National developer Fortis has received development approval for Crest &amp; Walker, its Newstead apartment development on Kyabra Street.

Construction by Binah is expected to commence on the 20-storey, Bureau^Proberts-designed building soon. There will be 65 two- and three-bedroom apartments on offer, starting at $1.8 million.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/crest-walker-12-kyabra-street-newstead-qld-4006">Crest &amp; Walker</a> marks the fourth active development to be delivered by Fortis in Brisbane, following River House, now nearing completion, a residential project in New Farm, and a mixed-use development in Hamilton. Several additional projects remain in the pipeline as the development manager continues to grow its footprint across South-East Queensland.

&nbsp;

Dan Boman, General Manager – Development, Queensland, said the continued expansion in Brisbane projects managed by Fortis reflects the company’s commitment to design-led development and thoughtful placemaking.

“We’re proud to be strengthening our presence in Brisbane with Crest &amp; Walker, particularly in such lifestyle destination as Newstead," Bonman says.

"Every Fortis project is shaped by its context, and we approach each one with the respect and care it deserves."

Bonman believes Crest &amp; Walker will&nbsp;attract a discerning buyer who values design, thoughtful amenity and a lifestyle that captures the best of contemporary Brisbane.

"Our focus is always on creating places that feel connected to their neighbourhood and elevate the everyday experience for residents. Newstead continues to evolve as one of Brisbane’s most sought-after urban communities, and Crest &amp; Walker reflects our ambition to contribute meaningfully to that story."

&nbsp;

The building’s design features a contemporary brick podium softened by vertical greenery, creating a distinctive architectural expression within the Newstead streetscape. Positioned between Gasworks and James Street, the project sits within one of Brisbane’s most coveted lifestyle precincts, surrounded by dining, retail and cultural destinations.

A communal rooftop will feature a sun lounge and pool, BBQ facilities and a sauna, all set against panoramic views across Newstead and the Brisbane CBD.

Slaite Projects will handle the sales campaign, which will kick off in May.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=145922]

Joel Robinson

Fortis to launch Crest & Walker, Newstead following development approval

Singaporean developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/centurion-global">Centurion</a> has unveiled plans for a major mixed-use redevelopment of the former John Martin &amp; Co warehouse building on Adelaide CBD's dress circle North Terrace.

The $300 million redevelopment will comprise three towers, rising behind and above the preserved 19th-century sandstone façade. The proposal would retain and integrate the heritage-listed structure while introducing a trio of contemporary towers that combine student accommodation, residential apartments, and commercial uses.

There will be apartments to purchase, as well as a 30-storey, purpose-built&nbsp;student accommodation tower, designed to respond to growing demand for dedicated student housing in Adelaide’s CBD.&nbsp;Ground and podium levels across the development are expected to host retail, food and beverage, and entertainment uses, helping to activate the street edge and create stronger pedestrian connections between North Terrace and the nearby Rundle Mall retail precinct.

A key element of the proposal is the preservation of the site’s historic sandstone building, constructed in 1867 and designed by prominent colonial architects Edmund Wright, Edward John Woods, and Edward Hamilton. The building originally operated as a warehouse for the well-known Adelaide department store John Martin &amp; Co before the retailer closed in 1998.

&nbsp;

The site sits opposite several of Adelaide’s most significant cultural institutions, including the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum, the State Library, and the university precinct. Its location places it within a corridor that connects the city’s cultural, education, and retail destinations.

It is the second redevelopment proposal on North Terrace in recent months, with Palumbo Group set to redevelop the heritage-listed former Royal Hotel which has laid vacant for over a decade.

They are planning 211 apartments across two towers, just over a kilometre from Centurion's project.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/sa/palumbo-group-to-redevelop-kent-town-pub-into-new-apartment-development">Palumbo Group to redevelop Kent Town pub into new apartment development</a>

Centurion plots $300m triple-tower redevelopment for heritage John Martin’s warehouse on Adelaide’s North Terrace

After laying vacant for over a decade, construction is set to begin on a major residential and mixed-use development at the heritage-listed former Royal Hotel in Kent Town.

The Royal Apartments development by South Australian developer Palumbo Group will deliver 211 new dwellings across two residential towers while preserving and restoring the iconic State Heritage-listed building at 2-8 North Terrace.

<img alt="Royal Hotel" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d48b7805-a5b0-42b8-b6bd-64ed49dfb81d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-03-09%20at%209.15.56%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=vtrtYAaCec5nYrYiNaivmC9d9nyHAXeQ" />

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/royal-apartments-2-8-north-terrace-adelaide-sa-5000">Royal Apartments</a> will consist of a 15-level Hills Tower and a 16-level City Tower on the doorstep of the Adelaide Park Lands.

The heritage Royal Hotel building, added to the State Heritage Register in 1986, will be retained and adaptively reused as part of the development.

The development will also include ground-level retail, communal open space including a swimming pool, bicycle parking, and 235 on-site car parks.

<img alt="Royal" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c73b6752-a574-4e4a-927d-f36df076b61a" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-03-09%20at%209.20.41%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=EcIGi.Z0ijVPTDkq8jSEFd2pzfw6ryRN" />

Providing housing for key workers is central to this development, with 20 percent of dwellings set aside for doctors, nurses, police officers and other essential workers at a 25 percent reduction of rental costs.

The project is being delivered by South Australian family-owned developer the Palumbo Group, who have over seen several high-quality residential and commercial developments across Adelaide.

Palumbo Group to redevelop Kent Town pub into new apartment development

Southwark Grounds will transform into a fully serviced inner-city neighbourhood, with South Australian developer&nbsp;Commercial &amp; General&nbsp;selected as the master developer to transform two-thirds of the former West End Brewery site.

The State Government will partner with South Australian developer Commercial &amp; General to deliver more than 1,000 homes alongside a supermarket, a childcare centre, an aged care facility and a vibrant hospitality and retail precinct at Adelaide’s newest suburb.

Commercial &amp; General will work with Renewal SA on adaptive reuse of the historic Walkerville Brew Tower, which will anchor the precinct’s public space with hospitality and retail uses.

The newly announced homes, services and amenities form part of the broader 1,300‑home Southwark Grounds development, expanding on five apartment and townhouse projects on the western side of the site announced last year, which will deliver approximately 300 new homes close to services and public transport.

Local development group Commercial &amp; General are known for landmark projects across Adelaide including Eighty‑Eight O’Connell in North Adelaide and WEST at West Lakes.

<img alt="Full vision for Southwark’s transformation revealed" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="94a4827e-3a6d-4228-85d4-1f209ffd0a00" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Southwark-Grounds-View-2-Artist-Impression.jpg?VersionId=UGDDpeG8RqUm46gmL9p2S3EhO9qUnlwO" />

Commercial &amp; General is now finalising partnerships with a selection of architects and consultants to progress detailed plans and product designs for the precinct. Built form will be delivered by Commercial &amp; General’s integrated building division, Tandem Building, with work expected to begin in 2027.&nbsp;It should take about a decade to deliver the precinct.

Early stages are anticipated to include significant apartment complexes, public parking and the redevelopment of the Walkerville Brew Tower.

Other key elements planned for delivery within the next five years include a vertical residential aged care facility and a purpose-built childcare centre, with a supermarket and supporting retail to follow soon after.

This large section of the precinct will deliver more than 1,000 homes across approximately a dozen apartment buildings, with opportunities for increased yield to be explored through increased height allowances enabled by the recently launched Southwark Grounds Code Amendment.

Commercial &amp; General will also deliver a dedicated 80-space short stay public car park to support anticipated visitor demand, in addition to parking provided within individual apartment developments.

More than 20 per cent of homes within the development area will be allocated to affordable sale or rental, meeting Renewal SA’s increased commitment to affordable housing across the precinct.

Apartment buildings will be framed by activated public thoroughfares and a series of new reserves to be delivered by Renewal SA across 2026 and 2027.

The public realm, which will comprise a minimum of 15 per cent of the overall precinct, will be anchored by a major civic space known as ‘Brewery Green’, connecting the Walkerville Brew Tower to the river.

A detailed masterplan of the precinct alongside product typologies are set to be released later this year.

The State Government has embarked on several strategic infill developments to deliver critical housing supply to South Australia at pace. The Government purchased the Port Road site from Lion Beer Wine &amp; Spirits Pty Ltd in 2023 after the closure of the brewery two years earlier and has since fast tracked the construction of the first homes, set for occupation by the end of this year.

Full vision for Southwark’s transformation revealed

Apartment developer FYVE is continuing to pad out its apartment pipeline.

Having filed an application for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/rose-bay-apartment-market-fires-up-with-200m-in-new-developments-filed">19 apartments on Dover Lane</a>, its first development in the eastern suburbs, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/fyve">FYVE</a> is taking on another new market, this time in Northbridge, where it is planning 31 apartments on <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/1-5-baringa-road-northbridge-nsw-2063">Baringa Road</a>.

<img alt="First Look: FYVE lodges plans for boutique 31-apartment project in Sydney’s Northbridge" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a971e259-ed8e-4d08-9d3b-feacf3139684" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/1772685299976_11zon.jpg?VersionId=l1vSn6Hq1zRTHNONhD3l5rOIhlpN2G9L" />

The development, designed by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/wmk-architecture">WMK Architecture</a>&nbsp;and located&nbsp;close to Northbridge Plaza and the suburb’s village centre, will span six levels above basement parking. Large balconies and terraces form a key component of the design, extending the living areas outward while maintaining connections to the surrounding landscape.

The building’s scale and articulation aim to respond to the established residential character of Northbridge while introducing contemporary architectural elements, according to the documents supplied to Willoughby Council.

&nbsp;

<img alt="First Look: FYVE lodges plans for boutique 31-apartment project in Sydney’s Northbridge" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3502e584-a397-472f-81a2-298349b47a4b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/699c44c7039d7b9c10230b0b_Northbridge%20Option%201.png?VersionId=1U.uYIPBX7issSkMNgVen.MekKcFOLK0" />

FYVE Head of Strategy and Acquisition Aris Dimos said the Northbridge project reflects the company’s strategy of targeting tightly held locations suited to owner-occupiers.

“Following on from our recent Rose Bay acquisition, Northbridge represents a continuation of our strategy to secure well located opportunities in tightly held, established locations with strong owner-occupier appeal,” Dimos said.

“We look forward to bringing this project to life in one of the Lower North Shore’s most desirable addresses.”

&nbsp;

First Look: FYVE lodges plans for 31 apartments in Northbridge

Customers

<html><body>
Deposit guarantee company Deposit Power is now under external administration following the placement of Auckland-based CBL Insurance into interim liquidation.
External administrators from Chifley Advisory were appointed to the company.
Deposit Power offered deposit guarantee bond products, assisting Australian borrowers and investors to buy residential and commercial properties without the need to provide a cash deposit.
In a report by the Australian Financial Review, an estimated 10,000 residential, commercial, and property investors could be affected by the company’s collapse.
The deposit bonds are a form of bridging finance for up to 48 months for off the plan buyers.
Investors calling the Sydney office are met with a recorded message that the company is facing "external issues."
Deposit Power's bonds were sold to first time buyers.
Self managed super funds purchasing commercial or residential property are also using the deposits bonds. 
After the interim liquidation, insureds and beneficiaries under policies and surety and financial risk bonds are being urged to obtain advice from their insurance brokers to determine whether they need to purchase new insurance cover or secure additional or replacement bonds. 
A notice from the external administrators says CBL Insurance is “liable to pay any valid claims payable to any beneficiary of any guarantee issue by them”, and that all claims should be directed to CBL Insurance.
New Zealand’s High Court ordered CBL Insurance last month to be placed into interim liquidation following the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s application.
Auckland-based insurance broker and building warranty provider Stamford Insurance said in a statement yesterday that it has stepped in to protect CBL Insurance clients. Stamford said it has secured Lloyd's of London’s help to protect buyers and homeowners.
It is not clear from the company's statement if its scheme to protect CBL Insurance clients will cover those in Australia as well.
“The underwriters in London responded immediately to our request and are committed to providing New Zealand homebuyers with the finest building warranties," said Stamford director Duncan Colebrook in the statement.
Stamford said its scheme will do the following:
<ol>
<li>For buyers who have signed a contract and paid a deposit where work has yet to start, Stamford will cover the risk that they may lose their deposit if their builder becomes insolvent.</li>
<li>If construction has already started, Stamford will guard against builder insolvency and provide 10 years’ defects cover on completion.</li>
<li>For homeowners who have taken possession of their homes within the past 12 months and who may have lost their protection against major defects arising with their home, Stamford will offer them a new 10 year policy.</li>
</ol>
Deposit Power’s external administrators said in the notice that an interested party may buy the company’s business, but that “the sale has its complications as the company was only an agent/authorised manager of CBL Insurance”.
“Given the nature of the company’s operation, any sale transaction will need to happen quickly, or it will not happen at all.”
</body></html>

j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Deposit Power collapse to affect 10,000 home buyers

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVER
Customers are good at troubleshooting the small stuff and research shows when they come to customer service staff they expect complex problem solving, options or answers - not apologies.
My research used video recordings of interactions between airline staff and customers to analyse the behaviour of both the staff and the passengers. I examined the non-verbal cues of the airline staff in more than 100 interactions and found that when they made effusive apologies it actually diminished their ability to be effective problem solvers.
Businesses have been trying to be better at customer service since it was invented. But unfortunately it seems like they aren’t making much progress.
A 2017 study showed that 62 million families in the US are estimated to report at least one service problem a year. This left 56% customers in a “rage” or extremely upset.
According to the same study, only 25% of the customers were able to resolve the service problem in one contact with the company. In fact, 19% reported having to contact the company more than seven times to resolve the problem. Despite this, 80% of the customers remained unhappy even after the resolution.
Cost of ineffective problem solving is estimated at US$313 billion in sales for US businesses alone.
But below par customer service is not unique to US businesses. One Ernst-Young survey showed that Australian consumers fare no better. 56% experienced unacceptably poor service in a 12-month period and 57% of those who complained were very or fairly dissatisfied with the way the problem was resolved. Also, 47% upset customers posted their complaint on social media but in 75% of the cases, the company didn’t respond.
The loss to Australian businesses from these problems: A$720 for every negative customer experience, and A$40 billion per year.
How customers are changing
Over time, the nature of customer’s problems have changed with the internet and social media.
Now customers prefer to solve simple and typical problems on their own using online resources provided by companies. My research shows they increasingly reach out to companies with complex, unexpected and urgent problems.
Customers are also now connected to a community of consumers who actively vocalise and report their service problems on social media. This community are increasingly aware and confident about the what (outcomes) and how (process) of problem solving.
A 2017 market research survey of consumers in North America, found that consumers actively and increasingly use a range of self-service channels including FAQs (60%), online community forums (38%), online virtual agents (37%), mobile apps (35%) and chatbots (32%). Many of these options did not exist just a few years ago.
According to this same report, intelligent assistants like Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa will make it easier for customers to use self-service options.
Leading service organisations are developing and prototyping new artificial intelligence tools to respond to these trends. For instance, Vanguard, an investment advisor group, is piloting an artificial intelligence project to assist customer service staff answer questions and problems posed on inbound calls from customers.
Vanguard’s plan is to have customers engage directly with this bot and transition customer service staff to handle more complex activities.
What customer service providers should be doing
My research shows customer service staff should only empathise or apologise to customers in the first five to seven seconds before moving on to creative problem solving. We found customers view “small” talk in customer service interaction as a sign of ineffectiveness.
If customers are presented with options to solve their problem, my research shows, it gives them a sense of control over the difficult situation. In an experiment we conducted, customers were shown two scenarios, both of which were identical in nature. The problem involved a lost bag that contained materials and clothing for an important job interview.
The first scenario provided a single solution, while in the second scenario there were three reasonably comparable alternative solutions for the customer. At the end, the customer chose the same solution in both scenarios.
Our research found customers expressed greater satisfaction with the multiple choices of the second scenario. It’s the quality and quantity of the solutions given to customers that’s the crucial difference.
Yet in many companies, service agents are directed, trained and monitored only to connect with customers and make them feel comfortable. This training is intuitive, easier to script, amenable to supervisory monitoring and suitable for standardised training.
By contrast, creative and problem solving is not intuitive or easy to train. This is the challenge for service companies.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91646/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Businesses must forgo the easy route to customer problem solving and take a more counter intuitive approach. By overcoming this challenge, business could see substantial payoffs and stem the financial losses that spring from bad customer experiences.
Jagdip Singh, Professor of Marketing, Case Western Reserve University
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/customer-service-staff-need-to-be-problem-solving-not-apologising-91646" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

Customer service staff need to be problem solving, not apologising: Jagdip Singh

<html><body>
Employees have become an inevitable part of company image. But when employers make judgements and hire on the basis of attracting the “right” kind of people, they leave themselves open to charges of discrimination.
US clothing retailer Abercrombie &amp; Fitch found this out the hard way. It was recently ruled against in a long running court case brought by a young Muslim woman who was denied a job at the retailer because she wore a headscarf.
Abercrombie &amp; Fitch has since replaced its infamous “look policy” which banned caps and black clothing and sought people with a “preppy style”, with a new dress code it says allows customer service staff to be “more individualistic”. It has also changed its hiring practices to not consider attractiveness. Store staff, previously referred to as “models” by the company are now “brand representatives”.
Closer to home, fitness retailer Lorna Jane recently raised the ire of some Australians by advertising for a “Receptionist/Fit Model<a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/lorna-jane-receptionist-and-model-job-ad-includes-physical-measurements/story-fnjev30n-1227430876631">”</a>, outlining specific body size requirements. It later clarified that it had decided to combine a traditional back-office role with a front office one so that the successful applicant could “liaise directly with customers on a day-to-day basis, receive their feedback and allow Lorna Jane to deliver an even better product to benefit our customers and their active lifestyles”.
Beyond the ‘right attitude’
In a recent study we set out to find how customer perceptions were impacted by the appearance of customer service staff. We investigated the increasing importance of having employees with not only the “right” attitudes, but also “right look” and “right sound” in service encounters in the apparel retail sector.
The qualitative study included a sample of customers of leading Australian fashion retailers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 customers. Half of the sample were female and the average age of the customers was 29 (the youngest being 18 and the oldest 61).
‘Matching’ and ‘mirroring’ effects
We found customers tend to approach store staff that look similar to them. They also prefer to approach staff of their own age and same gender for help or ask questions associated with fashion. In some cases, customers whose English is not their first language also prefer staff who can speak their native language.
“I am an Asian, and it is quite clear that my friends and I do prefer to be served by someone from our country. Especially, for some of people, whom I know of, who are not comfortable with speaking English… Yes, this goes for both men and women.”
“As a Muslim woman, I would like to talk to a female staff rather than a male. I prefer to talk to someone who come from or look like they are from the same country as me. … Yet, I do not like to talk to a man.”
Customers are more inclined to “match” or “mirror” their age, gender, race and ethnicity with customer service staff in more involved buying situations than in simple and less risky occasions, such as trying to locate a product in store.
While not extensively investigated in the service encounter literature, the concept of “mirroring” has been established in many other domains such as psychology. As such, it is not a completely new idea. This “mirroring” impact has been explained in social identity theory as a person often puts greater value on “in-group” members who have shared characteristics.
Customers also use age and gender as a non-verbal cue in a “matching” process to decide if a staff member can offer trustworthy advice. In other words, customers attempt to “match” the age and/or gender of a frontline employee with their expectations of what a person with expertise should look like.
Many customers claim that the good appearance of the sales assistant and the managers helps them to hold back their anger in response to service failure at a certain level.
“I don’t know why, … . But I will try to hold my anger when I see a good looking sales assistant.”
“I will be more polite with an older person. … Yes, I will be less polite and straight forward to a younger person.”
They also admit that at some point in time they are willing to visit the store again because of the appearance of the customer service staff.
“My friend and I always come back to this section because of the sales person - he is very cute… Well, most of the time we just come to look for the guy… We sometimes buy clothes in that section too.”
“Yes, I used to go back to a shop just to see someone… But not anymore though, that when I was much younger.”
Gender in service encounters
Our study also found that many gay men would be happier to interact with another gay service employee. However, staff handsomeness did not impact on the gay customers’ decision to approach the staff for advice. Nevertheless, some gay men said they prefer to simply see rather than talk to good-looking staff.
“I only like looking at a cute guy… I guess I am just too shy to talk. But you know, this is part of window shopping… ha ha ha.”
“It does not matter if they are handsome or not. I find them the same.”
Some lesbian customers said the gender of the sales staff had minor to no impact on their decision to approach someone for advice.
“I am happy to get help from anyone … man, woman, lesbian or gay … I am happy with any of them. … At the same time, I am expecting them to treat everybody equally.”
“Personally, I would prefer to talk to women, but I also do not mind talking to men.”
In short, the visible diversity of staff influences customers in a service encounter and, depending on the purchase occasions, customers prefer to, for example, interact with older/younger or male/female staff. In general, having staff who share the same appearance as customers may deliver a competitive advantage to retailers.
Park Thaichon is assistant professor of marketing at S P Jain School of Global Management and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/park-thaichon-175182" target="_blank">here</a>.
Sara Quach is a PhD student at Swinburne University of Technology and can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sara-quach-175976" target="_blank">here</a>. Both are authors for The Conversation.
</body></html>

Customers

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

Customers

Editor's Picks

Receive the latest news stories to your inbox

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News