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GUEST OBSERVATION
According to the United Nations, more people live in a <a href="https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/migration/index" target="_blank">country other than their place of birth</a> today than ever before.
The <a href="https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationReport2017_Highlights.pdf" target="_blank">2017 migration statistics</a> show that about 34 people out of every 1,000 lived away from their place of birth. This number was over 31 in 2010, and 28 in 2000.
Although the <a href="https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/migration-compact" target="_blank">number of migrants is expected to grow</a>, a clear understanding of contemporary migration remains a challenge.
Defining who is a migrant
This challenge was on display at <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/south-asian-media-we-need-to-talk-more-with-refugees-and-not-just-report-about-them/a-48356819" target="_blank">a recent meeting</a> where a group of South Asian journalists, academics and activists gathered to address the core issue of migration.
Officially, the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/migration/index" target="_blank">number of migrants</a> globally reached 258 million in 2017, compared to about 173 million in 2000, which represents an increase of 49%. But it remains difficult to determine with reasonable clarity who is a migrant and who is not. The multiple identities of people on the move complicate migration statistics and generate controversy.
One of the speakers, Chris Lowenstein-Lom from the International Organisation of Migration (<a href="https://www.iom.int/" target="_blank">IOM</a>), presented an overview of migration scenarios in South Asia to highlight the sheer number of migrants in the region, both internally and internationally. Many participants questioned the validity of the figures.
Journalists raised questions about the migration data gathered by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (<a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/" target="_blank">UN DESA</a>) and IOM. The figures either contradicted their lived experience (for example, the number of Indian-origin people living in Pakistan, and vice versa) or overlooked the historical context of certain migrants (for example those of Bangladeshi-origin in India).
The IOM representative’s insistence on his organisation’s goal of “safe, regular and orderly” movement of people across borders resonated with other participants. They emphasised that improving data quality is important for achieving safe passage of migrants.
Difficulties with migration data
Concerns about accuracy and clarity of migration statistics were raised concerning both data collection methods and interpretation. For example, the ranking of countries by the number of migrants shifts dramatically with a change in definition.
The highest number of immigrants (over 48 million) live in the United States, which constitutes 15% of the country’s population. However, the highest proportion of immigrants to a population (87%) live in the United Arab Emirates, which is only eight million in number. The highest number of migrants (nearly 16 million) originate from India, which is only 1.2% of the country’s population. But the highest proportion of migrants to a country’s population (45.6%) is in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is only two million.
Any statistical generalisation about migrants requires significant qualification. Political perspectives on who is or is not a bona fide migrant vary significantly between countries. As a result, the figures produced to represent certain sections of the migrant population can become cloudy or even opaque.
For example, many Indian politicians label the Bangla-speaking Muslim population in northeast India as migrants from Bangladesh. But from the Bangladeshi perspective, most of these people can hardly be considered as such because they had lived in their current location since well before the state of Bangladesh was created in 1971.
Similarly, in the early stage of the 2017 influx of Rohingya people to Bangladesh, this definitional opacity created confusion about their status. Were they returnees, refugees or infiltrators? This lack of clarity in legal status has the potential to render a <a href="https://odihpn.org/magazine/statelessness-identity-rohingya-refugee-crisis/" target="_blank">vast number of people stateless</a>.
On the other hand, the refugee status of the Afghani people in Pakistan has been relatively clear to many sides, even though the identity of a specific individual can still be problematic.
Challenge to report on migration
These differences create a challenge for South Asian journalists to report accurately on migration issues.
Consider the following figures: According to the <a href="/news">UN DESA 2017 estimate</a>, 33.5 million people moved out of five South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) while 11.7 million people lived in these countries as migrants.
The largest number of migrants in South Asia were from neighbouring countries, such as from Myanmar to Bangladesh (42% of the total 2.2 million immigrants in the country), from Afghanistan to Pakistan (1.4 million out of the total 3.4 million), and from Pakistan and Bangladesh to India (together, 81% of the total 5.2 million immigrants).
According to this estimate, about 60% of the 5.2 million migrants in India were from Bangladesh. But this estimate was based mainly on population data produced by India. Bangladeshi officials and experts had reservations about this figure because, they claimed, the historical dimension mentioned above had been overlooked in its calculation.
Consequences of data opacity
One can easily imagine the difficulties faced by journalists in busy newsrooms with limited resources. They need to report on complex migration issues and are expected to report them accurately, without a clear definition about who is and is not a migrant. Would you label Rohingya people in Bangladesh as “returnees”, following the Myanmar authorities? Or would you use the “infiltrator” description, as Bangladeshi officials initially identified them?
Some of this confusion may be clarified over time, but others continue to bug journalists and other commentators. The lack of a clear definition exists not only in South Asia.
Despite the <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/why-global-migration-statistics-do-not-add-up-a-1090736" target="_blank">well-founded criticisms</a> levelled against the <a href="/news">UN data on migration</a>, they remain the most widely used set of figures globally. Other organisations and mechanisms of data distribution, such as IOM or the Migration Data Portal also use them.
An important characteristic of the data set is its origin. They are mainly produced through official <a href="/news">population censuses</a> by the respective member states, using public money. Everyone has a stake in improving the quality of these data for a better understanding of the complexity of South Asian and global migration.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114443/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Akhteruz Zaman, Lecturer, Massey University
Jahnnabi Das, , University of Technology Sydney
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/migration-is-a-growing-issue-but-it-remains-a-challenge-to-define-who-actually-is-a-migrant-114443" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Migration is a growing issue, but it remains a challenge to define who actually is a migrant

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Cameron’s Marina, located on the Balmain Peninsula, has been listed for sale.
The 1880s marina is offered with $6 million-plus hopes with adjoining freehold waterfront land.
Its original boat shed burnt down in 1983 and was replaced in 1985.
The marina currently has between 12 and 20 fixed berths (depending on vessel size), a work berth, slipway and 21 swing moorings.
The berths and moorings are on a “wet lease” to the NSW Roads and Maritime Services until 2037.
The moorings generated a net profit of $159,844 in 2018.
Cameron’s Marina, <a href="https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/property/5a-phoebe-street-balmain-nsw-2041-2015294243">located at 5a Phoebe Street, is being sold by expressions of interest which close on July 4.</a>
It was purchased in the early 1960s by Peter Cameron.
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Cameron's Marina in Balmain listed for first time since 1960s

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Parking is a fiery issue in Australian cities. That’s because cars dominate our cities, supported by decades of <a href="https://theconversation.com/crowded-trains-planning-focus-on-cars-misses-new-apartment-impacts-116514" target="_blank">unbalanced planning decisions</a> favouring space for cars over other land uses or forms of transport. Parking is even an issue in the federal election, with both the <a href="https://theconversation.com/500m-for-station-car-parks-other-transport-solutions-could-do-much-more-for-the-money-114908" target="_blank">Coalition</a> and <a href="https://www.alp.org.au/policies/national-park-ride-fund/" target="_blank">Labor</a> promising to fund more spaces for commuters.
The issue of parking flared up again recently in Melbourne’s inner north. Moreland City Council <a href="https://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/transport-strategy" target="_blank">wants to scrap minimum parking requirements for new apartments</a> around its increasingly dense activity centres.
Victoria’s planning minister, Richard Wynne, gets the final say on this plan – and it might be a “no”. <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/planning-minister-criticises-council-plan-to-axe-car-parks-20190409-p51chm" target="_blank">He said</a> last month the practicalities need more thought and that Moreland must “strike a balance”.
Wynne is right, but not in the way he implies.
Australian cities are generous to cars
Minimum parking requirements were introduced across Australia alongside the rise of cars <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-elephant-in-the-planning-scheme-how-cities-still-work-around-the-dominance-of-parking-space-87098" target="_blank">in the 1950s</a>. These set rigid ratios for parking spaces in different types of new developments.
For example, the <a href="https://www.dplh.wa.gov.au/getmedia/5926602c-ab14-46f0-be6f-56dc31c45902/SPP-7-3-R-Codes-Apartments" target="_blank">Western Australia State Planning Policy</a> requires at least at least 0.75–1 parking bay for every one-bedroom dwelling in an apartment building, plus at least one visitor parking space per four dwellings. A <a href="https://walga.asn.au/getattachment/Documents/Cardno_Review-of-LG-Parking-Requirements_Main-Report_vFINAL.PDF.aspx?lang=en-AU" target="_blank">review of parking policy in Western Australia</a> found these requirements are largely based on small, outdated surveys in the United States and do not reflect actual demand for parking in Australia.
A result of these policies is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-elephant-in-the-planning-scheme-how-cities-still-work-around-the-dominance-of-parking-space-87098" target="_blank">glut of parking in Australian cities</a>. The local council area of the City of Melbourne has over 215,000 parking spaces. However, 40-60% of households in the area do not own a car and <a href="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.com-participate.files/2615/2963/7455/Transport_Strategy_Refresh_-_Background_paper_-_Car_Parking.pdf" target="_blank">around a third of apartment parking spaces are not used</a>.
Removing minimum requirements is an effort by local governments to allow the <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/building-and-development/urban-planning/melbourne-planning-scheme/planning-scheme-amendments/Pages/amendment-c133-maximum-car-parking-rates.aspx" target="_blank">varying needs of local communities to determine parking outcomes</a>.
But what about tradies, emergency workers, the disabled?
Often proposed changes to parking are criticised for being unfair to people who may rely on cars. It is great that these questions of equity are raised (including by the planning minister), but some of the common concerns are misplaced.
Firstly, developers are sensitive to market demands and will continue to provide apartments with parking for those who need it. When <a href="https://www.accessmagazine.org/fall-2016/from-parking-minimums-to-parking-maximums-in-london/" target="_blank">London removed minimum parking requirements in 2004</a>, new developments still provided car parks – just at half the previous required rate.
Closer to home, the inner-city councils of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/parking-requirements-to-be-cut-back-under-new-design-standards-proposed-for-apartments-20140923-10kw9f" target="_blank">Sydney</a> and Melbourne have already removed some minimum parking requirements – and many new apartments still provide parking spaces.
Secondly, while apartment dwellers with insufficient off-street parking are often blamed for clogging up on-street parking in residential areas, they are rarely to blame. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837718309104" target="_blank">recent study in Melbourne</a> found residents of detached houses use 77-84% of on-street parking. Many of them have garages, but choose to use them for storage or living space.
Apartment dwellers were less likely to use on-street parking and more likely to have unused spaces. And more parking in apartment blocks isn’t helping people access our cities, even by car.
Finally, providing more housing options without rigidly attached parking spaces will encourage people who don’t actually need to drive to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352146517306737" target="_blank">choose to drive less or switch to other forms of transport</a>.
Removing minimum parking requirements will not mean that people who need to drive for work, medical or other reasons can’t find homes with parking spaces. Indeed, if we make it easier for those who don’t need to drive to get around in other ways, <a href="https://theconversation.com/crowded-trains-planning-focus-on-cars-misses-new-apartment-impacts-116514" target="_blank">congestion could be eased for those workers who do need a car</a>.
Pro-car planning policies are unfair to those who can’t drive
Policies that encourage dependence on cars marginalise people who can’t or don’t drive. These groups are often disadvantaged in other ways. For example, people with disabilities tend to <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1044207317702070" target="_blank">rely on public transport, not cars, to participate in society</a>.
In Australia, <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features40July+2013#missing" target="_blank">households in the most disadvantaged areas</a> are the most likely not to have a car. Older Australians are also less likely to drive. <a href="https://chartingtransport.com/2015/03/09/trends-in-drivers-license-ownership-in-australia/" target="_blank">Rates of driver licence ownership decrease</a> from around the age of 60.
Providing quality public transport and walkable streets – not an oversupply of car parking – is critical to ensure <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0013916512440705" target="_blank">children</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/young-people-want-walkable-neighbourhoods-but-safety-is-a-worry-88081" target="_blank">young</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-simple-changes-to-our-neighbourhoods-can-help-us-age-well-83962" target="_blank">older people</a> and those with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/sep/27/disabled-people-second-class-citizens-public-transport" target="_blank">disabilities</a> can get around independently.
Minimum parking requirements prioritise cars as the default transport option. The results include <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/03/03/how-parking-requirements-hurt-the-poor/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.e57f0893f065" target="_blank">increased congestion, urban sprawl and air pollution</a>.
Parking requirements also make apartments less affordable. Land construction costs per parking space average between <a href="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.com-participate.files/2615/2963/7455/Transport_Strategy_Refresh_-_Background_paper_-_Car_Parking.pdf" target="_blank">A$50,000 and $80,000, as well as using valuable space at an average of 21 square metres</a>. A parking space is bigger than a bedroom – and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/melbournes-apartment-sizes-face-more-scrutiny-20150414-1mkuj4" target="_blank">nearly half the size of a typical new Melbourne apartment!</a>.
Design cities around people, not cars
Australian planning policy has favoured cars over other forms of transport for too long. This needs to change if we want our cities to be healthy, liveable and easy to get around for everyone.
Moreland’s plan to scrap minimum parking requirements may sound extreme, but it isn’t going to take existing parking spaces away, or mean all new developments will have zero parking.
The practicalities of on-street parking policy are important, but mandating the supply of more off-street parking <a href="https://theconversation.com/empty-car-parks-everywhere-but-nowhere-to-park-how-cities-can-do-better-99031" target="_blank">isn’t even the best way to meet parking demand</a>.
If we continue to plan our urban areas as if everyone needs a car (or multiple cars) to get around, we will rapidly run out of space. And the space we have left will be unpleasant to spend time in. This means more time spent in traffic for drivers and ugly, hazardous and polluted streets for locals.
Sidestepping this difficult issue in the name of “balance” isn’t fair or practical. Improving public transport in these corridors is in the state’s power and would be a much more constructive response.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116179/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Elizabeth Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning &amp; Design, Monash University
Julianna Rozek, Research Officer, Healthy Liveable Cities Group, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
Rebecca Clements, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne
Thami Croeser, Research Officer, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/of-all-the-problems-our-cities-need-to-fix-lack-of-car-parking-isnt-one-of-them-116179" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Of all the problems our cities need to fix, lack of car parking isn’t one of them

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Australia’s lowest ever Reserve Bank cash rate – 1.5% – is about to be consigned to history.
On Tuesday Governor Philip Lowe made it clear he plans to cut it in two weeks’ time. The money market cash rate (from which all other rates derive) will then fall to 1.25%.
After that, if betting in the market is right, he will cut the cash rate to just 1% by Christmas.
Speaking in Brisbane, Lowe said the Reserve Bank board <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2019/sp-gov-2019-05-21" target="_blank">was of the view that</a>:
"Inflation was likely to remain low relative to the target, and that a decrease in the cash rate would likely be appropriate. 
"A lower cash rate would support employment growth and bring forward the time when inflation is consistent with the target. Given this assessment, at its meeting in two weeks’ time the board would consider the case for lower interest rates."
The bank is forecasting a tick up in economic growth from the present 2.3% to 2.75% by the end of the year and a fairly steady unemployment rate.
But here’s the thing. He was keen to emphasise that those forecasts only applied if he cut rates twice this year – that’s twice, before the end of the year.
<hr>
Reserve Bank cash rate since 1990
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275782/original/file-20190521-23832-y56vnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275782/original/file-20190521-23832-y56vnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
<a class="source" href="https://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/cash-rate/" target="_blank">Reserve Bank of Australia</a>
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He is planning to do it because the economy is weak, much weaker than his political masters suggested during the election campaign. Consumer spending is “unusually soft”.
"Over the past three years, household disposable income has increased at an average rate of just 2.75%. This compares with an average of 6% over the preceding decade.
"As this period of weak income growth has persisted, it has become harder for households to dismiss it as just a temporary development – as something that will pass quickly. The lower rate of income growth has also made it harder for households to pay down debt. The end result has been that many people have decided to adjust their spending plans."
The cuts are just the start
It isn’t much good cutting interest rates if mortgage rates don’t follow. That will be up to the banks. But until this week, even if they had passed it on, there would have been so many would-be borrowers it wouldn’t have helped.
That’s because, whatever the interest rate and whatever a would-be borrower’s ability to make payments, banks have generally refused to lend to anyone who couldn’t cope with a rate of 7.25%.
It’s been the doing of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority – one of the Reserve Bank’s sister organisations. It regulates banks and super funds and other institutions in order to keep the financial system stable.
In December 2014 it directed the institutions it supervises to impose serviceability assessments that incorporated a buffer of at least two percentage points above the loan product rate they were offering and a minimum floor rate of <a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/sites/default/files/141209-Letter-to-ADIs-reinforcing-sound-residential-mortgage-lending-practices.pdf">at least 7%</a>.
That meant that if new mortgage rates were 5%, as they were at the time, the lenders had to satisfy themselves that the borrower could cope with 7%. As new mortgage rates fell to 4.5% they still had to satisfy themselves that the borrower could cope with 7%.
Banks have needed unreasonably high buffers
APRA’s directive stated that “prudent practice would be to maintain a buffer and floor rate comfortably above these levels”, meaning that in practice most lenders wouldn’t lend to anyone who wasn’t able to cope with the mortgage rate climbing to 7.25%, no matter how unlikely that was becoming.
On Tuesday this week, a few hours before Governor Lowe delivered his speech, it wrote to the institutions again, <a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/sites/default/files/letter_consultation_on_revisions_to_prudential_practice_guide_apg_223_residential_mortgage_lending.pdf" target="_blank">telling them that</a>: "the low interest rate environment is now expected to persist for longer than originally envisaged. This may mean that the gap between actual rates paid and the floor rate may become unnecessarily wide."
It was proposing to remove “reference to a specific 7% floor”.
The required serviceability buffer would climb from 2% to 2.5%, and it would no longer expect lenders to use a rate “comfortably above” that buffer.
Soon, they’ll be able to lend more…
While strictly speaking the letter notified lenders of a one-month consultation period, what it really did was notify them that the changes were about to be implemented.
In recent months most new mortgage rates have been below 4.5%, with some high-quality borrowers able to get rates as low as 3.6%.
The new arrangements will allow banks to assess them on their ability to make payments on a 6% to 7% loan instead of a 7.25% loan.
Should the next two cash rate cuts be passed on, it would allow them to assess lenders on their ability to repay a 5.5% to 6.5% loan.
It would represent a substantial easing of credit standards for new borrowers.
..up to 10% more
My calculations suggest it would increase the borrowing capacity of home buyers by as much as 10%, enough to have a material positive impact on the housing market.
APRA’s move (almost certainly taken in consultation with the Reserve Bank) both makes a cut in the Reserve Banks’s cash rate less imperative and more potent.
As interest rates get lower, further cuts seem to have been losing their ability to get people and businesses spending and borrowing, something the Governor would have been thinking of when he referred in his speech to the “limitations” of relying on just one instrument to boost the economy.
It would also be up to the government to provide “additional fiscal support” (which means extra spending or tax cuts) including through spending on infrastructure and “policies that support firms expanding, investing and employing people”.
The first of his rate cuts, due in a fortnight, will have more impact than it would have had APRA not acted.
Or perhaps not as much as he would have hoped if the banks, carrying big costs as a result of the misdeeds uncovered in the royal commission, don’t pass it all on.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117500/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Warren Hogan, Industry Professor, University of Technology Sydney
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cutting-interest-rates-is-just-the-start-its-about-to-become-much-much-easier-to-borrow-117500" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Cutting interest rates is just the start. It’s about to become much, much easier to borrow

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GUEST OBSERVATION 
Australia is one of the most urbanised nations in the world, and our ongoing population growth continues to produce new suburbs on city fringes across the continent. These new suburbs, and the processes that form them, are often <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/homes-in-new-suburbs-four-years-away-but-services-to-take-much-longer-20190215-p50y46" target="_blank">contentious</a>.
And that’s not just because of vexed issues of sprawl, transport and infrastructure provision. One of the most common criticisms of new and outer suburbs is that they are <a href="https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2011/09/18/why-do-outer-suburban-streets-look-so-bland/" target="_blank">bland</a>, soulless, cookie-cutter developments that lack culture and a sense of place.
This problem occurs when these suburbs are built as though on a blank slate, with little thought given to engaging with existing stories of landscape and how new stories might be formed. Place itself is layered through stories, time, material and experiences. This idea of layering provides important clues for new developments.
My research in the Melbourne suburb of Point Cook shows the importance of listening to cues in the existing landscape. This enables the design and governance of new developments to provide opportunities for grassroots <a href="https://www.pps.org/article/what-is-placemaking" target="_blank">placemaking</a>. Communities can then infuse places with new layers of meaning, creating a sense of ownership and stewardship.
As part of <a href="https://unimelb.placeagency.org.au/2019/03/25/place-week-vic-2019-12th-18th-may/" target="_blank">Place Week Vic</a>, researchers and practitioners will be discussing the lessons of places like Point Cook for outer suburbs and new developments.
The Point Cook story
While rapid population growth in <a href="https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/point-cook" target="_blank">Point Cook</a> began in the 21st century, the area has long featured wetlands that are important to migratory birds from around the world. It is also the birthplace of the Royal Australian Air Force <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/point-cook" target="_blank">RAAF</a>.
<a href="https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC22074?opendocument" target="_blank">Point Cook’s growth</a> is defined by detached housing, remarkable cultural diversity, many young families, work commutes, and limited public transport infrastructure.
Parts of Point Cook’s suburban fabric draw on layers of history and landscape by including wetlands that manage stormwater, provide bird habitat, and promote a distinctive character.
Unlike many suburbs, Point Cook has a main-street-style town centre with shops fronting footpaths. This provides the frame for the type of meeting place so vital yet often lacking in outer suburbs. But it took local intervention to make this place hum.
A park pops up
Over the past two summers, a street block has been closed off to traffic to form a highly popular, grassroots-led <a href="https://www.pointcookpopuppark.com.au/" target="_blank">pop-up park</a>. The space has been full of colour and activity throughout the day with flexible seating, beanbags, and a loose program of community-led events such as workshops, film screenings, and arts activities.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274017/original/file-20190513-183080-1i9kuwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274017/original/file-20190513-183080-1i9kuwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The Point Cook pop-up park was designed to be a colourful, inviting space. Matt Novacevski, Author provided
One cannot help but notice the informal interactions and moments the park prompts. Families stop off with full trolleys of shopping to rest and people-watch. Children play in brightly painted cubby houses along the edge of the park. And people of all ages and backgrounds sit and talk.
What made the park tick?
The design approach to the park has involved the community in making a sociable, flexible and colourful space with robust temporary infrastructure.
Children and families move seats and beanbags around the space, while local community groups and volunteer gardeners have taken charge of painting, decorating and caring for planter boxes along the edges of the park. These elements create a welcoming sense of informality, comfort and stewardship.
Importantly, activity from the edges of the park bleeds into the surrounds, and vice versa. Restaurant seating along the footpaths that front the park is generally well used, and people value the place as a break from the rhythms and routines that define suburban life.
The park can be a place to relax, or somewhere more intense. During the Indian Holi festival, dance, dress and dye dominated as an evocative ritual was publicly shared, with the implicit invitation for all to get involved.
These interactions of people, identities and place coalesce into a stronger local sense of shared identity.
Park co-founder Sara Mitchell, a Point Cook resident for the best part of a decade, describes the design approach as providing a frame for the community to “colour in”. This metaphor describes the importance of leaving openings within formal design elements. This allows residents to make and interpret place in ways that form new individual and collective bonds.
Lessons for new suburbs
Point Cook’s pop-up park demonstrates the power of placemaking that considers the layered nature of place, highlights local assets and fosters the ability of place to bring people together.
These types of activities are more likely to prosper when new suburbs are designed and governed to provide inviting openings in their fabric for residents to interpret and create place in ways that transcend routines of work and consumption.
We should never understate the importance of continually infusing places with joy, character and quirk. This is important in creating <a href="https://placematt.net/2019/04/08/the-tapestry-of-kindness/" target="_blank">generous</a>, meaningful places with heart and soul.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116174/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Matt Novacevski, PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-turn-a-housing-development-into-a-place-where-people-feel-they-belong-116174" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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How to turn a housing development into a place where people feel they belong

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A four bedroom two bathroom Meadow Springs, WA mortgagee home has been sold after 285 days on market.
The house traded for $255,000.
It marks a reduction of $40,000 on it's 2012 sale price of $295,000.
Ted and Imelda Pankhurst of The Agency held the listing.
Situated at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-wa-meadow+springs-128843958" target="_blank">12 La Grange Place</a>, it was listed with an asking price of $290,000 in August 2018 following an unsuccessful auction campaign.
The asking price was reduced four times over the course of the listing, down to $260,000 in April this year.
Set on 585 sqm, the 1993 built home features eight solar panels, a large workshop and a secondary garden shed.
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The median price for a home in <a href="/news">Meadow Springs</a> is $352,500, according to CoreLogic, which calculate its annual change in median price over the past 10 years as -0.4%.
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Meadow Springs, WA mortgagee home sold for $40,000 loss

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A two bedroom one bathroom Hermit Park mortgagee unit has been listed at $149,000.
This marks a $57,000 reduction on its previous sale price.
In 2008 the property transacted for $206,000.
Dayne Watson and John Bowen of First National hold the listing.
Situated at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-unit-qld-hermit+park-131134566" target="_blank">1/18 Armstrong Street</a>, it is part of a six apartment complex.
Set on 55 sqm, the property comes with a lockup garage.
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The median price for a home in <a href="/news">Hermit Park</a> is $342,000, according to CoreLogic, which calculate its annual change in median price over the past 10 years as -3.6%.
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Hermit Park, Qld mortgagee apartment listed with $57,000 reduction

Off-the-plan apartment sales on the Gold Coast jumped in the recent quarter to be some 45 per cent higher than the prior quarter, according to property consultant company Urbis’ latest figures.

The Gold Coast has five of the top 10 best-selling projects nationwide.

Urbis senior consultant Lynda Campbell said it had “definitely been a good start to the year”.

The report, released today, found new apartment activity in the first quarter of 2019 was up by more than 70 sales from the December 2018 quarter.

“Most of the developers on the Gold Coast are meeting the market,” Ms Campbell told The Gold Coast Bulletin.

“The top-selling projects have been boutique and targeted at owner-occupiers and that’s what the market is looking for at the moment.”

There were 231 new apartment sales recorded from January to March.

Two-bedroom, two-bathroom pads made up 65 per cent of sales.

There are 2800 apartments under construction on the Glitter Strip, of which 62 percent are earmarked for completion this year.

The report found interstate investors have held back in 2019, claiming 25 per ent of sales, down from 42 per cent in the final quarter of 2018.

Foreign investors secured almost a quarter.

The southern beaches precinct, which stretched from Mermaid Beach to Tweed Heads, had more than 60 per cent of sales for the quarter – the highest level ­recorded for the area in the past five years.

In the first quarter last year the stretch only accounted for 25 per cent of sales.

It was also home to all of the four new projects launched across the Gold Coast.

<a href="https://www.domain.com.au/mali-residence-4-6-alexandra-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218-2014829266" target="_blank">Mali, the new 55 apartment block developed by Dankav</a> has six of its levels having only three apartments per floor.&nbsp;The curved BDA Architecture-designed building is set to be completed in mid 2020. It has a residents swimming pool on level nine, half way up the 17 level tower, located right on the border of Broadbeach and Mermaid Beach.

Knight Frank director and Queensland head of project marketing Chris Litfin, noted many developers had bought land between Mermaid Beach and Tweed Heads because it offered better value compared to other blocks closer to existing infrastructure.

“They can provide a product near the beach at a low price point,” he said.

The majority of those developments were considered boutique, which Mr Litfin said included between 60 and 120 apartments.

The report noted an average sales price of $788,312.

The number of cranes from apartment projects on the Gold Coast skyline has surged.

There are 30 cranes on the Glitter Strip – seven more than six months ago - according to the latest Rider Levett Bucknall Crane Index.

The director of RLB’s Gold Coast office, Jim Krebs, said the Gold Coast has the fifth highest number of cranes in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Krebs noted there had been a fall in the value of residential construction projects starting and underway, with a shift towards smaller mid-rise towers.

The newly installed cranes included Vue Apartments and Elysian in Broadbeach while cranes were removed from the 40-level Qube in Broadbeach. Every light in the Qube was switched on for half an hour on one night in January earlier this year to celebrate the finished product.&nbsp;

An earlier Urbis report found the average sale price for the new boutique offerings had jumped $100,000 to more than $700,000 since 2017. &nbsp;

In part it is because developers have been offering a bigger apartment size, blocks no longer modelled on a hotel, where apartments are squeezed in to every level.

Nowadays developers often design four apartments per floor which allows each to occupy a corner of the building which offers two different viewpoints.

The other trend is whole floor.

31BB, named after its address at 31 Broadbeach Boulevard, has committed to this grander scale, the whole floor offering.

The $65 million Woods Bagot-designed&nbsp;project has 22 apartments across its 20 levels.&nbsp;

There are just eight remaining.

Selling agent&nbsp;Andrew Bampton&nbsp;says the buyers are typically aged 45 and over who are either downsizing or rightsizing as they say now, but still want size, luxury, quality interiors and an oceanside location.

"They are not retiring from life but are looking for a lock and leave lifestyle with no maintenance, in proximity to dining and entertaining options," Bampton says.

Bampton says the other key buyer group is a similar age, however are setting the apartment up as their second residence.

"People from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne have taken a keen interest in 31 Broadbeach," Bampton suggested, adding it was owner occupier only.

31BB is slated for completion next year by Optimus Developments which is headed by Andrew Karpati.

“Broadbeach already has a strong sense of community," Karpati noted.

A 305 sqm, three bedroom, three bathroom beach house takes up the ground floor, while the top floor is occupied by a four bedroom penthouse.&nbsp;

Both have their own pools. The beach house is still for sale.

The residents communal amenities sit on level 20, where there's a 15 metre heated lap pool.&nbsp;

On launch the full-floor 280 sqm residences featuring three bedrooms and three bathrooms started from $3.05 million.

In recent years Broadbeach has seen billions proposed in investment, led by the upgrade to The Star Gold Coast Casino. More than $2 billion will be spent with up to seven towers rise on the site. It follows the $670 million expansion and renovation of Pacific Fair Shopping Centre. Broadbeach was in the second stage of the Gold Coast Light Rail.

There's around 6500 apartments at Broadbeach which is set for the imminent launch of its highest beachfront residential tower, the 54 floor, 170 metre CLASS Broadbeach.

It will sit next to the area's current tallest building, the eastern Oracle tower.

CLASS Broadbeach will have 46 apartments, including 34 full-floor three bedroom apartments. There will be five two-level sky homes and a three-level penthouse.

It might not be the tallest as veteran developer John Potter has plans for a 68-storey twin super tower fo 2022 completion.

Vue Broadbeach by Andrews Projects, is nearing completion and nearing a sellout.

The $75-million First Avenue tower Vue, due to completed later this year, has achieved a 90 per cent sales rate. &nbsp;

Its penthouse fetched $5 million

The elliptical-shaped building has 71 apartments over 25 levels with a typical four apartments per floor.

The remaining apartments are two and three bedrooms, with open planned living spaces and ocean views.

"We are seeing a trend of local over 50’s looking to downsize, and Brisbane buyers looking for quality lock up weekenders," sales executive&nbsp;Sarah Andrews said.

Proximity to the Broadbeach Bowls Club was a major factor for one retired couple who will be downsizing from their large Clear Island Waters home.

It’s the sixth highrise project for the local family developer Andrews Projects, and their first in Broadbeach, which will be followed by Encore, a $78 million apartment building on Britannia Avenue which will have 86 residences across 25 storeys expected to be completed by late 2020.&nbsp;

Elysian, the $79 million Spyre Group project, will also a typical four per floor configuration across the 21 level luxury tower, set on the beachfront reserve Old Burleigh Road opposite Pratten Park.&nbsp;Elysian will have 61 apartments including two half-floor sub-penthouses starting at $3.4 million and two full-floor four bedroom, four bathroom penthouses priced at $4.7 million.

Sprye has installed new technology My Butler, a 24/7 virtual concierge which can book Elysian facilities, transport, cleaners and a car-wash among other services.

My Butler also has a building events calendar, along with the Elysian community portal which will have up to date notices on the building and its management.

Its basement car parking also features innovative technology, the Gold Coast’s first residential hi-tech automated vehicle storage system.

There have been amalgamations by some off the plan buyers, including Sydney couple who had not visited the Gold Coast in more than a decade, but will soon be able to visit whenever they want having amalgamated two apartments&nbsp;giving them a four-bedroom, three-bathroom holiday residence.&nbsp;

Elysian&nbsp;Broadbeach&nbsp;is now 80 percent sold with construction by Hutchinson Builders expected to be completed in early 2020.

CBRE director of residential projects Nicholas Clydsdale sold 25 apartments in the first three months of marketing in early 2018.&nbsp;

Its three bedrooms are priced from $1,340,000.

Koko at Broadbeach will have four apartments per floor throughout its 31 level tower by Morris Property Group.

The 100 apartment boutique development at 12-14 Elizabeth Avenue included five, three-bedroom half-floor sub-penthouses.

The level five, resident-only floor features Koko's resort-style amenities such as a pool, spa and a yoga lawn.

Half of the 94 two bedroom apartments are sold.

Chris Litfin is handling the marketing for the developer Barry Morris.&nbsp;

Litfin said owner-occupiers had been spurring the top end of the Gold Coast market.

“While once luxury would have been totally categorised as penthouses and sub-penthouses, now luxury is wrapped in the location and the amenity of the offering."

Since 2002 there have been around 125 sales above $2 million in Broadbeach, topping out in 2015 at $8 million in Oracle, which accounts for around a quarter of the luxury sales.

Off-the-plan apartment sales on the Gold Coast jumped in the recent quarter to be some 45 per cent higher than the prior quarter, according to property consultant company Urbis’ latest figures.

Interstate buyers decline amid surging Gold Coast OTP apartment sales

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A four bedroom two bathroom Nickol, WA mortgagee has sold following an April auction.
The house sold for $600,000, $50,000 below the asking price of $650,000.
Tiffinie Guillesser of LJ Hooker held the listing.
Situated at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-wa-nickol-130828054" target="_blank">10 Brolga Meander</a>, the brick home features a double wide carport.
Set on 630 sqm, the one story house was constructed in 2009.
The property was listed as a rental throughout 2015 and 2016 with the asking price starting at $1,300/pw from April till June of 2015 before being cut to $950/pw in August 2015.
It was reduced again to $850/pw in September 2016 where it remained. 
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The median price for a home in <a href="/news">Nickol</a> is $382,500, according to CoreLogic, which calculate its annual change in median price over the past 10 years as -6.1%.
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Four bedroom Nickol, WA mortgagee home sold

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Governments have seeded many key infrastructure projects throughout Australia, and the growing list of transport projects is painting a positive picture for the nation’s ability to absorb population growth, according to Urbis' latest report.
Across the national apartment market, Urbis found that 7% of available stock surveyed sold in the first quarter of 2019, continuing the downward trend from 2018.
Urbis Group Director, Clinton Ostwald, said “It is likely that we will see the floor of the sales valley in 2019 with a potential increase in sales activity in 2020.
“The nation is investing heavily in transport infrastructure to improve amenity in our cities, which will help support demand along corridors such as Sydney’s North West Metro and Eastern Suburbs Light Rail.”
While buyers await delivery of new infrastructure, Sydney recorded the lowest sales rate with only 4% of available stock surveyed selling during the quarter. Melbourne and Brisbane both recorded a sales rate of 7% down on rates seen in the past 12 months. The Gold Coast outperformed the major cities recording 230 sales, equating to 9% of available stock.
Stock
Urbis research shows approvals numbers decreasing each quarter over the past 12 months. The number of developments achieving minimum presale levels has also declined, resulting in a large pipeline of approved projects they feel are unlikely to move to construction in the near future.
They believe that given ongoing population growth from natural increase and migration, we are likely to see a shortage of new housing emerge over the next 12 to 18 months.
Melbourne’s Westgate Tunnel will uplift the Inner West and Western Corridor with approximately 7,500 apartments approved in these precincts.
Brisbane’s Cross River Rail in the Inner South will see a similar pattern where there are over 8,000 approved apartments.
In the longer term, Urbis expect that areas around West Metro in Sydney, Metronet in Perth and Metro Rail Tunnel in Melbourne will see increased apartment activity.
Buyer Profile
Owner occupiers have continued to be the most active buyers in the Australian apartment market, accounting for 51% of buyers in Q1 2019.
Foreign investors have been pushing sales in Sydney, Perth and the Gold Coast, accounting for over a quarter of buyers, but have dropped in Brisbane.
Interstate investors were interested in the Gold Coast (25%) and Melbourne (11%) whereas Sydney, Brisbane and Perth appealed more to local investors.
URBIS CITY SNAPSHOT
6.7 % of the surveyed available stock was sold in the January quarter across the five markets:
<ul>
<li>Sydney (4% of available surveyed stock sold, 485 new apartments launched)</li>
<li>Melbourne (7% of available surveyed stock sold, 295 new apartments launched)</li>
<li>Brisbane (8% of available surveyed stock sold, no new apartments launched)</li>
<li>Perth (6% of available surveyed stock sold, 161 new apartments launched)</li>
<li>Gold Coast (9% of available surveyed stock sold, 164 new apartments launched)</li>
</ul>
National weighted average sale price recorded at $726,329 for Q1 2019
<ul>
<li>Sydney – $1,091,935</li>
<li>Melbourne – $621,246</li>
<li>Brisbane – $638,409</li>
<li>Perth – $604,212</li>
<li>Gold Coast – $787,608</li>
</ul>
The most popular product type was two-bedroom, two-bathroom product at 46% of total sales. Across the cities the highest selling product types were:
<ul>
<li>Sydney – Two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments – 41%</li>
<li>Melbourne – One-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments – 50%</li>
<li>Brisbane – Two-bedroom, two-bathroom - 56%</li>
<li>Perth – Two-bedroom, two-bathroom – 43%</li>
<li>Gold Coast – Two-bedroom, two-bathroom – 63%</li>
</ul>
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Owner occupiers accounted for 51% of apartment purchases lastest quarter

Developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/bottega-property-group">Bottega House</a> has secured council approval for its first Brisbane project - a $270 million luxury residential development on an absolute riverfront site in leafy St Lucia.&nbsp;

The 15-storey project, known as <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/st-lucia-by-bottega-house-180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">St Lucia by Bottega House</a> , will occupy a prime north-facing site at 178-180 Macquarie Street, directly fronting the Brisbane River in the established inner-west suburb known for its rowing clubs, golf courses and sprawling University of Queensland campus.&nbsp;

St Lucia by Bottega House will feature a suite of amenities including dedicated wellness spaces, a mineral pool and cold plunge. The project has been positioned to attract affluent owner-occupiers seeking high-quality, house-sized apartments.&nbsp;

Bottega House has been set up by co-directors Nick Malloch, Louis Mennes and Craig Marsh.

Malloch said the project drew inspiration from its Brisbane River setting and leafy inner-west surrounds, while responding to the demands of discerning locals looking to transition from freestanding homes into apartment living.&nbsp;

"With an expansive river frontage and lush green surrounds, we knew we had to create something special that reflects the natural beauty of the location while offering residents masterfully crafted homes," said Malloch.&nbsp;

"Our intent was to complement the project's quiet, private setting by introducing residences that offer a calm retreat and sanctuary from the everyday. The result is a harmonious blend of architecture, interiors and amenity that emphasises wellbeing, comfort and beauty without excess."&nbsp;

Malloch added that project consultants had been carefully selected in alignment with Bottega House's commitment to care, quality and attention to detail. The design team includes architects <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a>, interiors practice <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and landscaping by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/urbis">Urbis</a>.&nbsp;

Three-bedroom apartments are expected to start around $5 millio. Selling agents Keenan &amp; Byrne said the pricing strategy for the project was anticipated to achieve upwards of $25,500 per square metre.&nbsp;

The project's development approval this week follows the success of Bottega House's inaugural Queensland project - a 22-storey collection of full-floor sky homes at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast which included the sale of a two-storey penthouse at a record price for a beachside residence.&nbsp;

St Lucia by Bottega House is expected to launch to market in November, with construction anticipated to be completed mid 2029.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=151826]

Joel Robinson

Bottega House to make Brisbane debut with St Lucia riverfront apartment development

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sherpa-property-group">Sherpa Property Group</a> is advancing its affordable apartment model into Brisbane with the acquisition of another site at Cordelia Street in South Brisbane for $27 million.

Sherpa, which has a $1.7 billion pipeline across Southeast Queensland, intends to bring a cohort of apartments exclusively for first homebuyers into its proposed 186-apartment project to be built at 2 Cordelia Street.

The Sherpa model has already been incredibly well received from their Gold Coast projects, where Sherpa Group set aside a number of apartments exclusively for first homebuyers.

The new $320 million project marks Sherpa Group's second development in Brisbane, following its $255 million Symphony project, also on Cordelia Street, which is currently under construction.

Symphony will deliver 146 apartments across 28 levels, offering a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments. With 114 already sold, construction by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/lps-group">LPS Group</a> is scheduled for completion in 2028.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=7574 project_image_fid=351654]

Sherpa Founder, Christie Leet, said the company was excited to be venturing into Brisbane for its second residential project.

“We’re big believers in the future of Brisbane as we lead into the 2032 Olympics and beyond,” Leet said.

“The success of Symphony has guided us into what will be our second project and we look forward to submitting our plans with council soon so we can deliver yet another quality project to the inner city residential market.

“Our Flourish model has been very well received both in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and we’re excited to be able to offer some of these apartments again exclusively to first homebuyers to help get them into the property market.

“The model has been extraordinarily well received in our previous projects and it is something we are committed to moving forward.”

2 Cordelia Street will be designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hal-architects">HAL Architects</a> &amp; Finegrain and will include Sherpa’s signature residential amenities including pool, gym, recreation, wellness and work from home spaces.

The project will feature ground-floor commercial space, creating a vibrant amenity for residents and the surrounding community.

A development application will be lodged with Brisbane City Council in August on the code compliant site and will be launched to the market early 2027.

Sherpa acquires new site for second Brisbane apartment tower

One of North Sydney's best-known commercial buildings could become hundreds of new homes, with insurance giant Zurich Australia lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) to transform 5 Blue Street into a mixed-use residential development above North Sydney Station.

Rather than demolishing the existing building and starting again, Zurich is proposing an adaptive reuse project that would convert the landmark office building into a 15-level residential development delivering 62 apartments, 86 affordable co-living dwellings, activated retail and significant upgrades to the Blue Street Plaza.

The proposal reflects a growing trend of commercial property owners repositioning ageing office assets into residential housing as Sydney grapples with housing supply shortages and changing workplace demand.

<img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0bba7d12-06dc-4375-aad7-238c94b21ac5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.42.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=NJl5oLAEBDGuPmY3RnyliKODjMc8lvRh" />

Located directly above North Sydney Metro and train station, the 3,051 sqm site occupies one of the most strategically positioned parcels of land on Sydney's Lower North Shore.

Designed by fjcstudio, the proposal seeks to retain and adapt much of the existing structure while creating a contemporary residential address that better connects with the public domain surrounding North Sydney Station.

The application proposes two basement levels, ground floor retail, affordable co-living accommodation across the podium levels, and apartments above, while preserving and enhancing the publicly accessible Blue Street Plaza.

Rather than pursuing maximum apartment numbers, Zurich has opted for a housing mix heavily weighted towards larger owner-occupier residences.

The proposal includes 62 build-to-sell apartments comprising 12 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom, 29 three-bedroom apartments and two premium penthouses. It also incorporates 86 affordable co-living dwellings, which would be managed in perpetuity by a Community Housing Provider.

That balance between traditional apartments and affordable housing reflects the NSW Government's push to increase housing diversity around major transport infrastructure.

The proposal has been lodged concurrently with a rezoning application, with Zurich arguing the site is ideally positioned to support additional housing given its immediate proximity to public transport, employment and services.

"The proposal aims to respond to the housing challenges facing Sydney through the delivery of diverse housing types in a highly accessible location," the design report by fjcstudio states. It also seeks to improve pedestrian amenity through upgrades to Blue Street Plaza while creating a high-performing residential building that responds to the surrounding context.

<img alt="Zurich" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36082e15-c636-4481-bb68-5a5f6443fe39" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%2010.41.36%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=5P6VD.fvmqjQfIG3TWWMRXxQWiQBjeFB" />

Rather than replacing the commercial building, fjcstudio has developed a design that works with the existing structural framework above the rail corridor, an approach that significantly reduces demolition while allowing the site to be repositioned as a mixed-use residential precinct.

The existing structural constraints have informed much of the building's design, including its relationship with Blue Street and surrounding public spaces.

The building has been designed as a slender tower rising above a clearly defined podium, with vertically expressed façades intended to reduce the perceived bulk while reinforcing North Sydney's emerging skyline.

According to fjcstudio, the architectural language responds directly to the surrounding commercial towers while maintaining a finer grain expression more closely aligned with the neighbouring Lavender Bay streetscape.

The tower incorporates articulated façade elements, landscaped podium edges and recessed upper levels to soften its appearance and improve pedestrian amenity below.

A significant component of the proposal is the revitalisation of Blue Street Plaza.

The existing public space has long served as one of the primary pedestrian connections between North Sydney Station, Greenwood Plaza and Blue Street, yet its role is expected to become even more important following the opening of Sydney Metro.

Zurich's proposal seeks to strengthen that role by improving landscaping, introducing new retail frontages, enhancing pedestrian permeability and creating more active edges throughout the day and evening.

Ground floor retail would wrap the plaza, while separate residential and co-living entries have been designed to improve wayfinding without reducing street activation.

Landscape design has been integrated throughout the podium and public realm, softening what is currently one of the most heavily urbanised parts of North Sydney.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

fjcstudio has carefully oriented apartments towards Sydney Harbour and the CBD while using privacy blades and articulated façades to minimise overlooking between neighbouring buildings.

Large framed openings along the western elevation maximise harbour outlooks, while the eastern apartments have been angled towards the south-east to improve privacy from neighbouring development.

The project forms part of the continuing transformation of North Sydney from a predominantly commercial CBD into a genuine mixed-use city centre.

Since the completion of Victoria Cross Metro Station, developers have increasingly shifted their attention towards residential projects capable of leveraging the area's unparalleled transport connectivity.

&nbsp;

FiveX recently lodged plans for a 61-storey, 490-apartment tower that would become one of the tallest residential buildings in North Sydney if approved.

Aqualand continues to expand its Lower North Shore presence following the completion of AURA on Walker Street and its recent St Leonards and Roseville proposals.

Developers are also progressing projects throughout Walker Street, Miller Street and the Victoria Cross precinct as demand for well-located owner-occupier apartments continues to strengthen.

First look: Zurich targets North Sydney office conversion with 148-unit proposal above Metro station

Busy developer Aqualand Prestige has formally taken the next step in its expansion across Sydney's Lower North Shore, lodging a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) for its long-held Archer Street site in Chatswood.

The application covers <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/51-55-archer-street-chatswood-nsw-2067">51-55 Archer Street</a>, a 1,767 sqm amalgamated site on the eastern edge of the Chatswood CBD, where the developer is seeking approval for a 45-level mixed-use tower delivering 114 apartments, including a significant affordable housing component, alongside retail, commercial space and six basement levels of parking.

The SSDA marks the latest milestone for a project Aqualand has been quietly progressing over the past two years. The developer first secured the site for its Aqualand Prestige platform before undertaking an alternative design excellence process with PTW Architects, ultimately avoiding a formal design competition through the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

The proposal has evolved considerably from Aqualand's original concept. The revised scheme has been designed around larger owner-occupier product, with an unusually high proportion of three and four-bedroom apartments, targeting the more affluent buyer profile, and downsizer, emerging across the North Shore.

<img alt="Archer St" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0171204c-5811-41b5-9b09-2335d1b7c3d0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-07-22%20at%208.52.48%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=6YTuxfq.puZo7k2wbfgemcO5K3QfXYGQ" />

The 114-apartment mix comprises six studios, 27 one-bedroom apartments, 18 two-bedroom apartments, 50 three-bedroom residences and 13 four-bedroom homes. A quarter of the building will be dedicated to affordable housing, well above the mandated 15 per cent&nbsp;

PTW has structured the building vertically, with affordable housing across levels one to six, premium apartments through levels seven to 31, duplex skyhomes on klevels 32 to 43, a penthouse on level 44, and a rooftop plant level above. Six basement levels will provide resident parking and servicing.

The tower is proposed to reach approximately 154 metres, placing it among a growing collection of residential high-rises transforming Chatswood's skyline.

Rather than competing purely on height, PTW says the design has been driven by creating a slimmer tower capable of delivering significantly larger apartments.

"The primary objective of this project was to create a distinctive building that stands out from the recently approved or built structures in the Chatswood area," the design report states, noting the structural efficiency allows greater investment into apartment quality and resident amenity.

Residents would have access to more than 450 sqm of communal open space including landscaped gardens, swimming pool, rooftop entertaining areas, fitness spaces, community gardens, children's play areas and barbecue facilities.

A major focus of the design has been the public domain.

The ground plane has been opened up through landscaped terraces inspired by Willoughby's sandstone ridges, with native planting, public seating, artwork, retail activation and a series of gathering spaces intended to soften what has traditionally been a hard commercial streetscape.

The landscape strategy references Blue Gum forests once common throughout the area, while incorporating Indigenous storytelling, public art and lighting installations to strengthen the connection to Country.

Chatswood has been one of Sydney's busiest apartment markets over the past 12 months, with a steady pipeline of both new project launches and fresh development applications.

Hyecorp recently launched Celine, a 122-apartment development just along Archer Street, while Changfa and Huirong Group are progressing The Anderson, an 84-apartment project on Anderson Street.

Develotek recently secured approval for a 101-apartment tower on Pacific Highway, while Tian An LFD received the green light for Hammond Greens, its apartment development on the edge of the Chatswood Bowling Club.

Commercial property developer FiveX is also making its move into the residential market. Last month it lodged plans for a 61-storey tower with 490 apartments, which, if approved, would become one of the tallest residential buildings in Chatswood.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-fivex-targets-chatswood-skyline-with-61-storey-tower-after-north-sydney-plans">First look: FiveX targets Chatswood skyline with 61-storey tower after North Sydney plans</a>

Aqualand is also expanding its development pipeline following the launch of its luxury residential brand, Aqualand Prestige. The developer has delivered a string of high-end apartment projects across Sydney's affluent suburbs over the past decade, most recently AURA by Aqualand on Walker Street in North Sydney.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=30959 project_image_fid=292863]

It has since quietly assembled its next wave of projects.

Earlier this year Aqualand launched Boronia in Roseville, a boutique 111-apartment development on Larkin Street. The project is one of the first significant apartment developments to launch in the suburb ahead of what is expected to become one of Sydney's most active new housing precincts under the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms, which allow greater density around train stations.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152095 project_image_fid=373685]

The developer has also lodged plans for a two-tower, 413-apartment development on Herbert Street in nearby St Leonards, further strengthening its presence across the Lower North Shore.

Beyond that, Aqualand remains behind the final stage of Barangaroo, where plans will deliver a five-hectare mixed-use precinct comprising new homes, retail, hospitality and community facilities, alongside a new Metro entrance and more than two hectares of public open space, completing the Barangaroo precinct.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/central-barangaroo-development-takes-big-step-with-concept-proposal-approval">Central Barangaroo development takes big step with concept proposal approval</a>

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-aqualand-joins-st-leonards-apartment-party">First look: Aqualand joins St Leonards apartment party</a> 
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First look: Aqualand pushes ahead with Chatswood apartment tower as SSDA lodged for Archer Street

Mass timber is becoming an increasingly popular construction material in apartment developments, but Adelaide developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/otello">Otello</a> is taking the approach a step further.

At its new <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/flowe-bowden-18-gibson-street-bowden-sa-5007">Flowe Bowden</a> development, the exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure isn't just about reducing the building's environmental footprint. It also forms the foundation of a broader wellness strategy, influencing everything from indoor air quality and natural materials to the way residents move through and experience the building.

The 115-apartment mixed-use development, designed by Melbourne-based architecture practice Fieldwork, will occupy a prominent island site opposite Bowden Village Reserve, combining one, two and three-bedroom apartments with retail and a dedicated wellness destination.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375528]

Wellness isn't confined to a gym or shared resident facility at Flowe. Instead, Fieldwork embedded the concept into the building itself.

The development has been split into two residential wings connected by a naturally ventilated central breezeway, replacing traditional enclosed corridors with open-air walkways that improve natural light, encourage cross ventilation and create more opportunities for neighbourly interaction.

"Rather than treating wellness as something that only happens on the ground floor, our response integrates it throughout the building, which led us to ask what it really means to design a healthy building," Fieldwork Director Quino Holland said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375531]

The building's architecture also reflects Bowden's industrial heritage. The lower podium references the area's historic brick and sandstone buildings, while the upper levels transition to exposed CLT, allowing the timber structure to become a defining feature throughout the apartments and shared spaces.

The use of mass timber sits alongside a range of sustainability initiatives, including a fully electric, gas-free design, rooftop solar and a targeted 5 Star Green Star rating.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375524]

Inside the residences, the focus remains on natural, durable materials. Blackbutt engineered timber flooring, exposed CLT ceilings, porcelain surfaces and warm timber joinery create a calming interior palette, while low-VOC finishes and responsibly sourced materials have been selected to improve indoor air quality.

Kitchens have been designed as the centrepiece of each apartment, featuring porcelain island benchtops, timber-look cabinetry and brushed steel tapware, with layouts that maximise natural light and ventilation.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152022 project_image_fid=375530]

The more traditional interpretation of wellness comes in the form of Level Eleven, a two-storey wellness club spanning the ground floor, mezzanine and first floor.

The facility will include a gym, yoga and reformer Pilates studios, Finnish and infrared saunas, magnesium hot and cold plunge pools, and dedicated recovery spaces. Unlike many residential wellness facilities, Level Eleven will also operate commercially, allowing the broader Bowden community to access the venue while giving residents exclusive membership benefits.

The ground floor has also been designed around everyday living. A café overlooking Bowden Village Reserve will activate the street frontage, while a bike workshop with tool storage, co-working space and dog wash has been incorporated to support daily routines and encourage interaction between residents.

"Flowe brings together my two biggest passions, creating places and creating healthier lives," Otello founder Daniel Harris said.

"We wanted to create something Adelaide hasn't seen before, a genuinely healthy building, where the way you live is lifted without even trying."

Flowe is positioned directly opposite Bowden Village Reserve and within walking distance of Bowden Railway Station and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, placing future residents just minutes from the Adelaide CBD while remaining connected to one of the city's most established urban renewal precincts.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152022]

Staff reporter

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