First look: Vaughan Blank plans skinny shoptop on Bondi Beach's Campbell Parade
Apartments on Campbell Parade, no matter what size, will always draw significant buyer interest.
That seems to be the view of prominent Eastern Suburbs developer Vaughan Blank, who has submitted plans to add apartments above the heritage-listed Arnott’s Flats building at 32 Campbell Parade, toward the southern end of the sand.
The site, toward the southern end of the famous strip, is just over seven metres wide.
Rather than wholesale redevelopment given the heritage-listed status of the current building, the application proposes to retain the building’s Inter-War period façade, considered contributory within the Bondi Beach Heritage Conservation Area, while replacing much of the structure behind with a contemporary residential addition.
The submitted design, prepared by DARC Architecture, seeks to construct four additional storeys above the retained frontage, creating a total of five levels including the ground-floor retail.
The new building will add seven apartments, including a portion designated as affordable housing under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021.
“The design introduces a cantilevered setback to preserve the prominence of the heritage façade,” DARC wrote in its submission, adding that the upper levels will be "finished in a contemporary yet sympathetic material palette that complements nearby heritage items, including the Astra Hotel and Remola and Cenira Mansions”.
The original structure, known as Arnott’s Flats, was built in the early 1920s and is distinguished by its decorative pediment, Ionic pilasters, and engraved entablature.
The Statement of Heritage Impact prepared by Weir Phillips Heritage supports the partial retention approach, suggesting the development will "ensure the long-term viability and ongoing maintenance of this contributory item, thereby supporting the sustainable preservation of the Bondi Beach HCA”.
Vaughan Blank, a former executive at Glencore, has a penchant for investing and developing in Sydney's east. In 2017 he spent $33 million on a block of Art Deco flats in Edgecliff in 2017, which at the time was highest price paid at auction for a residential property in Australia.
He has extensive holdings in Double Bay, Woollahra, and Tamarama. His development company, STM Realty, also has development sites on Hall Street and O'Brien Street.
Joel Robinson
Joel Robinson is the Editor in Chief at Apartments.com.au, where he leads the editorial team and oversees the country’s most comprehensive news coverage dedicated to the off the plan property market. With more than a decade of experience in residential real estate journalism, Joel brings deep insight into Australia’s evolving development landscape.
He holds a degree in Business Management with a major in Journalism from Leeds Beckett University in the UK, and has developed a particular expertise in off the plan apartment space. Joel’s editorial lens spans the full lifecycle of a project—from site acquisition and planning approvals through to new launches, construction completions, and final sell-out—delivering trusted, buyer-focused content that supports informed decision-making across the property journey
