First look: Bottega Group plans 15-storey riverfront apartments at St Lucia
St Lucia's best street is set for a striking new apartment development, with Bottega Group filing plans for a riverfront building on the dress circle Macquarie Street.
Bottega Group, led by Louis Mendes, wants to develop 47 apartments across a 15-storey building at 178-180 Macquarie Street, the second-to-last site on the exclusive riverfront strip. It will likely retain view lines to the east given the neighbouring building is a childcare and then after that it's a x high school. I
Positioned along the Brisbane River, the site enjoys approximately 30 metres of frontage to both the river and Macquarie Street. The existing single dwellings on site would be demolished to make way for the new building, which has been designed by Plus Studio.
The design incorporates a sculptural tower form that steps and curves to respond to river views, neighbouring buildings, and prevailing breezes.
According to the Design Report by Plus Studio, the vision is for “a crafted urban retreat, riverside amenity, connected to the inner city,” with the architecture described as “considered, timeless and sophisticated”.
The tower is organised into three distinct zones: lower residential, upper residential, and penthouse levels, with recreational amenity distributed across the lower and upper podiums.
The development includes a rooftop garden and substantial ground-level landscaping, delivering arpound 559 sqm (37 per cent of the site) to landscape areas. Communal open space is provided on both the ground level and rooftop, including indoor lounges and outdoor terraces designed to maximise views and sun access.
Urbis, the town planning consultant, states in the report that “the proposed development responds to site constraints, such as flooding and vegetation, to present a balanced and well considered built form”.
The design has been tailored to manage flooding risk and to retain key vegetation where feasible, with a large existing gum tree in the southwest corner of the site highlighted in the landscape intent.
Macquarie Street's last building was completed recently, just a few doors down from Bottega's new building. The project, 160 Macquarie Street, was delivered in 2024 by QM Properties and comprises 33 apartments by Rothelowman.
Bottega Group are also active in the Gold Coast market, developing Faro Broadbeach in partnership with 5Point Projects.
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
