Property Projects Australia plans park-edge apartments and dining precinct opposite New Farm Park

A joint venture between local Brisbane developer Property Projects Australia and Griffith Capital will see a new apartment development land directly opposite New Farm Park.

The JV partners had Richards & Spence design the new park-edge building that will bring five restaurants and shops underneath 11 large-scale apartments, to the 1,250 sqm site at 934-942 Brunswick Street, on the corner of Sydney Street.

The low apartment count and active ground plane distinguish the proposal from a conventional mid-rise residential project. Four 50 sqm shop tenancies are planned alongside a larger 195 sqm food and drink venue with outdoor dining, giving the ground floor around 400 sqm of commercial space.

Richards & Spence has conceived the six-storey building specifically around its position on the edge of New Farm Park, using a stepped and heavily articulated form rather than a single six-storey volume.

"The proposed built form is conceived as a park-edge building that completes and dignifies the urban boundary of the park while remaining proportionate to its surroundings," the town planning report states.

"The building’s scale is moderated through articulated massing rather than a singular extruded form; vertical and horizontal modulation to break down perceived bulk; and a clear hierarchy between the ground plane, upper residential levels, and rooftop activation."

The architecture combines porphyry stone, dry-pressed brick, concrete, brushed open balustrades, metalwork and louvres with extensive subtropical landscaping.

Brickwork and off-form concrete will form the principal façades, with metal cladding at the upper mezzanine and natural stone tiling at ground level.

Planting will extend beyond the street-level landscape, with shrubs, groundcovers and trailing species incorporated around the pool deck, mezzanine and upper residential levels to soften the building when viewed from New Farm Park and surrounding streets.

The park itself is a major driver of the scheme. The planning report describes New Farm Park as attracting more than 18,000 visitors each week, or close to one million annually, making the site a particularly visible piece of the suburb's urban edge.

The project also involves an unusual heritage relocation to clear the consolidated New Farm site.

Rather than demolishing the pre-1946 house at 934 Brunswick Street, Property Projects Australia and Griffith Capital proposes to move the dwelling to 31 and 33 Vista Avenue in Tarragindi. The Vista Avenue property is also within Brisbane's Traditional Building Character Overlay, allowing the house to remain within a character setting.

The existing post-1946 house at the Tarragindi site will be demolished and the Brunswick Street dwelling relocated intact and restored on the new site.

The buildings aside from the Queenslander will be demolished to make way for the new building.

New development activity in New Farm, one of Brisbane's most sought-after suburbs, has been quiet in recent years. GRAYA completed its luxury Chalk apartment building in 2024 on Moray Street, where Spyre is currently delivering Moray House, just six luxury apartments on the river.

Fortis recently launched Rosemont, 73 apartments designed in a garden-focussed setting on Moreton Street, while Seymour Group is planning another 27 apartments on the dress circle Oxlade Drive.