Local developer Harridan is seeking to turn its Woolloongabba apartment project into the first stage of a broader transformation of Burke Street, using a new 16-storey mixed-use building to establish a greener pedestrian connection toward the rapidly evolving Boggo Road transport and knowledge precinct.

The South East Queensland developer has filed plans for 154 apartments on the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/4-burke-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">southern side of Burke Street</a>, where its proposal has been designed alongside a wider vision by LatStudios for the street.

That vision positions the southern side of Burke Street for buildings of 15 storeys and above, while envisaging lower-rise development of up to five storeys on the northern side to transition into Woolloongabba's existing character housing. It also proposes wider pedestrian verges, deep planting, new street trees and upgrades to the pedestrian approach to Boggo Road Station.

The Harridan development itself has been designed by Brisbane-based Arqus Design and will comprise 154 apartments across 16 storeys. The mix is weighted heavily toward two-bedroom apartments, with 121 proposed alongside 10 one-bedroom and 23 three-bedroom residences. There will typically be around 14 units per floor.

A lower-ground car park and three podium levels will accommodate 156 resident parking spaces, along with visitor and commercial parking. There will also be 154 resident bicycle spaces and 40 visitor bicycle parks.

&nbsp;

Harridan is a family-owned developer and part of the Holmwood Highgate Group, with more than three decades of development activity across South East Queensland. Its portfolio spans residential, commercial and industrial property, with current residential projects including Riverbank on Byron in Bulimba, Esperance Residences in Carina and The Precinct at Kinross Road in Thornlands.

Wooloongabba has been popular for apartment developers, particularly since the announcement of the 2032 Summer Olympics games in Brisbane.

While there have been a lot of development applications, it has failed to materialize into real supply.&nbsp;

Sarazin has been the major player in the area. They are under construction at Murcia Residences, on the fringe of East Brisbane and Woolloongabba. They have just launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-stanley-residences-woolloongabba-8-trafalgar-street-woolloongabba-qld-4102">The Stanley Residences</a>, in Woolloongabba on Trafalagar Street. They also have Nuage coming soon on the nearby <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nuage-woolloongabba-14-wellington-road-woolloongabba-qld-4102">Wellington Road</a>.

Joel Robinson

First look: Harridan plans Burke Street transformation beside Boggo Road transport hub

IN BRIEF

<ul>
	<li>
	Just three double-storey Sky Homes sit at the top of The Waterline, each with its own private marina berth and rooftop terrace.
	</li>
	<li>
	Construction on The Waterline is complete, with the first residents expected to move in from mid-October.
	</li>
	<li>
	Sky Homes range from 282 sqm to 367 sqm and are priced from $3.65 million.
	</li>
</ul>

<hr />
Lewis Land has opened the first completed sky home for inspection at Harbour Shores, giving buyers their first opportunity to step inside one of just three double-storey residences crowning The Waterline.

Each sky home comes with its own private marina berth, rooftop terrace and Broadwater views, combining the scale of a larger home with direct access to the boating lifestyle that underpins the wider <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/harbour-shores-biggera-waters-564-oxley-drive-biggera-waters-qld-4216">Harbour Shores</a> masterplan.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=366708]

Lewis Land Head of Development Michael Long said the inclusion of a berth with every Sky Home had become increasingly valuable as marina access across the Gold Coast tightened.

“Marina berths are becoming increasingly difficult to secure across the Gold Coast, so including one with every Sky Home makes this a genuinely rare offering,” Long said.

“The private 70-berth marina will accommodate boats up to 12 metres in length and is positioned just 2.5 kilometres from the Broadwater, placing the open ocean only 15 minutes away.

“Being able to step out of your home onto your boat is a rare luxury, and it’s something residents here can look forward to when it opens later this year.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=366709]

The display opening comes as construction completes on The Waterline, with the first residents expected to move in from mid-October.

The three Sky Homes range from 282 sqm to 367 sqm and each feature three bedrooms, three bathrooms, multiple living zones, expansive kitchens with butler's pantries and large balconies taking in the Broadwater outlook.

Each residence also has three secure basement car spaces and additional storage.

“This is the first opportunity the Gold Coast has had to step into Harbour Shores and see, touch and feel what we’re bringing to life here,” Long said.

“There are only three Sky Homes within The Waterline, ranging in size from 282sqm to 367sqm, with each residence featuring three large bedrooms, three bathrooms, multiple living zones, expansive custom-built kitchens with butler’s pantry, and large balconies capturing Broadwater views.”

<img alt="Harbour Shores" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bab65e10-4fab-45e1-92d8-fc56e2ab98ff" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-25%20at%202.00.16%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=XT8q76LsPkw3cYTsvN3JfFDaPLud90PN" />

Residents of The Waterline will have access to a private pool, along with Harbour Shores' wider collection of amenity including a lagoon pool, social clubhouse, tennis court, gym, yoga facilities and sauna.

Lewis Land partnered with Studio Collective to furnish the completed display, with the interiors designed to demonstrate how the residences could function as permanent homes rather than simply as show apartments.

Studio Collective Director Melissa Park said the surrounding waterways informed the interiors, but in a more restrained way than a traditional coastal scheme.

“We drew inspiration from the canals and coastal surrounds, but our approach was to interpret that subtly through layered materials and a grounded palette of earthy tones, rather than literal coastal references,” Park said.

“We introduced hero moments of green and teal to reference the surrounding waterways, while mirrored elements help reflect natural light.

“The result is a residence that feels elevated yet comfortable, somewhere buyers can genuinely imagine themselves living, entertaining and unwinding.”

Sky Homes are priced from $3.65 million.

Lewis Land is also offering private marina berths with The Residences, its limited collection of three and four-bedroom villas positioned directly along the Harbour Shores waterfront boardwalk.

Three-bedroom villas are priced from $2.99 million, while four-bedroom residences start from $3.19 million.

Harbour Shores is being marketed by Colliers International.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=113271]

Lewis Land opens sky home display as The Waterline completes at Harbour Shores

St Vincent de Paul Society Housing Australia has filed plans for a major mixed-use housing precinct on the southern edge of the North Sydney CBD, adding another significant proposal to a pocket around North Sydn​ey Station that is quickly becoming one of the LGA's busiest development zones.

The State Significant Development Application covers a 5,990 sqm site at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/1-19-mackenzie-street-lavender-bay-nsw-2060">1-19 MacKenzie Street and 211 Blues Point Road in Lavender Bay</a>, immediately south of Nor​th Sydney Station and between the commercial core and the lower-rise Lavender Bay Heritage Conservation Area.

Designed by Wardle, the proposal would deliver a new residential tower comprising 88 build-to-sell apartments and 19 affordable apartments, alongside a separate co-living building with 57 rooms and a building manager's studio.

It would also see the significant restoration and upgrade of St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the adaptive reuse of the former school building, new parish facilities, retail, a new public square and around 1,000 sqm of publicly accessible open space.

<img alt="Vinnies North Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d5dd7f87-a617-463e-b577-17541e01f0e9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.10.13%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=4R8TsFN3P_LrrXO2HswTOIrx2blil8lh" />

The project is seeking a concurrent rezoning of the site to R4 High Density Residential and an increase in the maximum building height to allow a tower reaching RL120, or up to 20 storeys. The proposal was progressed through the NSW Government's Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

The build-to-sell component will be weighted toward larger apartments, with just six one-bedroom apartments compared with 31 two-beds, 43 three-beds and eight four-bedroom residences.

The 19 affordable apartments will comprise two studios, 15 one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments, taking the total apartment component to 107 residences before the 58 co-living rooms are included.

<img alt="Vnnies" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7d568ca5-cb90-4e18-96c6-d9795dba0c56" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.10.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=GY2R5M9VtQh0EKy1vajaea19PSLOPuRD" />

Wardle's design for the Vinnies site has sought to negotiate that emerging high-rise context while retaining the lower-scale character of MacKenzie Street and the adjoining heritage conservation area.

The main building adopts a three-storey podium and tower arrangement, with the podium aligned to the ridgeline and front setback of St Francis Xavier Church.&nbsp;Wardle has designed the podium with colonnades, seating, recessed entries and active ground-floor frontages, with sandstone-toned precast concrete and face brick referencing the materiality of the existing church.

The tower then steps back eight metres to the south and six metres to the north before rising in a sculpted form comprising four interlocking quadrants. Wardle has also introduced rounded forms and chamfered corners to reduce the tower's perceived bulk and improve view sharing with neighbouring development sites.

Resident facilities and outdoor areas are planned at the separation between the podium and tower at Level 3, oriented toward Sydney Harbour and the CBD skyline.

The tower itself will feature a glass reinforced concrete facade, with recessed balconies and deep reveals used both to provide shading and privacy and frame views toward the harbour and city. The lower levels take a different architectural approach, using brick and sandstone-toned finishes intended to establish a stronger relationship with St Francis Xavier Church. The Church itself will be conserved and upgraded for its continued use, while the former school building will be adaptively reused as part of the co-living component.

<img alt="Lavendar Bay" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2d4418ad-90aa-4d49-af93-c80b140aea80" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%209.09.47%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=Kv4gzbsACaGvZSRuaqcfGC54jEJRXIDJ" />

&nbsp;

The proposal adds to an increasingly concentrated pipeline of residential development around Blue Street, MacKenzie Street and Lavender Bay.

Just west of the site, Central Element lodged plans earlier this year for one of the most significant residential developments proposed in Lavender Bay in recent years.

Central Element's SJB-designed scheme at 64-66 Lavender Street and 3-7 Middlemiss Street would deliver 163 apartments across two towers rising 23 and 32 storeys, replacing five existing apartment buildings containing 32 homes. The project also forms part of the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-central-element-reveals-lavender-bay-apartment-plans?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">First look: Central Element reveals Lavender Bay apartment plans</a>

Immediately around North Sy​dney Station, another two significant proposals have emerged at 5 and 15 Blue Street.

Zurich Australian Insurance Properties is seeking to adaptively reuse its longstanding commercial building at 5 Blue Street, directly above North Sydney Station, rather than demolishing the structure.

Its SSDA proposes converting the building into a 14-storey mixed-use development with 62 apartments and 86 co-living rooms, together with ground-floor retail and a major refurbishment of Blue Street Plaza. The application is currently at the Response to Submissions stage.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-zurich-targets-north-sydney-office-conversion-with-148-unit-proposal-above-metro-station">First look: Zurich targets North Sydney office conversion with 148-unit proposal above Metro station</a>

&nbsp;

First look: Vinnies files for 20-storey Lavender Bay apartment tower as North Sydney housing pocket heats up

When the opportunity arose for South Australian developer Palumbo to return to Kent Town, where it had previously delivered East Park Apartments and the East 
Rundle Apartments, it wasn't one the longstanding developer-builder was going to pass up.

The decision was quickly vindicated, with more than 30 apartments sold within the first month of launching <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/royal-apartments-kent-town-2-8-north-terrace-kent-town-sa-5067">Royal Apartments</a> to the market.

The 206-apartment development, which will bring significant new supply to Adelaide's tightly held eastern city fringe, also gives <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/palumbo">Palumbo</a> the opportunity to bring new life to one of Kent Town's most recognisable watering holes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376073]

Royal Apartments incorporates the historic Royal Hotel, a venue Palumbo Managing Director Daniel Palumbo said has a longstanding connection with the local community.

"Everyone in the area has history with the Royal Hotel," Palumbo told Apartments.com.au.

"It was quite an active pub and social gathering place for locals. We want to bring it back to its former glory."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376072]

The wider development will comprise two residential towers alongside the restored hotel, sitting on North Terrace opposite the Adelaide Park Lands.

For Palumbo, the project also marks a return to familiar territory.

The developer completed East Park Apartments next door more than a decade ago and jumped at the opportunity to develop in Kent Town again when the Royal Hotel site became available.

"The opportunity emerged, and we moved to secure the site," Palumbo said.

"We were approached by the previous landowner, who said they had extensive commitments in Sydney and weren't in a position to deliver the project.

"We took over the site and within six months recut the design scheme to be more in keeping with the type of development we want to bring to Adelaide.

"Now we're on the market and those changes have really resonated with local buyers."

That has translated into a strong start to sales, with 33 apartments transacting in the project's first 35 days.

Palumbo said the early purchaser profile had been consistent with the group's traditional focus on owner-occupiers rather than investor-led apartment stock.

"Local owner-occupiers have always been our market," he said.

"There are always some investors, but we've never developed what would be called traditional development stock. Owner-occupiers are very much our market."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376068]

The buyer mix has been diverse so far, with downsizers and younger professionals both accounting for a significant portion of early sales.

South Australia's current stamp duty settings, which allow&nbsp;eligible homeowners in South Australia aged 60 savings of up to $103,830 on stamp duty when they downsize to a new property valued at up to $2 million,&nbsp;have helped encourage downsizer activity, while younger buyers in their late 20s and early 30s have been attracted to the opportunity to live immediately outside the CBD while still being able to walk into the city.



Location has been a major part of the proposition for both buyer cohorts.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376075]

Royal Apartments sits on North Terrace directly opposite the Adelaide Park Lands, with residents able to walk through the parklands toward the East End, Rundle Street and Rundle Mall.

Apartments have been positioned to capture views across the parklands, Adelaide skyline, Botanic Gardens and Adelaide Hills.

Palumbo believes the scarcity of developable land along this section of the Park Lands makes the site particularly difficult to replicate.

"There's very few allotments on that side that can be developed," he said.

"If this location was in New York and you were sitting on Central Park, you'd be talking about a $60 million apartments."

Royal Apartments will offer a broad mix of residences, ranging from one-bedroom apartments through to four-bedroom sub-penthouses and penthouses.

Current listings include one-bedroom apartments from $680,000, while larger three and four-bedroom residences are priced around $2.5 million.

Residents will have access to a swimming pool, gym, barbecue and recreation areas, residents' lounge and dining space, and a communal deck.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=6109 project_image_fid=376067]

The apartments will feature generous balconies, while secure parking, bicycle storage and storage cages will also be provided.

A porte-cochère-style arrival and drop-off area has also resonated with buyers, particularly those attracted to being able to walk into the CBD during the day while retaining secure vehicle access at home.

Palumbo is acting as developer, architect and builder on Royal Apartments, continuing the vertically integrated model it has used across its South Australian portfolio.

The group was also behind the $150 million Sofitel Adelaide, the 251-room five-star hotel and residential tower which opened in 2021.

Palumbo said Royal's launch had come at an interesting time for the broader Adelaide apartment market.

Buyer confidence had initially been impacted by uncertainty surrounding the Federal Budget and broader economic conditions, but Palumbo believes sentiment is beginning to improve against a backdrop of significant investment flowing into South Australia.

He pointed to increased activity across defence and resources, including Olympic Dam, as potential long-term drivers of the state's economy and housing market.

"Money is starting to flow into Adeliade, significant amounts as Adelaide bucks the trend of the rest of the country.," Palumbo said.

"There's a lot of activity in the economy over the next decade. I think more investment will come into this market."

Early works on Royal Apartments are expected to commence this year, with major construction activity and cranes anticipated on site from early next year.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=6109]

Palumbo's return to Kent Town strikes early chord with buyers

Go-to builder-developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/graya">GRAYA</a> is continuing to bulk out its already impressive and diverse apartment portfolio across South East Queensland. Their latest milestone is securing development approval for Silk, its boutique riverfront apartment development in St Lucia.

The approval clears&nbsp;the way for the team to begin construction planning for the 22-residence project.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/silk-st-lucia-16-18-sandford-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">Silk</a> will rise 15 levels from an 810 sqm site at 16-18 Sandford Street, occupying a prominent bend of the Brisbane River with a prized northern aspect across Orleigh Park toward the Brisbane CBD.

The approved scheme will comprise 16 split-floor and six full-floor residences, continuing GRAYA's move into larger-format apartment developments targeting Brisbane's prestige owner-occupier market.

The project has been designed around the site's broad river frontage and dual-direction views, with GRAYA prioritising larger residences, privacy and outlook over apartment yield.

<img alt="Silk St Lucia" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="aa5c2349-f96c-4914-a812-1f2cd6827af8" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%208.25.44%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=WY0vEU_7vYjeRJKQHiCwFdMxu8PvFh52" />

GRAYA Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Rob Gray said the project had been shaped around local homeowners wanting to remain in St Lucia without maintaining a traditional family home.

"St Lucia is one of those suburbs people do not want to leave," Gray said.

"They know the river, the trees, UQ, the golf course, Toowong and Indooroopilly, and that familiarity is hard to replace.

"True riverfront opportunities here are exceptionally scarce. What we have designed at Silk is a way to stay in the suburb people love, with the scale and privacy of a private home and far less to maintain.

"This is not typical apartment product. It is a proper home on the river, and that is exactly what this market has been missing."

The approval comes as new apartment development continues to increase across the St Lucia and neighbouring Toowong corridor, although direct riverfront sites remain considerably more tightly held.

GRAYA Co-founder and Managing Director Andrew Gray said securing the approval had removed a significant element of development risk from Silk.

"Genuine riverfront sites of this quality in St Lucia are not something that comes up regularly," Gray said.

"The approval removes a substantial layer of execution risk, and the location underwrites demand in a way very few inner-city sites can.

"The fundamentals here are as strong as anything we have assessed in Brisbane."

<img alt="Silk St Lucia" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d0f3d734-65e1-48e8-8ed3-2e0715ffcdd9" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-26%20at%208.25.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=sOLSs_jdHkXLWbBKzRyayf5BfTb2vPsD" />

Silk will see GRAYA return to a stretch of the Brisbane River where it already has recent construction experience. The vertically integrated group recently completed ARC in neighbouring Toowong as builder for developer Spyre, delivering the riverfront project on a constrained site.

GRAYA will take a different role at Silk, controlling the project from design and development through construction and aftercare under its vertically integrated model.

The development will include a gym and resident leisure areas at ground level, integrated with the river's edge.

Silk joins a growing pipeline for GRAYA across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which includes Enclave, The Gallery, Coral and Ripple.

The developer-builder has also recently lodged plans for its largest project to date, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-silo-19-chester-street-newstead-qld-4006">The Silo</a>, a proposed <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/qld/graya-buys-frasers-newstead-site-plans-the-silo-between-james-street-and-gasworks-precincts">$700 million mixed-use development</a> in Brisbane's James Street precinct.

Silk is expected to predominantly target local owner-occupiers and prestige buyers seeking a permanent riverfront home in Brisbane's inner west.

Registrations of interest are now open, with further details on the project and construction program to be released as it progresses.

<hr />
<h2>SILK PROJECT FACTS</h2>

Developer-builder: GRAYA

Project: Silk

Location: 16-18 Sandford Street, St Lucia

Apartments: 22

Built form: 15 levels

Site: 810 sqm riverfront holding

Mix: 16 split-floor and six full-floor residences

Status: Development approved

Next step: Construction planning underway

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152168]

GRAYA greenlit for riverfront St Lucia apartment development, Silk

La Trobe Street

<html><body>
Lodged for planning assessment last month, <a href="http://sterlingglobal.com.au/">Sterling Global's</a> intended $700 million tower set over a 2,850 square metre site at 383 La Trobe Street is poised to become a new visual marker to the CBD's north. At 70 levels the proposed mixed-use development is the work of renowned international architect <a href="http://www.jeannouvel.com/">Ateliers Jean Nouvel</a> with local practice <a href="http://www.architectus.com.au/">Architectus</a> installed as executive architect.

Urban.com.au recently sat down with Sterling Global’s Head of Investment and Development, Mark van Miltenburg, for a detailed briefing on the project which shapes as being something very unique for Melbourne.

At 242 metres above street level, 383 La Trobe Street has been designed to accommodate 488 residences and a 196-room premium hotel which Sterling Global expect to retain post the project's completion.

With over $1.5 billion worth of development in play, Sterling Global are well positioned to deliver the stand-out project under their own capabilities. Asked if the developer was open to a joint venture for 383 La Trobe Street, Mark van Miltenburg stated Sterling Global is open to the possibility of a partnership, but are quite comfortable in solely delivering the project.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/383_montage.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The tall-slender form of the tower."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="457" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/383_montage.jpg?itok=cMCub8zj" title="The tall-slender form of the tower." width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The tall-slender form of the tower. Image: Sterling Global &amp; Ateliers Jean Nouvel</figcaption></figure>Sterling Global's intention was to bring a degree of difference to the project, setting it apart from many current CBD projects that the developer believes are quite generic in what they bring to the public realm. Thus Ateliers Jean Nouvel were appointed after a competitive design process, creating a project that in many ways is unique to Melbourne.

Dubbed "The Tower of Seven Colors," the moniker refers to the building's response to its context, adopting the visual characteristics of its neighbours via different colours to its four elevations.

The primary northern facade will be coloured red, drawing on the red brick heritage wall of the Royal Mint and Hellenic Museum, the eastern facade will be golden, reflecting the rising morning sun on Melbourne's streetscapes and the west facade will be lined with green in a nod to the nearby Flagstaff Gardens.

 An etched silver facade to the south ties the sky to the tower via its crystalline summit.

<blockquote>
The Tower of seven colors has roots. It knows where it is. It is a friendly tower that likes and respects its neighbors: the Hellenic Museum in the Royal Mint, Flagstaff Park, the Republic Tower. It is part of this family. One doesn’t choose one’s parents or one’s cousins, but there they are.

Is it because the tower was born right next door to the wall of the museum that it is dressed in this warm mat brick color through which white, green and blue highlights shine? 

Is it out of friendship with the Republic Tower that the tower adopts and shelters between its great feet giant screens that are permanently inhabited by dynamic images, an ideal complement to its neighbor’s own art space? Is it to touch the sky, or marry it, that the tower’s summit develops reflections and transparencies in a crystalline and deliberate ambiguity?
<cite>Ateliers Jean Nouvel</cite>
</blockquote>

The facade is composed of a 500mm deep grid-like outer structure of various densities and scales, with a juxtaposition of order and chaos, much like Melbourne's Hoddle Grid. This depth allows for a further articulation of colour which changes as you move around the tower.

This chameleon-like effect is illustrated bellow.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sLvQESCOlBw" width="100%"></iframe>

It is at ground level where 383 La Trobe Street truly distinguishes itself.

The proposal looks to introduce a highly active ground plane which ties into Victoria University's adjoining development program at its city campus. The spacious internal laneway which bisects the site is in typical Nouvel fashion, featuring a mass of bright digital surfaces and ever changing digital artwork and large volumes.

Within these grand spaces there are galleries, a bar, restaurants, retail spaces, video arcades and a public book exchange. Mark van Miltenburg explains that the intent was always to bring a new level of public activation to the lower levels of the tower, providing a heavy level of public benefit, while allowing the evolving digital displays to cater for different public events such as White Night Melbourne.

This heightened public benefit aspect of the design which sees 30% of the site area allocated to public space is also expecting to counter recent restrictive plot ratios imposed across Melbourne's CBD. 383 La Trobe Street maintains a plot ratio of 29.1:1 which exceeds the interim controls of Amendment C262 at 24:1.

Sterling Global are hoping the altogether unique design aspects of 383 La Trobe Street will see a plot ratio exemption granted.

<blockquote>
The tower wants to be welcoming and alive. Behind its great urban gate, passageways branch out and connect to the main streets of the neighborhood, creating a mini-neighborhood of laneways and covered porches, all under laid by a bluestone floor that extends outward into different variations of ceramic brick through all the spaces it crosses including the lobby bar of the hotel, which faces the heritage wall, and the grand entrances to the apartments and the restaurant.

This urbanity is particularly made to measure in the long, tall video space that terminates in a street library that reads as an extension of the heritage wall. The urban attraction of this place is linked to its singularity, to its magnetic charm that will be as important for the residents of the tower as for the Melburnians who will come here again and again.
<cite>Ateliers Jean Nouvel</cite>
</blockquote>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/383l_ground_plane.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="383 LaTrobe Street activated ground plane. Image courtesy Sterling Global"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="272" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/383l_ground_plane.jpg?itok=Y6pN-RTV" title="383 LaTrobe Street activated ground plane. Image courtesy Sterling Global" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>383 LaTrobe Street activated ground plane. Image: Sterling Global &amp; Ateliers Jean Nouvel</figcaption></figure>The development will also include four sky gardens designed by Oculus, including one which will be accessible to the public, another element common in Nouvel tower designs. These provide areas of respite for residents and further ground the tower within its context, reinforcing its relationship with Flagstaff Gardens.

All things going to plan, Mark van Miltenburg expects 383 La Trobe Street to grace the skyline in four to five years time, post its planning and apartment sales campaign.
</body></html>

Laurence Dragomir

A rather Nouvel approach: 383 La Trobe Street designed to impress

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Urban.com.au can reveal Singaporean firm Figtree Holdings Limited's proposal for what was formerly the Duke of Kent hotel on La Trobe Street. Better known as a builder of commercial and industrial facilities throughout east Asia, the group will press into Melbourne's high-rise residential sector via its subsidiary Figtree La Trobe Pty Ltd.

Securing the Duke of Kent for $14.08 million during 2014, Figtree subsequently added the adjoining <a href="/developments/melbourne-vic-3000">301-303 La Trobe Street</a> in order to amalgamate both sites in the hope of gaining approval for a 213 metre residential tower.

Responsible for the preliminary development scheme devised for the Duke of Kent's sales campaign, <a href="/architects/dko-architecture">DKO Architecture</a> were also engaged in order to conceive the scheme for approval, with the application currently before the State Government. If successfully approved, 293-303 La Trobe Street would see 370 apartments delivered, consisting of one, two and three bedroom dwellings.

<h2>293-303 La Trobe Street application summary</h2>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image43_1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Facing demolition. Image courtesy DKO Architecture"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="340" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image43_1.jpg?itok=Fub3elRH" title="Facing demolition. Image courtesy DKO Architecture" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Facing demolition. Image courtesy DKO Architecture</figcaption></figure><ul>
<li>Planning application lodged April 2015</li>
	<li>Site area: 667sqm with the Duke of Kent to be demolished</li>
	<li>66 level tower at 213m above ground (OLS ceiling)</li>
	<li>Total GFA sought: 34,353sqm</li>
	<li>​370 apartments: 1/2/3 bedroom options</li>
	<li>Podium parking for 61 vehicles and basement allowances for 168 bicycles</li>
	<li>50.2sqm of ground floor retail tenancy space</li>
	<li>Level 1 amenities area and level 13/44 communal spaces</li>
</ul>
<h2>Ground level greatness?</h2>

DKO Architecture have employed a visually unique and highly interesting ground level interface to the site's three frontages, namely La Trobe Street, Sutherland Street and Flanigan Lane. To avoid creating a 'choke point' of sorts by building to the site's boundaries, the lower levels has been arched inwards so as to improve the pedestrian experience to both Sutherland Street and Flanigan Lane.

Framed by perforated golden metallic screens, a new plaza to the eastern perimeter will open up Sutherland Street in particular while also allowing for enhanced solar penetration.

According to the town planning report, the proposed urban realm will not only allow for increased pedestrian movement north and south along Sutherland Street, but also create a space where pedestrians can relax and congregate. Landscape consultancy T.C.L have envisaged bluestone public seating and Bower Vines climbing the metallic screens as a means of softening the space.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image40_1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Street level interface. Image courtesy DKO Architecture"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="532" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image40_1.jpg?itok=zMpdx4GO" title="Street level interface. Image courtesy DKO Architecture" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Street level interface. Image courtesy DKO Architecture</figcaption></figure><h2>Tight site, tight fit</h2>

<blockquote>
The tower is architectural resolved in a cylindrical shape with convex ends east and west which make a tower form unique to Melbourne. The use of dark blue glazing to the façade, interspersed with gold-colour glass, complements the perforated gold metal of the ground level plaza to create a building that will be an iconic building within the CBD.

The proposed built form has been sensitively designed to offer improved public amenity at ground level and excellent internal amenity, while also responding to the surrounding built (existing and approved / under construction).
<cite>Urbis, town planning report</cite>
</blockquote>

The tight nature of the site has led to minimal setbacks to La Trobe Street and Flanigan Lane, although there is precedence in the area with current towers under construction also maintaining minor setbacks to all frontages. The design's intended setback to La Trobe Street ranges between 0 and 2.3 metres over levels 14 to 43, while the west boundary is setback between 4 and 5.57 metres in anticipation of a possible redevelopment of the adjoining property into the future.

Beyond level 44 the tower's form bulges, resulting in decreased east and west setbacks. It is noted within the planning documents that although 293-303 La Trobe Street's setbacks are minimal, recent projects in the area such as <a href="/buildings/victoria-one-452-472-elizabeth-street-melbourne">Victoria One</a> and <a href="/developers/brady-group">Brady Group's</a> completed Melbourne Star &amp; Sky employ little if any setbacks.

<h2>The tall and the short of it</h2>

As per many other pockets of inner Melbourne, the southern footpath of La Trobe Street between Elizabeth Street and Queen Street is in the grips of mass development with five residential towers at various stages of the development process. <a href="/buildings/eporo-tower-279-la-trobe-street-melbourne">Eporo Tower</a>, <a href="/buildings/la-trobe-tower-323-la-trobe-street-melbourne">La Trobe Tower</a> and <a href="/buildings/the-carlson-321-la-trobe-street-melbourne">The Carlson</a> are all under construction, with another 48 level residential development approved atop the <a href="/buildings/paragon-318-queen-street-melbourne">Celtic Club</a>.

The above projects border the Guildford Lane Heritage Precinct which is a prime example of early twentieth century low-rise industrial and warehousing buildings, and quite a unique aspect of <a href="/new-apartments/melbourne-vic">Melbourne's CBD</a>. With limited blocks fronting La Trobe Street available for development, 293-303 La Trobe Street shapes as one of the last sizeable residential towers that will front both La Trobe Street and the heritage precinct.

Only in the last year has the scale of La Trobe Street as depicted below begun to change immensely; it remains to be seen how Figtree's proposal along with the aforementioned towers slot into the streetscape and what effect, if any, they have upon the adjoining Guildford Lane Heritage Precinct.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/731003w-latrobest-dofkhotel-rsmith.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Duke of Kent in times gone by. Image courtesy tdu.to"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="273" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/731003w-latrobest-dofkhotel-rsmith.jpg?itok=WD4x7J_Z" title="The Duke of Kent in times gone by. Image courtesy tdu.to" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Duke of Kent in times gone by. Image courtesy tdu.to</figcaption></figure><h2>293-303 La Trobe Street development team</h2>

<ul>
<li>Developer: Figtree La Trobe Pty Ltd</li>
	<li>Architect: DKO Architecture</li>
	<li>Town Planner: Urbis</li>
	<li>Structural: Webber Design</li>
	<li>Services &amp; ESD: ADP Consulting</li>
	<li>Building Surveyor: SW Partners</li>
	<li>Traffic: GTA Consultants</li>
	<li>Waste: Leigh Design</li>
	<li>Land Surveyor: Bosco Johnson</li>
	<li>Wind: MEL Consultants</li>
	<li>Landscape Consultant: T.C.L</li>
</ul>
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silvermb

Figtree's Melbourne foray: 293-303 La Trobe Street, Melbourne

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The jungle drums are beating for Melbourne's next big development with word that 254-260 La Trobe Street is subject to a tower that if approved will rival its neighbour, <a href="/buildings/aurora-melbourne-central-224-la-trobe-street-melbourne">Aurora Melbourne Central</a> for size. The height of the intended development, which approaches the PANS-OPS ceiling for this section of the CBD has seen the proposal referred to aviation authorities for input.

This is somewhat unusual as the application for the tower has not appeared on the State planning register as yet, which is usually the first port of call. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) will instead initially make a call on the project which would see two tower cranes utilised during its construction breach the PANS-OPS barrier for an extended period of time. Post a consultation period the project is expected to move through standard planning channels.

CBD-based Landream are understood to be behind the project, which would add to their portfolio which also sees apartment projects in <a href="/buildings/northcote-hill-1a-campbell-grove-northcote">Northcote</a>, <a href="/buildings/carrington-109-carrington-road-box-hill">Box Hill</a> and further east along La Trobe Street, namely <a href="/new-apartments/the-trillium-36-la-trobe-street-melbourne">Trillium</a>. Currently under construction, Trillium's head contractor Built is also involved in the early planning for 254-260 La Trobe Street, having aided in construction feasibility and the placement of the all important tower cranes as seen below.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/location.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Tower crane positioning for the intended development"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="383" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/location.jpg?itok=dNCBrz5u" title="Tower crane positioning for the intended development" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Tower crane positioning for the intended development</figcaption></figure>Incidentally a post on Apartments.com.au's forum has linked to an <a href="/news/3l-alliance-pushes-for-twin-246-metre-towers-at-350-queen-street">online document portfolio</a> for a project dubbed Skyline Melbourne located at 254-260 La Trobe Street, which looks to be a concept created within University of Melbourne's design studio on behalf of Landream.

Irrespective of the design's purpose, the 83 level mixed-use concept does provide a fair indication as to what can be expected onsite once an official planning application is lodged.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/c139e915b0e1f829d18e6708384aa3fc.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Skyline Melbourne. Image courtesy Studio 11"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="327" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/c139e915b0e1f829d18e6708384aa3fc.jpg?itok=zo56aIk8" title="Skyline Melbourne. Image courtesy Studio 11" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Skyline Melbourne. Image courtesy Studio 11</figcaption></figure>If and when 254-260 La Trobe Street does eventuate it will sit alongside Aurora Melbourne Central which is currently due to see its site demolition works commence, prior to Probuild undertaking construction works. Located at 224-252 La Trobe Street, Aurora weights in at 267 metres above ground and will carry in excess of 1,000 habitable dwellings split between private apartments and serviced apartments.

Only last week Apartments.com.au covered plans for <a href="/news/3l-alliance-pushes-for-twin-246-metre-towers-at-350-queen-street">dual 246 metre towers</a> further west along La Trobe Street for developer 3L Alliance. Coupled with Aurora and 254-260 La Trobe Street, this quartet of towers has the ability to radically alter the skyline in this section of Melbourne's CBD which has for so long been dominated by the lone presence of Melbourne Central.

Lead image courtesy Google maps.
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260 La Trobe shapes as Melbourne's next big tower

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The CBD's west end is set to receive an ultra-luxury development with plans afoot for a 70 level mixed-use tower carrying in excess of 1,100 apartment and hotel rooms. Based on St Kilda Road, established developer Vic Investments Management Group (VIMG) is behind the plan which is expected to crown their expanding development workbook.

Formed near on a decade ago the firm is active in both the Melbourne and Sydney apartment markets, and has seen both the frequency and size of their projects increase over time.

The subject site of VIMG's intended blue ribbon development is 600 Collins Street which was <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/investors-move-into-collins-street-as-values-build-up-in-central-melbourne-20150324-1m667g">reported</a> as sold during late 2014 to a syndicate of Chinese, Malaysian and German investors for $60 million. Currently a low-rise commercial office and day care facility, the expansive site sits alongside the under construction 568 Collins Street which is due for completion in coming months. 600 Collins Street looks set to eclipse its neighbour for height, with a tower of between 220 and 240 metres a likely outcome.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image228.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The site as is and as expected. Images courtesy 600collinsstreet.com.au and VIMG"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="281" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image228.jpg?itok=SgArD5Q0" title="The site as is and as expected. Images courtesy 600collinsstreet.com.au and VIMG" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The site as is and as expected. Images courtesy 600collinsstreet.com.au and VIMG</figcaption></figure>VIMG have stated via their <a href="http://vimg.com.au/portfolio/collins-street-melbourne/">website</a> that the tower will carry an end value in excess of $1 billion, with a tentative completion date set for 2021. While other pending projects in the immediate area such as <a href="/buildings/west-side-place-melbourne-250-spencer-street-melbourne-vic-3000">250 Spencer Street's Ritz Carlton</a>, <a href="/developments/melbourne-vic-3000">555 Collins Street</a>, <a href="/buildings/premier-tower-134-160-spencer-street-melbourne">Premier Tower</a> and <a href="/news/besgate-group-readies-their-surge-into-the-melbourne-apartment-market">640 Bourke Street</a> jockey for position in the market, 600 Collins Street's $1 billion price tag may well usurp the aforementioned projects and pit it against <a href="/new-apartments/one-queensbridge-street-1-23-queensbridge-street-southbank">1 Queensbridge Street</a> as Melbourne's most opulent current development.

At the opposite end of the CBD the developer is pursuing another tower, albeit more modest. With the site in question sold during August 2014, a planning application was submitted during October 2014 seeking the approval of a 52 level residential tower. Covering 141-149 La Trobe Street and 25-27 Bennetts Lane, the proposal would see Bennetts Lane Jazz Club make way for 210 apartments over 51 floors with two retail tenancies at ground level.

According to VIMG 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments will constitute the living options within the tower. City of Melbourne currently have the proposal listed at an 'appeal' stage.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/8941dd5b118085c844a249414324433a.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Artist's impression of 141-149 La Trobe Street . Image courtesy VIMG"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/8941dd5b118085c844a249414324433a.jpg?itok=FAdYO9Z_" title="Artist's impression of 141-149 La Trobe Street . Image courtesy VIMG" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Artist's impression of 141-149 La Trobe Street . Image courtesy VIMG</figcaption></figure>Nearby Hamilton Marino Builders have taken VIMG's <a href="/buildings/metrolitan-melbourne-137-bourke-street-melbourne">Metropolitan</a> on Bourke Street above ground level, on the way to delivering the 19 level dKO Architecuture-designed tower midway between Russell and Exhibition.

The remaining local VIMG project has just reached construction tender. <a href="/new-apartments/coventry-haus-33-coventry-street-southbank">Coventry Haus</a> on Southbank will see a JCB Architects-designed 20 level residential tower slot into the popular residential precinct.

Hamilton Marino Builders have also recently completed Central Gardens in Box Hill and Prahran's Scout Apartments for VIMG in addition to Metropolitan, suggesting they may be considered favourite to snare the Southbank build.​
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VIMG's latest tower valued in excess of $1 billion 

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The commercial sector's apparent disinterest in the western end of La Trobe Street has given rise to one of Melbourne's premier residential development sites. At the foot of Victoria Harbour, 1000 La Trobe Street has emerged as The Millennium Site, a 6,007sqm land holding with the ability to hold approximately 600 apartments.

Land owner Digital Harbour Holdings has chosen to sell the prime site following years of staggered activity within their Digital Harbour Precinct, seeking instead to capitalise upon fervent market conditions which continues to seen strong prices achieved for inner city development sites.

Selling agent Colliers International is preparing for a tide of interest from both local and international developers as The Millennium Site represents the largest single development site currently available in the City of Melbourne. The current approved commercial scheme has been superseded with the below concept, yet still allows for a total of 47,940sqm of residential living gross floor area.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image134_1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Artist's impression of a revised 1000 La Trobe Street. Image courtesy Colliers"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="980" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image134_1.jpg?itok=MJETN2KL" title="Artist's impression of a revised 1000 La Trobe Street. Image courtesy Colliers" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Artist's impression of a revised 1000 La Trobe Street. Image courtesy Colliers</figcaption></figure><h2>What they say</h2>

<blockquote>
The Millennium Site forms part of Melbourne’s waterside precinct which will benefit from the redevelopment of Harbour Esplanade. Situated between Southern Cross Station, Etihad Stadium, New Quay, the waterfront, and the soon to be announced E Gate precinct, The Millennium Site will be a key element within a highly connected precinct linking the Melbourne CBD to the Docklands waterfront.

There is a tram stop on the doorstep of the site and developers will be able to capitalise on the uninterrupted water and CBD views from the upper levels of any potential future development. CBD development sites are becoming increasingly popular among developers as central CBD precincts become more tightly held.”

Melbourne as a city has a diminishing supply of prime residential development opportunities, with development sites increasingly hemmed in by adjoining buildings. Docklands is not as intensively developed on a site-by-site basis, so it is becoming increasingly desirable for residential development because there are more opportunities to optimise both built form outcomes and future view lines.
<cite>Trent Hobart, Colliers International media release</cite>
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
Docklands is also becoming more connected to the CBD. Whereas once Docklands was thought of as a very separate precinct, new roadways, pedestrian access and tram super stops have seen it become increasingly thought of as part of the western core of the CBD.
<cite>Bryson Cameron, Colliers International media release</cite>
</blockquote>

<h2>All washed up</h2>

A string of commercial developments at the Docklands end of La Trobe Street have failed to materialise in recent years, much to the delight of residential developers. Subject to a low-rise commercial development, <a href="/new-apartments/695-699-la-trobe-street-docklands-vic-3008">695-699 La Trobe Street</a> is now with Salta Properties seeking approval for a 303 apartment development while the neighbouring 685 La Trobe Street development site was sold to a residential developer following its unsuccessful commercial leasing campaign.

Diagonally opposite The Millennium Site, Chinese-aligned Capital Alliance Investment Group is delivering <a href="/buildings/m-docklands-679-la-trobe-street-docklands">M Docklands</a>, a mixed-use residential and hotel tower that backs onto Etihad Stadium. The residential prospects of The Millennium Site coupled with the five most recent development site sales in Docklands averaging $7000/sqm points to the inherent value that this emerging Docklands residential pocket holds.
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