Rob Steer's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/steer-developments">Steer Developments</a> is doubling-down on Palm Beach, expanding its footprint with a new tower near the sand.

Steer has joined the ranks of developers taking up what is becoming precious land on Jefferson Lane, one row back from the beach.

He is seeking to develop Jardin, a nine-level, code-assessable building with 40 two- and three-bedroom apartments at 234-236 Jefferson Lane. Steer worked with the landowners to put together three sites totalling 1,242 sqm.

Steer had Plus Studio design the building, which "unfolds" among curated gardens, the Design Report submitted to the Gold Coast Council noted.

It said the building is&nbsp;“inspired by the essence of the Mediterranean, framed by sunlight, shaded by greenery, and elevated by form”.

A central architectural spine is accentuated by vertical planting, while stepped terraces to the west cascade toward the highway with integrated greenery.

<img alt="Jardin Palm Beach" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b8a7b037-2c7b-4e68-bc8f-9b24d9cef99d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Jardin%20Palm%20Beachh.png?VersionId=Eia97cxNAYVxLUHziQxLq_uDCUE0aMfp" />

The proposal includes eight levels of apartments above a ground floor and two basement levels. There will be 24 two-bedroom and 16 three-bedroom apartments on offer.

The resident amenity is located on the ground level and will feature a swimming pool, gym, sauna, and barbecue deck.

Steer is currently delivering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/c-te-palm-beach-3-thirteenth-avenue-palm-beach">Côte</a>, just 17 apartments nearby on Thirteenth Avenue. After GCB, the builder of the project, collapsed, Steer brought development in-house, establishing SunBuilt.

Steer is the latest to join the ranks of Jefferson Lane. Recently Josh Foote's Ignite Projects launched Retreat Palm Beach, and Tim Gordon's Gordon Corp, in another joint venture with the Mathieson family, launched Elle on Jefferson.

Joel Robinson

First look: Steer joins Jefferson Lane, Palm Beach apartment boom with Jardin plans

Prolific South East Queensland developer Sherpa Group has snapped up two more Palm Beach sites to expand it's affordability focus Flourish brand of apartments.

They have paid a combined $30.5 million for the sites, an 810 sqm block at 7-9 Sixth Avenue, and a 2,050 sqm site at 1156-1164 Gold Coast Highway. The two sites will become Sherpa's third and fourth Flourish project locally, after Ovana and Flourish on Sixth. The developer expanded into Brisbane recently, launching Symphony, another under the Flourish banner.

Together, the Palm Beach acquisitions represent more than $42 million invested into the suburb in just over a year, underscoring Sherpa’s pivotal role in the suburb’s transformation.&nbsp;

The acquisitions follow the near-completion of Perspective Nexus and $110 million in rapid sales at Flourish on Sixth.

Christie Leet, founder of Sherpa Property Group, said the latest acquisition reflects the group’s ambition to lead Palm Beach’s renewal.&nbsp;

“Palm Beach is buzzing, but it’s been near impossible for locals to find something new that fits their lifestyle and budget,” said Leet.&nbsp;

“There’s a significant price gap between beachfront and non-beachfront properties – typically around 30 per cent, but in Palm Beach it can be closer to 100 per cent.&nbsp;

“That presents a tremendous opportunity, and we believe it’s our obligation as Sherpas to identify and deliver it for our community.”

Flourish projects are positioned as an attainable alternative to beachfront towers, offering design-led interiors, rooftop amenities and sweeping ocean views ideal for buyers ranging from young couples to rightsizers and families.&nbsp;

Leet said the response to Flourish on Sixth highlighted the unmet demand in Palm Beach.&nbsp;

“So many locals told us it was the first time they’d been able to buy into the Palm Beach apartment market,” he said.&nbsp;

“We’ve loved seeing buyers who’d previously been priced out finally get the chance to secure a home here – and that’s exactly what we want to keep delivering.”&nbsp;

The proposed development at 7 and 9 Sixth Ave will feature Flourish’s signature rooftop amenities and is scheduled to launch later this year, with construction planned to commence in Q1 2026 in partnership with local builder LPS Group.

Meanwhile, 1156-1164 Gold Coast Highway will showcase a ground-floor commercial precinct contributing to the vitality of Palm Beach as well as the renowned Flourish-style amenities, with the development application slated to be lodged next month, and construction anticipated to start mid-2026 by LPS Group, pending approval.&nbsp;

“Our partnership with LPS Group means we can and will deliver on our commitments, and that certainty gives buyers real confidence,” Leet added.&nbsp;

“Working together allows us to manage quality and timelines more effectively as we scale our pipeline across the region.”&nbsp;

Sherpa Group snaps up two more Palm Beach sites to expand Flourish brand

Kedron is the latest Brisbane suburb in-line for a large, mixed-use new precinct that will reshape the suburb.

George Weston Foods Limited,&nbsp;one of Australia and New Zealand's largest food manufacturers, has filed plans for a 3.6-hectare mixed-use precinct dubbed in the planning application as Bakery Square.

The proposal marks the first formal step in the long-anticipated transition of the former Top Taste factory site at 466–488 Gympie Road.

The application seeks preliminary approval via a variation request to facilitate a future urban renewal precinct comprising residential, commercial, retail, and community uses alongside new public open space.

According to the Town Planning Report by Urbis, the intent is to repurpose a strategically located parcel of low-impact industrial land into a connected, amenity-rich, medium-density lifestyle destination. The development would front one of Brisbane’s busiest public transport corridors and adjoin Bradbury Park, a 6.5-hectare green space.

<img alt="Kedron masterplan" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c47d15a0-13f7-4e11-a957-c421599c4160" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/masterplan_0.png?VersionId=sQ5ApjQnSMymcAPF_1oQHA_MOPagbgz4" />

The proposal seeks to align with emerging policy directions under Brisbane: Our Productive City and the Brisbane Sustainable Growth Strategy, both of which identify the need to unlock “transition sites” for housing supply.

“The timely conversion of the site’s former industrial land will contribute to the supply of much-needed housing, especially within Brisbane’s core residential corridors," the assessment report noted.

<img alt="Kedron site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c3383033-10ce-4bdd-ae1b-00ac5fcd3b4f" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/site_1.png?VersionId=yURNBeOOXL1.q3jZDexGuRX7ehVH1.gg" />

The precinct planning covers approximately 36,405 square metres over two lots: 30 Glentanna Street and 474A Gympie Road, both currently zoned Low Impact Industry and within the Chermside Centre Neighbourhood Plan area. The proposal is subject to impact assessment and has been referred to the State Assessment and Referral Agency for review.

The submitted documents frame Bakery Square as a key opportunity site on Brisbane’s northside. The Urban Context and Master Plan Report identifies the precinct as a “critical location” for establishing a contemporary mixed-use environment, capable of delivering the kind of holistic placemaking seen in other major Brisbane redevelopment areas.

Four defining characteristics support the site’s transformation:

<ul>
	<li>Proximity to transport: Located along Gympie Road, the site benefits from existing high-frequency bus services and planned future upgrades under Brisbane Metro Stage 2 to Carseldine.</li>
	<li>Lifestyle potential: With access to Chermside, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, and other employment nodes, the proposal aims to deliver a liveable, connected precinct.</li>
	<li>Co-location with green space: Bradbury Park offers an established recreation anchor, described as a “rare opportunity to co-locate high density living, a lifestyle precinct and open space.”</li>
	<li>Uncommon scale: The 3.6-hectare landholding is a rarity in Brisbane’s inner-northern suburbs, offering a blank canvas for integrated precinct planning.</li>
</ul>

Design evolution has been central to the application’s development. A height transition strategy has been proposed to mediate built form across the site and surrounding context. The tallest elements will be centrally located, stepping down toward Gympie Road, adjacent residential areas, and Bradbury Park. An “urban common” forms the heart of the site and integrates new public open space, pedestrian links, and activated edges.

“This is one of the most critical locations to establish a new mixed-use precinct with significant development uplift on the northside of Brisbane,” Urbis noted in the Urban Design Report.

“Bakery Square can provide the housing, amenity, and local character expected of a modern, infill lifestyle precinct”.

<img alt="Kedron Terraces" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d3139767-1ccc-4c54-a929-9007ce50a375" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/masterplan%20terraces.png?VersionId=Bbl8KWayOHtGpsUeRz6.JLskqop5xjlN" />

The built form strategy anticipates mid-rise development consistent with the emerging character of Gympie Road. According to the variation document, the maximum height sought is 10 storeys (approx. 35m), though individual buildings and sub-precincts are expected to vary. The proposed code amendments would enable staged delivery across multiple sub-areas within the site, balancing residential intensity with commercial, retail, and urban services.

From a housing perspective, Bakery Square represents a significant potential boost to Brisbane’s infill supply. While the DA does not lock in a specific number of dwellings at this stage, planning documents suggest a strong emphasis on diverse housing typologies, including apartments and build-to-rent options.

The Town Planning Report notes that “the proposal enables a planning framework that will facilitate the eventual delivery of residential housing typologies to support emerging demographic needs” and directly respond to the housing supply targets identified in ShapingSEQ 2023.

<img alt="Kedron commercial masterplan" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="617fc5cf-1a92-475c-8244-8c6d859fcfc3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/masterplan%20commercial.png?VersionId=jHMPFVecoryM4XkeIi4psY3SnAbQnDEn" />

George Weston Foods Limited, an ASX-listed entity and one of Australia’s largest food manufacturers, has owned and operated the site for over five decades. The former Top Taste baked goods factory ceased operations in 2020. Since then, the property has been used intermittently as a warehouse and for contractor works associated with the recent Gympie Road upgrade.

Surrounding the site, the local context is typified by a mix of medium-density residential, retail, and light industrial uses. Chermside Westfield, Prince Charles Hospital, and the Chermside Health Hub all lie within 1.5km, reinforcing the precinct’s strategic position. The area is also undergoing broader transition, with the Kedron Future Growth Node flagged for long-term renewal.

First look: Bakery Square precinct to breathe new life into Brisbane's Kedron

As demand grows for greener, more energy-efficient homes, one of the Gold Coast's oldest developers is setting a new benchmark for sustainable living.

Founded in the late 1950s by visionary developer Bernard Lewis, Lewis Land is creating what it calls the most sustainable project in the city’s history at Biggera Waters. <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/harbour-shores-biggera-waters-564-oxley-drive-biggera-waters-qld-4216">Harbour Shores</a> is the first development in the region to achieve a 6 Star Green Star Community V1.1 rating from the Green Building Council of Australia — a world-leading sustainability standard.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=247080]

With buyers increasingly prioritising sustainability in their decisions, Harbour Shores aligns with strict environmental standards while fostering a walkable, fossil-fuel-free lifestyle that resonates strongly with modern purchasers.

The project also represents the largest in Lewis Land’s 65-year history, spanning over 16 hectares. Its masterplan incorporates features such as water-retention tanks, solar power, and EV charging stations, alongside the planting of more than 200,000 tropical and native plants. This integration of nature and technology supports energy-efficient living and promotes a resilient community designed for intergenerational living and long-term wellbeing.

By excluding natural gas, residents will be able to use 100% renewable energy sources — significantly reducing their carbon footprint through solar, wind and hydro power. They will also have access to 100% GreenPower®, improving air quality by eliminating harmful emissions from cooktops, ovens and heaters.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=4578]

Energy bills will be reduced thanks to smart design, including double-glazed windows, energy-efficient appliances, and cooler roof colours. Rooftop solar panels will further cut household costs while reducing CO₂ emissions.

On-site rainwater harvesting will irrigate gardens, saving thousands of litres of potable water each year, while water-efficient appliances will further reduce consumption and costs inside the home.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=113271 project_image_fid=290028]

Designed by BDA Architecture, the precinct will evolve over the next decade into a vibrant “village of villages,” housing more than 4,000 residents. The masterplan includes a mix of apartments, villas, communal open spaces and parklands, a 1.2-kilometre waterfront boardwalk, private marina berths and a suite of resort-style amenities.

Respected local builder Greyburn has been appointed to deliver the first boutique buildings, scheduled for completion in mid-2026.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=113271]

Urban Editorial

Sustainable living at Harbour Shores: better health, lower bills

Apartment king Harry Tribugoff is progressing with the next stage of Pagewood Green, its Westfield-anchored Eastgardens precinct in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Meriton will deliver another 200-plus apartments across three interconnected buildings ranging in height between seven and 13 levels. There will be two retail tenancies as part of the $130 million stage, as well as a&nbsp;suite of communal recreation and landscaping elements.

The developer has been approved for over 214 apartments, but is seeking to reduce the density to just over 200 to "align with broader market trends" that prioritise larger apartments, and a shift towards owner-occupier preferences in new developments.

<img alt="2 Tingwell Boulevard in Eastgardens" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="4500be81-f5c6-473c-b712-a43c8cb5dd58" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Meriton%20eastgardens%202.png?VersionId=F9sST02sqMFD50oQIfNPDHP_B36YjU6j" />

According to the compliance statement submitted with the application, the proposed design continues to meet key planning and urban design criteria, including deep soil planting, tree canopy coverage, integration of cycle and pedestrian paths, and full EV readiness across residential car parking.&nbsp;

Architecture for the project has been led by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-architecture">Plus</a>,&nbsp;which noted that materials and articulation across the podium and tower forms aim to create a “village-like character” consistent with Pagewood Green’s vision.

There will be a near-1000 sqm communal open area on the level one podium for residents with a barbecue area and associated areas for dining and seating. In addition to this space will be accessible terraces on levels 10 and 9 along the western tower form with sitting areas and views to south eastern suburbs.

On ground level there is also a mixture of areas from a swimming pool, spa, sauna and gymnasium providing on-site amenity to the future residents.

Meriton first launched the $3 billion masterplan, known as Pagewood Green, in 2016. At the time it was called the biggest project undertaken by the developer. The 16.5-hectare block was previously home to the former&nbsp;British American Tobacco manufacturing plant and the former General Motors-Holden factory.

At the time, Triguboff said that Pagewood Green would provide some of the most spacious apartments in the area.

“Bigger apartments are in short supply and, because of this, they are achieving the strongest rental increases.”

Meriton secures $130 million approval for next stage of Pagewood Green masterplan

Minimalist

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GUEST OBSERVER
Sydney’s first Muji store opened in 2015 and with it came attractive minimalism, simplicity, and functionality – a kind of consumption that was somehow about consuming less.
The Japanese retailer offering home-wares, furniture, clothing, and stationery describes its formation as the “antithesis to the habits of consumer society” and sells items that have undergone a “careful elimination and subtraction of gratuitous features”.
It is hard not to be seduced by long-lasting items that challenge the planned obsolescence of products – the in-built limitation of a product’s use, functionality, or desirability at the stage of design (just think about how often earphones need to be replaced).
<h2>Clear your mind by tidying your closet</h2>
The Japanese “organising consultant” Marie Kondo’s best-selling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (2010), encourages readers to adopt a certain relationship to objects: if it doesn’t “spark joy”, discard it. Her latest book, Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up (2016) adopts a similar ethos with practical tips about tidying.
Websites can show us the aesthetic pleasures of decluttering with before and after photos of newly tidied household interiors. One-on-one organizational coaching is available for those who want professional guidance on decluttering.
A number of do-it-yourself websites, articles, and books encouraging simplicity and minimalism have also popped up, with mantras such as “bust clutter”, “let it go”, and “clear your mind”. What these slogans have at their heart is the idea that our things mean more than just the functions they serve.
Our things tell us about ourselves. As accumulations of memories, souvenirs from another place or mementos from another time, they somehow reflect back on us. Who we are, have been, or would like to be, how others know us, and where we belong are all things that are tied up to our relationship with objects. In the shadows of this trend is the idea that you may be perceived as being too involved with your possessions.
<h2>Scientific housekeeping</h2>
The US documentary television show Hoarders (2009-), now in its eighth season, involves staging interventions for those categorised as having a psychologically disordered personality linked to their tendency to accumulate.
The United States idea of a hoarder as participating in “material deviancy” came about in the mid-20th Century. Scott Herring’s 2014 book The Hoarders: Material Deviance in Modern American Culture explores the idea of “scientific housekeeping”, which involved the promotion of social, personal, and material hygiene that advocated efficiency, cleanliness, and material orderliness in the home.
Decluttering, the natural heir of scientific housekeeping, can therefore be seen as a form of distancing yourself, physically as well as socially, from things that often have negative connotations: disorder, dirt, deviance, hoarding, as well as the kinds of people and bodies that are usually seen as in need of transformation in order to “better fit” with certain social ideals.
In decluttering we are not only throwing away things but associations. In decluttering we re-draw the boundaries between ourselves and others, and between our things and what they mean to us.
There is also something to be said about how the movement is tied up with our ideas of Japan, of Zen living, and the way that spirituality and a philosophy of living are evoked. How we imagine a Japanese way of life to be simple, organised, and orderly also forms part of the appeal.
<h2>Anti-conspicuous consumption</h2>
The trend is open to interpretation. Is it about stripping back to the “bare essentials”, to a supposedly more “authentic” way of being? Is it driven by an interest in the growing movement towards sustainable living? Is it fuelled by an anti-consumerism akin to James Wallman’s idea that we are living in an age of “stuffocation”? Perhaps it has to do with the idea that by discarding and re-organising, we will become renewed, more efficient, and more productive? A New Year’s resolution all-in-one.
Or perhaps its popularity has to do with the feeling of being refreshed and renewed after decluttering – an idea that leads one commentator to describe decluttering (unflatteringly) as “the new juice cleanse”.
The recent trends towards decluttering encourage us to change our relationship to the things we surround ourselves with and to be more discerning about what we include and exclude from our homes and from our perception of ourselves. However, where do these things “go” when decluttered?
Do they become “out of sight, out of mind” as they head towards landfill? Do they become clutter in other people’s homes? If our objects are holders of memory, stories, and biographies will our memories of them be erased? Will we regret giving them away in moments of scarcity?
What is a necessity now may become clutter in the future, and what is clutter now may be of use later. Will there be a lingering nostalgia for that possession that was once discarded but is now painfully longed for?
Karma Chahine is PhD student in Department of Gender and Cultural Studies, University of Sydney and author for The Conversation. She can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/karma-chahine-217805" target="_blank">here</a>.
</body></html>

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