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Property is a national pastime and so often we see investors, buyers and property enthusiasts out on the road at open homes and auctions.
We also find that even on holiday or generally out and about there's a lot of property observing happening.
For this reason, Property Observer has brought in our very own <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&amp;q=%23propertyobserving">#propertyobserving hashtag</a>, which you are welcome to tweet yourself when you see or hear something interesting about property.
Or you can use it to see what our journalists and readers are up to themselves.You can follow our <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23propertyobserving&amp;src=hash">tweets from our journalists here</a>.
You can also follow us on Twitter via <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/propertyobs">@propertyobs</a> for the quickest and most regular updates of our news, as well as retweets of interest property tidbits that we find.
<a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&amp;q=%23propertyobserving" target="_blank"><img src="/images/stories/2013/09/10/hashag-sept-10.jpg" width="470" height="325" alt="hashag-sept-10"></a>
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po-LsXgBTHBmX

Hashtag of the day: #PropertyObserving

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As property investing is an unregulated industry, it comes as little surprise that you must undertake your due diligence on those you include in your investment team to avoid getting ripped off.
 
<img alt="poll-results-sept-10" height="325" width="470" src="/images/stories/2013/09/10/poll-results-sept-10.jpg">
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How do you find the best property investment expert?

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It appears that treehouses are the new trend, and we're not just talking about knocking something up for your children either.
<img src="/images/stories/2013/09/09/TWEET_OF_THE_DAY_sept_9.png" width="461" height="215" alt="TWEET_OF_THE_DAY_sept_9" style="font-size: 0.8em;">
In fact, this <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=613718048678281&amp;l=1367fe0c78">particular effort, named Tower House</a>, featured in the tweet (and pictured below), has won an international architecture award for the 2545 square foot house with three bedroom suites.
<img src="/images/stories/2013/09/09/treehouse_sept_9.jpg" width="470" height="673" alt="treehouse_sept_9">
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Treehouses climbing back into vogue

<html><body>Australian Property Monitors (APM) has released a list of auction results in Adelaide for the weekend of September 7. <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.homepriceguide.com.au/saturday_auction_results/Adelaide.pdf" target="_blank" style="font-size: 14px;">Click here</a> for the auction results, and click on each street address to see the property's marketing.</body></html>

APM's Adelaide auction results for September 7 weekend

<html><body>Australian Property Monitors (APM) has released a list of auction results in Brisbane for the weekend of September 7. <a style="font-size: 14px;" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.homepriceguide.com.au/saturday_auction_results/Brisbane.pdf" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the auction results, and click on each street address to see the property's marketing.</body></html>

APM's Brisbane auction results for September 7 weekend

<html><body>Australian Property Monitors (APM) has released a list of results from 248 auctions in Melbourne for the weekend of  September 7. <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.homepriceguide.com.au/saturday_auction_results/Melbourne.pdf" target="_blank" style="font-size: 14px;">Click here</a> for the auction results, and click on each street address to see the property's marketing.</body></html>

APM's Melbourne auction results for September 7 weekend

<html><body>Australian Property Monitors (APM) has released a list of results from 170 auctions in Sydney for the weekend of September 7. The clearance rate was 87%. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.homepriceguide.com.au/saturday_auction_results/Sydney.pdf" style="font-size: 14px;">Click here</a> for the auction results, and click on each street address to see the property's marketing.</body></html>

APM's Sydney 170 auction results show a 87% clearance rate

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Real estate guru John McGrath has given seven tips which he says will give investors a licence to print money.
He revealed the strategy at the Property Millionaires Tour in Melbourne on Friday which Property Observer attended.
<img src="/images/stories/2013/07/NUMBERS/numberonejuly11.jpg" width="30" height="38" alt="numberonejuly11" style="float: left;">Have a plan and be disciplined in your approach
“If you get this right this is a license to print money for savvy property investors.
“The difference between a great property investment and poor one can be an enormous amount of money over 5 years. So really be disciplined.”
<img src="/images/stories/2013/07/NUMBERS/numbertwojuly11.jpg" width="30" height="35" alt="numbertwojuly11" style="float: left;">Research, research, research
“Make sure you know more information than anyone else on the planet about properties that fall into your plan.”
<img src="/images/stories/2013/07/NUMBERS/numberthreejuly11.jpg" width="30" height="39" alt="numberthreejuly11" style="float: left;">Adopt a capital growth strategy
“I recommend you focus more on capital growth. The yield is important, it needs to pay the mortgage but for me the capital growth is where you’re going to get the best bang for buck.”
<img src="/images/stories/2013/07/NUMBERS/numberfourjuly11.jpg" width="30" height="39" alt="numberfourjuly11" style="float: left;">Location, position, aspect
“It’s not only location but position and aspect. It’s very important. North-facing, light, best street best side of the best street is really what we need to be focussing on.”
<img src="/images/stories/2013/07/NUMBERS/numberfivejuly11.jpg" width="30" height="33" alt="numberfivejuly11" style="float: left;">Don’t focus on bargains – they rarely have a future
“Things that no one else wants, probably in five years no one else will want then. Don’t confuse that with a good opportunity for genuine reasons.
“Sometimes you find a vendor that’s bought another property, for some reason it’s passed in at auction, the buyer didn’t get their finance ready, but you can buy it today.
“You’ve researched it, it’s in your plan and it ticks your boxes and you are absolutely sure that this is 10% under market value then that’s fine.
“But I get scared when a friend calls up and says ‘I bought this great bargain today’. I say ‘my god where is it’. I’d much rather you said ‘I went to an auction and I bid against 12 other people and I paid a little bit more than I thought I might have to but I bought a great home in a great street.’
“That makes me a lot happier.”
<img src="/images/stories/2013/07/NUMBERS/numbersixjuly11.jpg" width="30" height="35" alt="numbersixjuly11" style="float: left;">Utilise the power of leverage but never overstretch
“Once you’ve bought and the prices have gone up then look at the opportunity to extend and build on your investment portfolio. But never overstretch yourself.”
<img src="/images/stories/2013/07/NUMBERS/numbersevenjuly11.jpg" width="30" height="36" alt="numbersevenjuly11" style="float: left;">Buy hold and keep buying
“This is terrible for an estate agent to say because I won’t make more money. But I think this is this strategy is to build a portfolio. In 10, 15, 20 years you can buy several properties by leveraging, adding value, putting the right tenants in place and growing it from there.”
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John McGrath’s seven point investment strategy

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Property has been through its fair share of changes over the past years, and with an election underway across the nation Property Observer has decided to take a look at some of the biggest government decisions that affected the market.


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<img alt="1985-spet-6" height="50" width="98" src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/1985-spet-6.jpg">1) Capital gains tax
Introduced on 20 September 1985 by Hawke/Keating government, it applies to properties acquired on or after that specific date. There are a <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/tax/understanding-capital-gains-tax-terry-hayes/2013040353251" target="_blank">number of different nuances to the rules</a>.


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<img src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/1985-spet-6.jpg" width="98" height="50" alt="1985-spet-6">2) Temporary negative gearing abolition
In July 1985, under the Hawke/Keating government, negative gearing underwent a temporary abolition. It’s still often a <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/wednesday-feature-ytc-room-for-debate-negative-gearing/2012121058393" target="_blank">contested topic</a> however there currently do not appear to be any plans to change it.


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<img alt="2000-sept-6" height="50" width="110" src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/2000-sept-6.jpg">3) Introduction of GST and subsequent introduction of First Home Owners Scheme
While we’ve seen first home owner’s grants change over the years, one of the most prominent changes was the First Home Owners Scheme. Introduced on 1 July 2000 to offset the effect of the GST on home ownership, it was funded by the states and territories. Grants have <a href="?option=com_googlesearch_cse&amp;q=first%20home%20owner%20grant" target="_blank">come and gone since this time</a>.


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<img alt="2007-sept-6" height="50" width="110" src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/2007-sept-6.jpg">4) Gearing in SMSFs
Since mid-2007, superannuation laws have changed to allow self-managed super funds to<a href="/news"> invest in property with bank debt</a>. While a number of changes to SMSF regulations have been made since this time, the<a href="https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2007A00015" target="_blank"> changes to borrowing rules</a> opened up superannuation as an area of interest to property investors.


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<img alt="2008-sept-6" height="50" width="110" src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/2008-sept-6.jpg">5) NRAS
The National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) has divided opinion. Introduced in 2008 to seek to manage the shortage of affordable rental properties by offering a financial incentive to investors, properties under NRAS are sitting at least 20 per cent below market rent. Currently, it's an investment that's <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/news/id-rather-stick-a-fork-in-my-eye-than-buy-nras-todd-hunter/2013090464795" target="_blank">seeing some criticism</a>.


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What other changes do you think have had a landmark effect on the Australian property industry?
 
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The five biggest government housing policy decisions

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It turns out the property election twitter feed is largely around the lack of attention to affordability and the general industry in the campaigns we've been seeing.
Do you think this should have been a focus?
<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/IndustryWomenC/"><img alt="TWEETOFDAYELECTION" height="181" width="470" src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/TWEETOFDAYELECTION.png"></a>
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The housing industry isn’t on the election agenda

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

Joel Robinson

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

&nbsp;

Developer GURNER™ Group has revealed $1.65 billion in residential sales nationally across the 12 months to December 2025, driven largely by the continued momentum of its Docklands wellness-focused precinct, Elysium Fields.

The sales result was generated across seven projects in Victoria and New South Wales, headlined by Elysium Fields, GURNER™’s $2.75 billion mixed-use precinct planned for Harbour Esplanade in Docklands.

The project has recorded more than $500 million in sales across the first three towers, equating to around 580 apartments sold.

The first tower, Helios, has now sold out of its 240 private residences, with GURNER™ preparing to release a premium penthouse collection comprising 15 three-bedroom penthouses in coming weeks.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370975]

Elysium Fields is being developed on the long-held 20,000 sqm Docklands site at 208-226 Harbour Esplanade, which had remained undeveloped for more than two decades prior to GURNER™ taking over the project around four years ago.

Construction has now commenced across four towers ranging between 18 and 30 storeys, with Hamilton Marino and Maxcon appointed as builders.

Once complete, the precinct is expected to comprise around 1,100 residences, alongside retail, hospitality and public realm uses integrated throughout the site.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370981]

Designed by Fraser &amp; Partners in collaboration with GURNER™ Design House, the project has been positioned around the developer’s broader focus on wellness-led residential living.

“We don’t sell apartments. We create a true luxury lifestyle that simply doesn’t exist elsewhere in the market today,” Founder and Executive Chairman Tim Gurner said.

“To deliver that requires an extraordinary level of detail, coordination and discipline across multiple verticals, from design and hospitality through to wellness and service.”

“We’ve always believed that living extends far beyond the physical residence. It’s about how you feel the moment you arrive, how you live day-to-day, and the ecosystem that supports that.” 
[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370977]

The project’s design places a heavy focus on landscaping, wellness amenities and biophilic design principles.

Plans include around 3,700 sqm of landscaped gardens and open space throughout the precinct, alongside a retail and dining offering spanning approximately 5,000 sqm.

The broader public realm strategy centres around what GURNER™ describes as the “Path of Life”, an urban forest and landscaped pedestrian environment intended to connect the various buildings and wellness spaces across the precinct.

The apartments themselves will incorporate a range of wellness-focused inclusions, including purified air and water systems, circadian lighting, antimicrobial surfaces, and optional in-home wellness upgrades.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370980]

Gurner said the company’s experience through its Saint Haven wellness clubs had directly informed the residential offering now being incorporated into Elysium Fields.

“We’re seeing a clear global shift toward longevity, performance and proactive health,” Gurner said.

“Our role is to deliver that in a way that feels seamless, highly private and beautifully resolved within the environments we create.”

A large component of the wellness offering is planned through the resident amenity and health facilities proposed within the precinct.

That includes plans for bathing and recovery facilities spread throughout the towers, incorporating mineral pools, saunas, steam rooms, flotation therapy, red light therapy and wellness lounges.

The developer is also seeking approvals for what it describes as a “reverse ageing medical clinic” within the precinct.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370978]

According to project information released by the group, the proposed facility would include cryotherapy, IV infusion therapy, infrared and dry saunas, PEMF beds, MRIs, DEXA scans, brain scans and blood analysis services.

Within the first tower, Helios, residents will also have access to a dedicated amenity offering known as the Sky Private Club.

The upper 15 levels of the building will include private lounges, dining spaces, rooftop amenities and optional private wellness studios integrated within residences.

The Helios tower itself comprises 260 apartments ranging between 60 sqm and 300 sqm, including a collection of penthouses.

That includes a planned two-storey penthouse spanning around 600 sqm with uninterrupted bay views.

The Elysium Fields precinct is being delivered in partnership with Digital Harbour Holdings, a consortium that includes the Liberman family, which controls the development rights across the Docklands site.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=144441 project_image_fid=370979]

The sales result comes as GURNER™ continues expanding its national development pipeline beyond Victoria.

“We have a strong pipeline across Australia and are now focused on scaling into key markets including New South Wales and Queensland, while continuing to build on our Melbourne base,” Gurner said.

“We currently have more than $3 billion in the market, growing to over $5 billion by October, and expect to materially outperform last year in the 2026 calendar year.”

The result also reflects the continued strength of the upper-end apartment market in Melbourne, particularly for owner-occupier-focused product with large-scale amenity and lifestyle offerings.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=144441]

Record result anchored by the Group’s “utopian” Elysium Fields precinct – defying market headwinds in Docklands.

Elysium Fields drive Gurner to $1.65 billion in apartment sales over 2025

National Australia Bank (NAB) will fund <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/palmera-residences-gold-coast-18-garfield-terrace-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Palmera</a>, a $1 billion, 52-level luxury residential tower being developed by Central Equity in one of the Gold Coast’s most tightly held coastal locations at Northcliffe.

The project, launched recently by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/central-equity">Central Equity</a>, one of Victoria’s largest private residential developers, comes at a time when construction funding for large residential developments has become increasingly competitive as lenders tighten exposure to the sector.

Multiplex has been appointed the builder, and construction is now underway.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365784]

Since its first project, Central Equity has delivered more than 85 residential developments with a combined end value exceeding $8 billion.

Palmera reflects Central Equity’s growing focus on the Gold Coast luxury apartment market and continues a relationship between Central Equity and NAB that dates back to the late 1980s, when the bank funded one of Melbourne’s earliest inner-city residential towers at a time when high-rise apartment living in the CBD was largely unproven.

“NAB’s funding of Central Equity’s $36 million CBD development in the late 1980’s to the financing of the billion-dollar tower today highlights the long-term relationship between the two organisations in delivering major residential projects” said Central Equity Founder and Chairman Eddie Kutner.

He said NAB’s early support was instrumental in helping establish the company’s development model.

“When we commenced our first residential tower in the late 1980s the concept of funding off-the-plan apartments was still largely untested in Australia,” Kutner said.

“NAB recognised the opportunity early and supported the project when others were uncertain. That relationship has now continued for more than 37 years across many developments.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365771]

Central Equity was established in 1987 when Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank precinct were still dominated by warehouses and commercial buildings. Fewer than 100 residents lived in Southbank at the time, and large-scale residential development in the inner city was not widely considered.

Recognising changing demographics and lifestyle preferences, the company began developing high-rise residential projects designed to bring permanent residents into the city centre.

Central Equity has provided accommodation for approximately 40,000 residents across Melbourne’s CBD and Southbank, while also incorporating supporting infrastructure including essential lifestyle facilities like retail spaces, childcare facilities and neighbourhood activity centres.

Central Equity has spent many years assembling the Palmera development site on the corner of Garfield Terrace and Frederick Street in Northcliffe, creating a supersite of around 3,300 sqm.

The developer said the Palmera apartment tower reflects its long-term view of the Gold Coast as a growing and increasingly diversified economy.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108274 project_image_fid=365768]

Supported by infrastructure including the light rail network, major road upgrades expanded education, hospital and medical facilities and continued expansion at the Gold Coast Airport with more international and domestic flights.

Positioned in the tightly held Northcliffe precinct, the 52-level tower will deliver 347 apartments, targeting buyers seeking a high-end coastal lifestyle, from downsizers to interstate investors.

Designed by Marchese Partners with interiors by DBI, Palmera has been conceived as a next-generation residential offering, featuring a collection of oversized apartments, with premium three-bedroom residences offering sweeping northern views stretching from Surfers Paradise through to Burleigh Heads.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=108274]

NAB funds $1 billion Surfers Paradise apartment development, Palmera

Two years after completing one of the newest developments in North Sydney, developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/aqualand-australia">Aqualand</a> is turning its attention to the rapidly evolving St Leonards apartment market.

The developer, which completed AURA by Aqualand on North Sydney's Walker Street, has lodged plans for a 5,918 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/33-37-herbert-street-st-leonards-nsw-2065">33-37 Herbert Street, St Leonards,</a> seeking approval for a pair of residential towers rising above a shared podium opposite Royal North Shore Hospital.

The proposal forms part of the broader transformation underway across the St Leonards-Crows Nest precinct, where former industrial and commercial sites are increasingly being redeveloped into high-density mixed-use projects tied to major transport infrastructure.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2cc428cf-fe70-4cac-9cd5-264ad53af62c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=otKSnHtbjAvAddOnovyXQMgcAwE6DMe1" />

According to the planning documents, the site sits “within the St Leonards–Crows Nest Strategic Centre, identified by the NSW Government as a key area for accommodating future jobs and housing across Sydney.”

The proposal has been designed by fjcstudio, formerly FJMT Studio, and is being progressed through the State Significant Development pathway due to its scale and affordable housing provision.

The scheme would comprise 413 apartments, including 46 affordable housing units, alongside retail and commercial uses fronting Herbert Street. The project would also include communal open space, landscaping, a swimming pool, gymnasium, children’s play areas and podium-level resident amenities.

Planning documents show the development would consist of a part-13, part-39 storey tower form positioned above a four-storey podium.

“The development comprises a unified podium that activates the street interface, and two setback towers to accommodate new housing supply while maintaining an appropriate human scale at ground level,” fjcstudio noted in its Design Report.

The northern and southern towers have been shaped to respond to the surrounding skyline while also limiting overshadowing impacts to nearby public open space, particularly Talus Reserve.

The design report said the differing tower heights were intended to “contribute to a varied skyline while responding to the surrounding built form context and solar access considerations.”

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36da62dc-ff9e-41f2-a7e3-7be38373751c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.45%E2%80%AFAM_0.png?VersionId=Mo6Rp2r.XRLTzIfg_PEEpw8NepDH8UBs" />

The site sits directly opposite Royal North Shore Hospital and within walking distance of both St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

While the site itself sits just outside the formal Crows Nest Transport Oriented Development boundary, the planning documents repeatedly reference its alignment with the broader TOD objectives reshaping the Lower North Shore.

“The site is located adjacent to St Leonards Station and in close proximity to Crows Nest Metro which is within the Crows Nest Transit Orientated Development Accelerated Precinct which has been identified by the NSW Government to support housing delivery,” the Design Verification Statement noted.

According to fjcstudio, the project has been designed to respond to the broader transition occurring across St Leonards, where increasing residential density is being concentrated around transport infrastructure and employment hubs.

“The broader precinct is undergoing significant change, with a mix of existing mid-rise buildings and newer high-density developments,” the report stated.

“Recent and approved projects indicate a consistent shift toward taller built form, typically organised as tower-and-podium typologies with more active ground levels.”

The proposal includes close to 6,000 sqm of retail and commercial space across the ground floor and podium levels, designed to create a more activated street edge along Herbert Street.

Aqualand’s plans would also introduce a landscaped podium shared between the two towers, with communal open space in the form of a podium rooftop designed to support resident interaction and improve urban greening outcomes. The scheme would also introduce pocket parks at the northern and southern ends of the site, including a landscaped area at the corner of Herbert and Ella streets designed to improve pedestrian amenity and soften the streetscape.

&nbsp;

The proposal is being progressed through the NSW Government’s Housing Delivery Authority pathway, which was introduced to accelerate housing supply across the state. The application was declared State Significant Development in April 2025 following an expression of interest process.

<img alt="Aqualand" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="faf6d97d-2671-454f-b85a-fe1c6a7be608" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%209.51.49%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=diVd28OBVr5.YV.7prrOz.uAanwwwm7a" />

St Leonards has been particularly active with new developments in recent weeks. Developer SP Setia’s <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-sp-setia-targets-st-leonards-skyline-with-40-storey-tod-tower">plans for a new 42-storey tower</a> recently went on exhibition through the same pathway, while <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">Stockland’s 52-storey tower proposal</a> was also recently unveiled.

Aside from the St Leonards project, which is expected to take around nine months to move through the approvals process ahead of a potential 2027 launch, Aqualand is also preparing to launch Boronia, a new apartment project in Roseville comprising around 111 apartments on Larkin Street.

The developer also has approvals in place for the next stage of the Barangaroo precinct, which will feature new residential, retail, hospitality and community uses, alongside a new metro entry across the five-hectare site.

More than 50 new retail destinations are planned for Central Barangaroo, alongside a 270-metre-long boulevard connecting Hickson Park to Nawi Cove. Together with Harbour Park, more than 50 per cent of the precinct will comprise public open space and parkland.

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