First look: TOGA files plans for boutique Double Bay apartment project

Longstanding Sydney builder-developer TOGA is looking to add Double Bay to its growing residential portfolio, filing plans for a boutique apartment development just a few hundred metres from the suburb’s village centre and harbour foreshore.

The proposed development at 34-36 Ocean Avenue, on the corner of Guilfoyle Avenue, would see the existing dwelling and ancillary structures demolished to make way for a six-storey residential building designed by Cottee Parker.

Plans lodged with Woollahra Council show just 19 apartments are proposed across the 923 sqm site, comprising 14 two-bedroom apartments, four three-bedroom apartments and a single four-bedroom residence.

The relatively small apartment count is reflective of the larger apartment product TOGA is targeting in the affluent eastern suburbs market. Its own market assessment identified particularly strong demand for two and three-bedroom apartments in Double Bay, with the two-bedroom apartments proposed to average around 85 sqm, the three-bedders 115 sqm and the four-bedroom apartment around 130 sqm.

The building would rise six storeys above a single basement level, with 14 residential car spaces and two accessible spaces proposed below ground. A communal area is planned at ground level. 

The architectural plans show the larger four-bedroom apartment positioned on the ground floor with around 133 sqm internally and a substantial 40 sqm balcony, while the upper levels are increasingly given over to the larger three-bedroom residences.

TOGA is seeking to capitalise on the NSW Government's Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms, which identify the site as being within walking distance of the Double Bay centre. The planning documents note the centre is around 150 metres away on foot, while Edgecliff Station is approximately 500 metres away.

Architect Cottee Parker has sought to break down the perceived height of the building by presenting a four-storey street wall to Ocean and Guilfoyle avenues before recessing the upper levels. The proposed material palette combines face brick, stone, precast elements and metal detailing, with balconies and vertical screening used across the façade. Landscaping also plays a significant role in the scheme, not least because of Ocean Avenue's established tree canopy.

The corner position puts the project around 50 metres from Guilfoyle Park, 200 metres from Steyne Park and around 350 metres from Double Bay Beach. 

The Double Bay plans come during a busy period for TOGA, which has recently completed and welcomed residents to The Kensington, its Eastern Suburbs project which they have called one of its most connected developments they have delivered. The 142 dwellings, a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments as well as flexible SOHO Terrace residences, sits opposite the Kensington light rail stop, with UNSW and Randwick's major health and education precinct nearby. The project reached completion in 2026. 

It follows another major completion for the group at Surry Hills Village, the $450 million mixed-use precinct on the border of Surry Hills and Redfern.

The 122-residence development, comprising apartments and terraces, was completed in 2024 and sits above Wunderlich Lane, the hospitality and retail precinct that has quickly established itself as one of Sydney's go-to dining destinations. Its restaurant line-up includes Olympus Dining, Regina La Pizzeria and Island Radio.

TOGA is also active north of the CBD, where it is currently delivering Macquarie Rise on Herring Road in Macquarie Park.

The three-tower development will comprise 268 apartments across buildings ranging from 12 to 14 levels, rising above a two-level mixed-use podium. Construction commenced in 2024 and all three structures had topped out by May 2026, with completion currently targeted for 2027.