<html><body>
The joint Victorian and Melbourne Centenary celebrations were held between October 1934 and June 1935. They celebrated progress and community cohesion at a time when the world, including Australia, was in the midst of a severe economic depression.  
 
In 1934, the centenary firstly commemorated Edward Henty’s Portland settlement in November 1834, which led to the founding of Victoria. While in 1935, the focus of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations was John Batman’s pronouncement of Port Phillip as ‘the place for a village’ in June 1835.  The Duke of Gloucester opened the celebrations in front of an estimated 500,000 people that lined the decorated streets of Melbourne.
 
<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/MelbCentenary.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Poster promoting travel to the centenary celebrations"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/MelbCentenary.jpg?itok=cmF7o9nE" title="Poster promoting travel to the centenary celebrations" typeof="Image"></a>
 
Over this time hundreds of events were held across Melbourne and Victoria. Special centenary celebrations of the Royal Agricultural Show, the Melbourne Cup and other sporting events were staged. Sir Russell Grimwade purchased Captain Cook’s Cottage at Great Ayton in Yorkshire and he had it carefully measured, drawn, labelled, packed up and moved to its new home in the Fitzroy Gardens.
 
Sir Macpherson Robertson showed great generosity. He funded an international air race and more permanent mementoes including MacRobertson Girls High School in South Melbourne, the MacRobertson Bridge over the Yarra River at Grange Road, the National Herbarium at the Botanical Gardens and the MacRobertson Fountain near the Shrine of Remembrance.  His gifts to Melbourne are still appreciated and in use today.
 
To recognise the part played by women in the foundation of the state of Victoria, the the Pioneer Women’s Garden was built in the King’s Domain. 
 
The Shrine of Remembrance, arguably one of Melbourne’s most important public monuments was completed and dedicated in 1934. For many it was the crowning glory of the centenary celebrations.
 
In the book, Victorian and Melbourne Centenary Celebrations published in 1936, we find messages for Victoria and Melbourne from many nations around the world, including this surreal quote from Benito Mussolini:
 
“Italy and the Fascist Government send their greetings and cordial wishes. It is with legitimate pride that the Commonwealth of Australia remembers to-day the work accomplished by its strong and tenacious population which in only one century reached the present prosperity. It is with sympathy and admiration for the progresses obtained in every branch by the State of Victoria and its capital that the Italian nation associates itself with the actual celebrations”
 
</body></html>

thecollector

1934-35 Centenary of Victoria and Melbourne

<html><body>
<h2>Nicholson Street, Carlton Gardens, Carlton</h2>
<ul>
<li>
		1879-1880 Reed and Barnes</li>
	<li>
		1994-1995 Allom &amp; Associates (restoration)</li>
</ul>
<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/REB2.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/REB2.jpg?itok=iyocvaIf" typeof="Image"></a>
The Melbourne Exhibition Building as it was known at first (The Royal Exhibition Building in 1980) was constructed for the International Exhibition of 1880. The existing structure with the magnificent dome that was modelled on that of Brunelleschi’s Florence Cathedral and the complementary gardens are all that remains of what was once a complex of temporary structures occupying almost half the Carlton Gardens that stretched almost all the way to Carlton Street.
Apart from the 1880 International Exhibition, the REB also staged the 1888 Centennial Exhibition and since then, it has continued to stage numerous trade exhibitions. The opening of the first Federal Parliament of Australia in 1901 by the Duke of York in the Exhibition Building was an unforgettable event for both the REB and Australia. To help celebrate that event, the building was festooned with over 10,000 electric light globes. After this event the Federal Parliament sat in Victoria’s Parliament House and the State Parliament was moved to REB’s Western Annexe and remained there until 1927.
The EasternAnnexe had housed a ballroom, a war museum and an aquarium. Between the annexes there were temporary buildings for exhibitions, later a velodrome and oval and then army barracks for WWII that were later re-used as a migrant camp as well. In 1956, the Stadium Annexe was constructed for the Melbourne Olympic Games to stage the weightlifting and wrestling events. Other than the trade shows, the main building was also a hospital during the 1919 Influenza Epidemic and hosted high school and university exams until it was restored in the 1990s, replicating the interior colour scheme that was there for the 1901 opening of Federal Parliament. The Carlton Gardens on the north and south of the main building with their tree-lined avenues leading to the REB were designed to complement it and include the feature Hochgurtel Fountain at the southern central entrance.
In 2004 The Royal Exhibition Building was the first building in Australia to be given Word Heritage listing by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, a fitting listing given its iconic landmark status in Melbourne.
</body></html>

Royal Exhibition Building (REB)

<html><body>
Melbourne Terrace was one of the first in a batch of residential buildings that spearheaded the apartment boom in the central city area of Melbourne in the early 1990s.  Promoting the benefits of medium/high density apartment living, it also helped regenerate the city’s northern market precinct.
The large building is divided into four sections, each with its own name and entrance: Equus, Mondo, Roma and Fortuna. Figurative bold sculptures by Peter Corlett and copper veneered doors highlight each of the four entrances.
<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/MelbTerrace2_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="From the north west corner of Franklin and Queen Streets."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/MelbTerrace2_0.jpg?itok=cQtfNDIN" title="From the north west corner of Franklin and Queen Streets." typeof="Image"></a>
Corner Franklin and Queen Streets, Melbourne, 3000
1994 Katsalidis Architects (Nonda Katsalidis)
Each section has a northerly aspect, heavy concrete construction (to minimize noise) and individual lifts and staircases are included with each unique entry. A shared car park with its entrance in Anthony Street, stretches across the two lower levels of all four sections of the building.
The exuberant building’s façade is made up of copper oxide-etched balcony slabs, copper cladding, mannered window surrounds, serrated edged off-form concrete slabs and a distinct articulated roof line.
The apartments are all generous in size with ceilings well over three metres high (a Katsalidis signature). Many are duplexes allowing the apartments to be floodlit during the day and some even occupying up to three levels.
This idiosyncratic styled building is significant as an early outstanding example of the work of noted award winning Melbourne based architect Nonda Katsalidis.
Images below taken by Peter Maltezos
Editor's note: do you have access to interiors of notable Melbourne buildings? do you want to showcase a building you love and cherish?  Use the contact form in the About Us section of the page's footer to contact us and we could have your piece published!
</body></html>

Melbourne Terrace Apartments - a close up

<html><body>
 
From the 22nd of November through to the 8th of December 1956, Melbourne hosted the Olympic Games, it was the first time in the history of the Games that an Olympiad was staged in the southern hemisphere.
<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/MelbOlympPoster.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Melbourne Olympics poster"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/MelbOlympPoster.jpg" title="Melbourne Olympics poster" typeof="Image"></a>
Preceded by a period of international turmoil and tension (cold war, Suez crises, etc), many countries boycotted the Games, thus the number of competitors (3342) was the smallest since 1932. Another setback was forced by Australia’s very strict quarantine laws, which caused the equestrian events to be held in Stockholm, Sweden instead. Back home the pre-games period was plagued by delays and disputes over organisation on the various Games construction sites, to the point where on three occasions (1951,1953 and 1955) – Melbourne came close to losing the Games. A year later, most of the problems were settled and the Games proceeded without any major problems and went on to become a magnificent success. Because of the goodwill and friendship between the teams and the abundant good spirited nature of the crowds, the Melbourne Games became forever known as the Friendly Games. The mood of goodwill was further consolidated by the decision of the Games organizers to adopt a suggestion from John Ian Wing, an Australian-born Chinese citizen, that all teams should mingle and walk (not march) during the closing ceremony. This became an Olympic Games tradition.
Competing on their home ground for the first time, Australia fielded a record team made up of 256 men and 35 women which went on to win 13 gold, 8 silver and 14 bronze medals, a record haul as well.
A capacity crowd at the MCG witnessed a glorious Opening Ceremony in which Ron Clarke scorching his arm carrying the Olympic Torch, lit the Olympic flame while having a slight stumble on the final step up to the block to reach the couldron.
The Games introduced us to a new crop of Australian sports heroes such as, Betty Cuthbert, Murray Rose, Dawn Fraser and Lorraine Crapp.  Some of the sporting highlights were Cuthbert in track and field, winning gold in the 100 and 200 metres and the 4 x 100 metres relay, in the swimming pool, Dawn Fraser winning her first two gold medals of a spectacular career and seventeen year old Murray Rose matching Cuthbert, by winning gold in the 400 and 1500 metres and 4 x 200 relay.
The introduction of television was also rushed in to enable Australians to view it all at home for the first time.
Medal Tally
Country               Gold                 Silver         Bronze           Total
1  USSR                37                     29               32                   98
2  USA                   32                     25               17                   74
3  Australia          13                      8                 14                  35
4  Hungary             9                     10                  7                   26
5  Italy                     8                       8                   9                   25
 
____________________________________________________________________________________
Sports and locations
Opening and closing ceremonies – MCG
Athletics – MCG
Basketball – The Glaciarium
Fencing – StKilda Town Hall
Soccer – MCG and Olympic Park
Weightlifting – Royal Exhibition Building
Modern pentathlon – Oaklands Huntclub and various arenas
Boxing – Melbourne Festival Hall
Hockey – MCG and Olympic Park
Yachting – Port Phillip Bay
Shooting – Williamstown range and RAAF station at Laverton
Rowing – Lake Wendouree, Ballarat
Swimming and Diving – Olympic Swimming Pool
Wrestling – Royal Exhibition Building
Cycling – Olympic Velodrome and country road course, Broadmeadows
Gymnastics – The Glaciarium
Demonstrations – MCG
The Olympic Village was at Heidelberg
</body></html>

Memorabilia from the XVI Olympiad, Melbourne 1956

<html><body>
The  Melbourne &amp; Hobson’s Bay Railway Company started Melbourne’s and Australia’s first steam railway service between Sandridge (Port Melbourne) and Flinders Street in 1854, only twenty years after Melbourne was founded.  
The railway was built to the Irish gauge of 5 ft 3 in (1600 mm) because the chief engineer from Sydney who set the standards was Irish, when he was replaced by a Scot, NSW switched to 4 ft 8 ½ in (1435 mm), the English and Scottish gauge, but Victoria had already ordered its trains and was unable to change. This was the reason and the beginning of Australia’s railway gauge problem.
<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/RailwayShareSmall.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="A share certificate for a £10 in The Melbourne &amp; Suburban Railway Company, dated 1860."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/RailwayShareSmall.jpg" title="A share certificate for a £10 in The Melbourne &amp; Suburban Railway Company, dated 1860." typeof="Image"></a>
The Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company was formed in 1857. It had authorization to build a railway line from Princes Bridge to Windsor with a spur from Richmond to Hawthorn as well.
The line from Princes Bridge to Richmond opened in 1859 and in that same year extended to another station named Pic-Nic in the Cremorne Gardens on the banks of the Yarra River. In 1860 they built a bridge over the Yarra River to have the line extended to South Yarra, Prahran and then eventually reaching, Windsor in 1861. Another bridge was built in 1861 for a spur to reach Hawthorn.
Plagued with financial problems around the time the Windsor and Hawthorn stations were completed, the company sold out to the Melbourne Railway Company in 1862.
The Melbourne Railway Company along with many other private railway companies was taken over by the government owned Victorian Railways in the early 1880s.
The era had begun and Melbourne’s suburban railway network experience significant growth over the next two decades.
<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/VRNewportPlateSmall.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="An engine plate from the Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, 1910."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/VRNewportPlateSmall.jpg" title="An engine plate from the Victorian Railways Newport Workshops, 1910." typeof="Image"></a>
<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/FlindersStation1a.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="First Flinders Street Station showing entry on Swanston Street."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/FlindersStation1a.jpg?itok=98YzIwvD" title="First Flinders Street Station showing entry on Swanston Street." typeof="Image"></a>
</body></html>

An early Melbourne railway story

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

Joel Robinson

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bottega House secures landmark riverfront site in St Lucia 

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-6" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-2" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-2" dir="auto">
<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-2" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:5a5ab36c-8dd3-454c-b456-c501f22f0eb4-0" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:5a5ab36c-8dd3-454c-b456-c501f22f0eb4-0" dir="auto">
The arrival of the first piling rig officially marks the commencement of construction at SIERA’s new beachside apartment development, Exhale, in Northcliffe.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/exhale-surfers-paradise-8-enderley-avenue-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Exhale</a>, a glass-encased tower featuring 54 large-scale apartments at 8 Enderley Avenue, is SIERA’s third Gold Coast development. It follows the recently completed PIPIS Bilinga beachfront project, which achieved suburb-record prices, and the soon-to-be-completed Chevron Island development, Tapestry.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359603]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/siera">SIERA</a> Founder and Managing Director Brent Thompson said the arrival of the piling rig represented a significant milestone for the development, which is scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Over the next month, around 260 piles are expected to be installed as work progresses on the basement structure. The building is anticipated to rise above ground level early next year, before unveiling its sculptural glass curtain wall, developed in collaboration with specialist façade engineers.

“The façade was designed to maximise panoramic coastal views while creating a distinctive architectural identity,” Thompson said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=355935]

Designed by BDA Architecture, Exhale will comprise just 54 two- and three-bedroom residences across 26 levels, a level of low-density living rarely delivered in this beachside pocket between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

The project has been conceived as a resident-only building, with no short-stay accommodation permitted. SIERA says the model is intended to appeal to long-term owner-occupiers rather than transient holiday demand.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=361052]

Residences have been designed with large-format layouts and expansive glazing, with most apartments featuring more than 30 metres of glass frontage to maximise natural light and ocean views.

The amenity offering spans two levels and centres on wellness and lifestyle, including a heated magnesium pool, sauna, yoga and Pilates studio, gymnasium, private dining facilities, cinema lounge, and dedicated surfcraft storage.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359607]

More than half of the apartments have already sold. SIERA has also opened a sales gallery for Exhale at its Chevron Island commercial premises, near its Tapestry tower and the site of its second Chevron Island apartment development, which is slated to launch in early 2027.
</section>
</section>

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

Peter Maltezos

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News