Fresh off completing its Delano Crows Nest development, Lindsay Bennelong has lodged plans for its next project, this time turning its attention to the beach.

The developer, founded by Clarendon Homes founder Peter Campbell, is proposing a 37-apartment scheme at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/17-25-ashburner-street-manly-nsw-2095">17-25 Ashburner Street</a>, Manly, positioned between the southern end of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/manly-nsw-2095">Manly</a> Beach and East Manly Cove.

According to the Design Verification Statement by Bridie Gough of Platform Architects, the proposal “relates to the current context but also the desired future character of taller buildings suitable to the new planning controls.”

The site has been identified as a Low to Mid-Rise Housing (LMR) location, given its position within 400 metres of the Manly Town Centre E1 Business Zone. The LMR controls are intended to unlock additional housing supply in well-located areas close to public transport, allowing developers to seek increased height limits to support greater density.

“The proposal seeks to provide this increased level of housing whilst being respectful of some of the smaller scale buildings also nearby,” the statement reads.

The development would replace four houses and 10 strata apartments currently on the site.

<img alt="Manly" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ad03000f-19f9-48b4-b27d-e85ca800a1da" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-04-30%20at%208.41.59%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=a.txHwCZgbCInlQ6QXbIrI.umvW1T.r8" />

“Careful consideration has been given to the articulation of the building, ensuring the bulk is broken down to a more human scale through a defined four-storey podium,” the statement notes. “More intricate detailing has been introduced on the left-hand side of the street frontage to respond to the adjoining two-storey building, allowing the proposal to sit comfortably within the streetscape.”

The design incorporates a wave-like indentation running through the façade, referencing the nearby coastline and anchoring the building within its local context.

The scheme includes a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with nine of the 37 residences allocated as affordable housing.

“The design ensures a high level of amenity, with apartments offering generous private open space, many with expansive views, and all with comfortable proportions,” the statement adds.

<img alt="Bennelong" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6a7f2812-72a1-4959-84b0-997e8cd88aed" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-04-30%20at%2010.15.50%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=6iMxU3MkXmHVHAoNhYBjnqgka8CUZNbk" />

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/lindsay-bennelong-developments">Lindsay Bennelong</a>&nbsp;recently welcomed residents to its 81-unit Delano Crows Nest development, a&nbsp;carefully scaled infill project designed to bridge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/crows-nest-nsw-2065">Crows Nest</a>’s lively village centre with its surrounding heritage streets.

Designed by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ajc-architects">AJC Architects</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/delano-crows-nest-27-57-falcon-street-crows-nest-nsw-2065">Delano</a>&nbsp;is arranged across three low-rise buildings, incorporating a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments alongside a limited number of townhomes addressing Hayberry Lane. The architectural approach draws on the area’s Art Deco lineage, reinterpreted through contemporary detailing and framed by landscaped communal gardens.

The developer also has a development site in Maroubra.

Joel Robinson

First look: Lindsay Bennelong's new Manly apartment development revealed

Fifty-nine residences across 37 levels. No more than two per floor. With 80 per cent now sold, what remains at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/madeline-by-mosaic-broadbeach-22-mary-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218">Madeline by Mosaic</a> is a short list.

Madeline was always conceived at a scale that sits outside the normal register of Gold Coast apartment living. The residences are half- and full-floor configurations, with the largest spanning more than 400 sqm, dimensions that place them closer to the penthouse end of the market regardless of where they sit in the building.

That scale is the organising principle of everything else: how the floorplans are laid out, how the materials read, how the connection between inside and outside works.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150135 project_image_fid=355941]

The interiors were developed in collaboration with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/fraser-partners-0">Fraser &amp; Partners</a>, the architecture practice&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mosaic-property-group">Mosaic</a> brought in as design partner for the first time on this project. The palette runs to natural stone, textured timbers, and soft metallics, materials chosen as much for their tactile quality as their appearance.

Light cleverly shifts across surfaces through the day, and the design is explicit about wanting that to be noticed. Full-height glazing runs across the primary living areas, and where the building faces east toward the ocean, those walls of glass are doing real work: framing a view corridor that the site's position directly opposite Broadbeach State School's playing fields keeps permanently open.

That outlook is the site's most consequential asset. In a suburb where new towers continue to rise, a protected view line is genuinely rare, and the Mary Avenue address secures it. Residents at Madeline will look out over open parkland rather than the rear of another building, a distinction that becomes more meaningful with each new development approved nearby.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150135 project_image_fid=355939]

The private outdoor spaces are sized to match the residences themselves. Terraces on the upper levels frame uninterrupted ocean panoramas, and the planning ensures that living areas extend into those outdoor zones rather than treating them as separate attachments. The flow between the two is part of the design intent, not an afterthought.

Inside, the finish specification reflects the same approach. Rich stone benchtops, warm timber joinery, bespoke hardware, each element specified to hold up over time rather than read as a moment in a particular trend cycle.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150135 project_image_fid=3409]

Beyond the residences, the amenity offering extends that register. A lap pool and sun deck anchor the outdoor space, alongside a magnesium pool, cold plunge, steam room, and sauna.

A commercial-grade gymnasium, residents' lounge, library, and boardroom round out a programme that functions more like a private members club than a standard building amenity floor.

Construction has commenced under Mosaic's in-house building arm, with completion scheduled for late 2028.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150135]

Madeline by Mosaic delivers penthouse-level living across every apartment

Developer Fortezza Group is the latest to take its new apartment development, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-belvedere-5-7-church-street-nelson-bay-nsw-2315">The Belvedere in Nelson Bay</a>, to the NSW Government.

Fortezza, predominantly a South East Queensland developer, is the latest to apply for State Significant Development&nbsp; status through the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority, a pathway becoming favoured by developers to speed up the approval process.

They are planning 57 two- and three-bedroom apartments across 5-7 Church Street and 42 Donald Street, near d'Albora Nelson Bay Marina. The diverse apartment mix has sizes from just over 80 sqm to the largest three-bedroom penthouses that reach nearly 200 sqm.

<img alt="Fortezza" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="090360e1-66d7-43ad-b686-aba81f173bf2" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-04-29%20at%2010.22.40%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=DMqF96eBZolqSAAAcugX0l66ueWng66m" />

Fortezza calls the project a "piece of Istria in Nelson Bay,"&nbsp;referring to the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea, shared by Croatia (90%), Slovenia, and Italy, which is known for its Roman history, Venetian-style coastal towns and inland hilltop villages.

They say the The Belvedere is strategically positioned at the apex of Nelson Bay, offering unrivalled views of the ocean, the bay and captivating topography of the area.

"Our commitment to maintaining the integrity of every view and sight line has been relentless," Fortezza Group says.

"Through extensive modelling and analysis, we ensure that each apartment enjoys the natural beauty of Nelson Bay, regardless of future developments. Each design element is carefully curated to harmonise with our European heritage, drawing profound inspiration from the Roman architectural marvels in Istria. The arches, the cascades of greenery and the stonework that define our project pay homage to the structures that once exemplified Roman grandeur."

Residents will have access to a pool, communal green spaces, an office and a coffee shop.

First look: Fortezza Group takes The Belvedere, Nelson Bay apartment development, to NSW Government

SEQ developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/keylin-group">Keylin</a>&nbsp;is the latest to jump into the hot Kangaroo Point market, filing plans for a prime site on Lambert Street.

The 52-unit development, predominantly made up of two-bed apartments, will sit on a 1,012 sqm site at 39 Lambert Street, within the&nbsp;Kangaroo Point Peninsula’s Shafston Precinct.

The 15-storey scheme by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/jackson-teece">Jackson Teece</a>&nbsp;is anchored by a strong focus on mid-sized apartments, with 48 two-bedroom and four three-bedroom dwellings forming the mix. The project includes three basement levels, as well as ground and mezzanine parking, delivering a total of 66 car spaces.

<img alt="First Look: Keylin targets Brisbane’s mid-market with 15-storey Kangaroo Point proposal" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0df78d49-0723-442f-917e-fe29f4eb02c6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/2_1.png?VersionId=Ud0OP4FZCGFHLvwFWbaeTcYq8Fc2mtdh" />

Planning documents describe the proposal as “a high-density residential outcome that integrates with its context and encourages urban consolidation and the efficient use of land in a well-serviced, inner-city location.”

The building adopts a slender tower form across 15 levels, including a rooftop communal terrace. Its design is shaped by setbacks and orientation that respond directly to neighbouring buildings, achieving up to 20 metres of separation to the adjacent Point Hotel and between 9 and 17 metres to nearby residential developments.

A key design driver is the integration of subtropical and biophilic elements. The architectural concept, described as an “elevated garden sanctuary,” draws from the natural character of the Kangaroo Point cliffs, incorporating landscaped ledges, deep planting zones, and extensive greenery throughout the façade. Curved balconies and layered planting soften the tower’s vertical form, while the lower levels feature heavier landscaping and screening to create a more human-scaled street interface.

<img alt="First Look: Keylin targets Brisbane’s mid-market with 15-storey Kangaroo Point proposal" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="95bc4974-fcbd-4a9a-9dfb-95b8e1977187" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/4.png?VersionId=o8hwItpcfKBglOaTH8Hv7MmVOphZF_Fg" />

Residents will have access to a rooftop amenity offering spanning approximately 262 sqm, including a pool and spa, gym, lounge areas, and flexible wellness spaces. Landscaping is embedded throughout the building, with over 280 sqm of planted areas integrated across the façade and rooftop.

Kangaroo Point has been popular for developers in recent years. Mosaic Property Group has almost sold out its two Kangaroo Point buildings,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-bedford-by-mosaic-16-30-prospect-street-kangaroo-point-qld-4169">The Bedford by Mosaic</a> on Prospect Street, and <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-carter-by-mosaic-77-linton-street-kangaroo-point-qld-4169">The Carter Building on Linton Street</a>.

Kenlynn has <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/130lambert-112-130-lambert-street-kangaroo-point-qld-4169">130Lambert</a>, just up the road from Keylin's proposal, while Pikos has two projects in the area.

Keylin targets Brisbane’s mid-market with 15-storey Kangaroo Point apartment development

"A legacy to last 100 years."

That's the view of Brisbane developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/consolidated-properties">Consolidated Properties Group</a> (CPG), which has just been given the green light to develop its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/47-skyring-terrace-newstead-qld-4006">Skyring Terrace, Newstead tower</a> on what is being pitched as "the last true riverfront address at Newstead."

CPG will now begin a VIP release, with buyer enquiries open ahead of priority outreach to registered clients in May.&nbsp;

Access to the as yet unnamed project will be limited, with CPG confirming a staged release strategy targeting a select group of buyers before any broader market launch.&nbsp;

<img alt="DA approved for last true riverfront address in Newstead" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f4ab3090-a2b8-46a8-a4f3-4ec16b5b25b9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Enscape_2025-09-18-13-10-37.jpg?VersionId=_9OV7Adc_zdCldf58WkP0iiagz3Ed3yd" />

Construction is scheduled to commence in August 2026, with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/hutchinson-builders">Hutchinson Builders</a> expected to be on site in the coming weeks preparing the sales office.&nbsp;

The approved development comprises 227 apartments across a 25-storey tower with more than 75% having northeast river views. There is also an absolute riverfront six-storey boutique building of only 12 residences which will each enjoy more than 21 metres of river frontage.&nbsp;

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/woods-bagot">Woods Bagot</a>, the project adopts a contemporary interpretation of Brisbane’s classical architecture, with a focus on enduring materials including brick and stone.&nbsp;

<img alt="DA approved for last true riverfront address in Newstead" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bfe7254d-25c3-44bb-9a46-ed658d0aab8a" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Enscape_2025-11-05-00-57-36.jpg?VersionId=O29la.BVNnSLxL0JVzvEETE8NaYIn3XG" />

CPG Chairman and CEO Don O’Rorke says the approval marks a significant milestone for the group’s $1.5 billion plus riverfront development pipeline including Gloriette at Yeerongpilly.&nbsp;

“This will be a new signature building for the Brisbane skyline and riverfront,” O’Rorke said. “We want this building to be considered one of Brisbane’s best in 100 years.”&nbsp;

CPG Head of Residential James MacGinley says the design prioritises longevity and permanence over short-term trends.&nbsp;

“Woods Bagot’s design will stand the test of time,” MacGinley said.&nbsp;

“First and foremost, these are beautiful homes designed to enjoy river views that will never be built out. However, the heart of this design goes beyond the ‘now’ and draws from the past to create an enduring legacy for the future. We expect these homes to become very tightly held and passed from generation to generation.&nbsp;

The project will form part of CPG’s broader riverfront portfolio, with a fully fitted out sales office opening later this year.

&nbsp;

"A legacy to last 100 years" as Consolidated Properties approved for Newstead tower

Echelon Planning

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The Victorian Government has recently released a series of detailed reports to inform the ‘Managing Residential Development’ Advisory Committee submissions process. They raise many important questions not only about the residential zones but the wider issue of ‘who and what are we planning for’ over the coming decade and beyond.

What follows is a summary of some of the more attention grabbing parts of the reports, together with our own observations about the bigger picture issues that the forthcoming Advisory Committee might need to address.

<h2>Urban redevelopment is finally a dominant part of Melbourne's housing supply</h2>

According to the State of Play report:

<ul>
<li>Redevelopment of exiting commercial, mixed use and former industrial areas has accounted for 42% of Melbourne’s housing supply in recent years. This includes major redevelopment sites identified in the Urban Development Program, as well as land within Commercial, Mixed Use, Capital City, Docklands and various Priority Development/Comprehensive Development zones.</li>
	<li>Melbourne’s growth areas have provided around 31% of the annual new housing supply over the past four years. This is a much lower share than in previous periods.</li>
	<li>Residential infill development still provided for around 25% of Melbourne’s overall housing supply over the past four years. This remains a vital part of the housing diversity and affordability equation for our city.</li>
</ul>
After years of debate, urban consolidation is now writ large in Melbourne’s streets and suburbs. It appears set to remain a major part of our city’s future growth for decades to come.

The State of Play reports provide a very useful snapshot of where higher residential development is currently permitted under residential and other zones across Melbourne. Only about 5 percent of land in metropolitan Melbourne is included within zones that support higher density development.

This includes the Residential Growth Zone (RGZ), Capital City Zone, Commercial 1, Activity Centre and Mixed Use zone.

At the other end of the spectrum, of all the zones that allow for residential (including commercial) almost 13 percent of residential land supply in metropolitan Melbourne is included within the Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ).

There are also some significant differences in how residential land across Melbourne is zoned - notably, 30 percent of land in the eastern metropolitan region is included within the NRZ, compared with 7.4% in Melbourne’s western region. Some will argue that this reflects historic and environmental differences between Melbourne’s east and west, but many others will have a different interpretation.

<h2>What do we know about the early impact of the new residential zones?</h2>

The State of Play report notes that it is too early to track the impacts of the new zones on development trends, because much of the recent development are based on planning approvals that pre-date their implementation. It rather tactfully notes that:

<blockquote>
It is possible that the supply of new medium density dwellings in [Boroondara, Glen Eira and Bayside] will decline in response to the NRZ and while this is unlikely to generate supply impacts of metropolitan significance, at a local level this might add to issues of housing diversity, choice and price…
</blockquote>

The report also notes that whilst the mandatory nature of the new residential zones fundamentally increases certainty over the likely development outcomes, it may also have unintended consequences, for example by limiting the development potential of larger lots and impacting on the pitch of roofs (for example).

<h2>The challenges facing planning for residential growth in Melbourne</h2>

“Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

Alice: I don’t much care where.

Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.”

What is the overall housing policy that residential zone reform is intended to achieve?

The current State planning policy contains some general directions for facilitating housing growth near services and public transport, and it also requires planning to consider Victorian Government population projections (Victoria in Future). The big question right now is whether or not the zone reforms are expected to contribute towards realising the 70% infill/30% growth area housing distribution target identified in the Plan Melbourne Refresh.

What might a 70/30 housing target mean for realising infill development?

VIF 2015 suggests that Melbourne will need an additional 388,000 new homes in the next decade. Under a 70/30 policy, this equates to almost 272,000 homes being built in established areas.

The latest Urban Development Program (2015) suggests that a staggering 128,000 dwellings will be constructed on major residential redevelopment projects (i.e. those yielding 10 dwellings or more) over the next two years alone (notably, this is almost double what the 2014 UDP estimates for the same period). But even with this level of development, a further 144,000 homes will still need to be built in Melbourne’s established areas between 2016 and 2026.

The Advisory Committee will therefore need to turn its mind to how planning schemes across Melbourne can actively facilitate this scale of change, whilst still addressing heritage, character, environmental and other factors.

Local population forecasts have their limits.

Councils will often argue that their housing strategies are justified because they demonstrate a capacity to meet forecast housing needs. At face value, this seems reasonable. However, what rarely gets discussed is the extent to which municipal forecasts are ‘self-fulfilling’ because of the housing capacity assumptions that they are based on in the first place.

It is refreshing to see this point acknowledged in the Residential Zone State Of Play report:

<blockquote>
At a metropolitan scale, Victoria in Future projections rely on demographic factors such as births, deaths and migration, and the link to household growth to explain expected demand for new dwellings. However, at the municipal and suburban level, the distribution of future population growth is determined by the relationship between strong overall housing demand and knowledge of locations that are expected to add new dwellings.

Population growth is, therefore, projected to be the strongest in locations where the most number of dwellings can be accommodated. These locations include sites such as disused industrial land, and Melbourne’s Central Subregion where development occurs at the greatest densities.
</blockquote>

In other words, municipal-scale population forecasts are heavily influenced by the assumptions made about the capacity for new housing growth at the local level. If it is assumed that an area doesn’t have capacity, then the metropolitan distribution of population growth to that area will be limited by such assumptions.

More analysis of housing capacity is needed to inform housing plans and zone reform.

Whilst Echelon Planning would debate various aspects of the recent ‘Melbourne at 8 million’ report (RMIT, October 2015), I wholeheartedly agree with its authors that more work is required at the metropolitan and local level to understand housing capacity in different parts of our city.

I think that the review of residential development frameworks should be informed by a better understanding of housing capacity in different locations.

The RMIT report provides a useful starting point for such an analysis. There is a clear role for the Victorian Government to lead such a process, and I suspect that much of the data needed to underpin this sort of analysis already exists within State and local government.

We need to look beyond just the residential zones.

Much of Melbourne’s future housing growth will occur in activity centres, commercial mixed use and former industrial areas. Again, it will be critical to understand the capacity of these areas to accommodate future housing growth.

The planning frameworks for these locations should enable higher densities – if the desire to ‘protect the suburbs’ prevails then it will be more important than ever to avoid placing onerous height restrictions on local activity centres and larger infill sites.

Zoning controls should more clearly give effect to policy outcomes.

It is clear that the rollout of the new residential zones has already created a myriad of zones and schedules that threaten to rival the labrynthine zones of the 1980’s ‘pre-VPP’ era.

The general housing types and densities permitted within each zone should be clear, and getting approval for ‘complying’ development should be streamlined. It also seems obvious to say that if land is included in a General Residential Zone then the resulting development should not end up resembling what might be permitted under the Neighbourhood Residential Zone.

Footnote: Suggested improvements to the Residential Zones.

The Victorian Government has also identified a list of 82 possible improvements to the residential zones. These are well worth reading, and submitters might well wish to make comment about specific suggestions contained within this list.

For further details go to:

<a href="http://www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/planning/panels-and-committees/current-panels-and-committees/managing-residential-development">http://www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/planning/panels-and-committees/current-panels-and-committees/managing-residential-development</a>

Submissions on the review close on Monday 29th February.

Mark Woodland is Director at <a href="http://echelonplanning.com.au/">Echelon Planning</a>, a Brunswick-based boutique urban planning consultancy.
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