027. 
&nbsp; 
The milestone was celebrated on-site with project partners Phoenix Property Investors, Mitsubishi Estate Asia, Versatile Construction, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, consultants and stakeholders, to recognise the collective effort behind the transformation of the historic waterfront site into a vibrant new residential, marina and lifestyle destination.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=362240] 
&nbsp; 
<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> will deliver a mix of waterfront residences and terraces, complemented by a private 36-berth marina, waterfront dining opportunities and a revitalised foreshore designed to reconnect the community with the river's edge. 
&nbsp; 
Abadeen Executive Chairman and Founder Justin Brown said the project represented a rare opportunity to create the next chapter in Sydn​ey's long history of successful waterfront precincts. 
&nbsp; 
"Throughout Sydney, some of the city's most sought-after addresses have emerged from carefully considered waterfront precincts such as Woolloom​ooloo Wharf, Walsh Bay and Breakfast Point," Brown said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=362566] 
&nbsp; 
"What makes these places so successful is that they become much more than residential developments," Brown said.

"They bring together homes, hospitality, marina facilities, public spaces and a strong sense of community in locations where future supply is incredibly limited."

Brown has long described absolute waterfront land in Sy​dney as "finite."

"Once these opportunities are developed, they are rarely replicated. That's why Syd​ney's waterfront precincts have consistently demonstrated strong demand and long-term value growth over many decades. 
&nbsp; 
"<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> is one of the few remaining opportunities to secure a residence within a masterplanned waterfront community that combines direct water access, marina ownership opportunities and a genuine village lifestyle just moments from the Sy​dney CBD."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=362564] 
&nbsp; 
PERIFA Founder and Managing Director Fabrizio Perilli said the project reflected a shared commitment to delivering exceptional places that create long-term value for residents and the broader community. 
&nbsp; 
"The topping out milestone is a significant achievement for the Versatile Group and a testament to the collaboration between all project partners, consultants and contractors involved," Perilli said. 
&nbsp; 
"Beyond the residences themselves, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> will establish a new waterfront destination that celebrates the history, character and lifestyle of this unique location while creating a lasting legacy for future generations."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=13962 project_image_fid=291195] 
&nbsp; 
Construction is being delivered by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/versatile">Versatile Construction</a>, with structural works now substantially complete across the precinct. Attention will progressively shift to the construction of the waterview terraces, apartment façades, services and interior fit-out works over the coming months. 
&nbsp; 
With limited residences and marina berths remaining, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> continues to attract strong interest from owner occupiers and downsizers seeking a premium waterfront lifestyle within close proximity to Putne​y Village, Rh​odes, Top Ry​de and the Syd​ney CBD. 
&nbsp; 
As one of the last opportunities to secure a residence within a new masterplanned waterfront community on Sy​dney Harbour, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/putney-wharf-harbourfront-precinct-20-waterview-street-putney-nsw-2112">Putney Wharf</a> is expected to remain a highly sought-after address for years to come.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=13962]

Jonathan Chancellor

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