Frank Developments plans sculptural AVELA for Brisbane's Breakfast Creek gateway
Burgeoning South East Queensland developer Frank Developments is continuing to pad out its capital city development pipeline.
The developer, led by Frank Licastro, has its sights set on Kingsford Smith Drive in Hamilton, where it is planning AVELA, a 166-apartment development across three towers that tier down from 28 storeys to 19 and 17.
The towers will rise above the iconic Breakfast Creek Hotel.
Frank has brought on Melbourne architecture practice Kennon to design the building, conceived as a “defining architectural marker where the airport corridor meets the inner city.”
Kennon describes the project as a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
"Positioned at the northern gateway of Brisbane's primary CBD corridor, this project represents a singular moment in the city's urban evolution, one that will not come again," the architecture practice said in the documents submitted to the Brisbane City Council.
"Where the airport and world beyond meets the city, the building will rise as a sculptural landmark, a defining piece of architecture that signals arrival into Brisbane and anchors the connection between the city and the communities to its north."
The development is centred around owner-occupier apartments, with a mix of two, three and four-bedroom residences designed to capitalise on city and river views.
Four basement levels accommodate resident parking, allowing the podium to prioritise pedestrian activity and public-facing uses like ground-floor retail, a cafe, a neighbourhood grocer, and a public accessible indoor pickleball court and event space.
There will be nearly 2,000 sqm of communal wellness and recreation facilities across three levels.
Frank Developments has increasingly focused on design-led residential projects across South East Queensland.
AVELA is Licastro's second on Kingsford Smith Drive following Alba, 85 apartments just down the road. The developer has MIRA and MYST on the Gold Coast, as well as Murano coming up in Teneriffe and Bel Air in New Farm.
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
