Southern Cross Station anchors the western end of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/melbourne-vic-3000">Melbourne</a>’s CBD, connecting metropolitan and regional rail with tram and bus interchanges in one of the city’s busiest transport corridors.&nbsp;

Just metres away, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/640-bourke-street-melbourne-640-bourke-street-melbourne-vic-3000">640 Bourke Street</a>&nbsp;will place residents in the heart of the city, with immediate access to Spencer Street trams, a growing mix of retail, hospitality and cultural venues, and a neighbourhood evolving into a lively residential precinct.

Developed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/far-east-consortium">Far East Consortium</a>, the 68-storey project integrates a sculptural glass tower with the heritage-listed Eliza Tinsley Building on a 2,765 sqm site.&nbsp;

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a>, the development replaces a previously approved scheme for 813 apartments with a refined offering of just over 600 larger-format residences, responding to a growing owner-occupier demand for spacious city living.

The location sits within a dynamic pocket undergoing significant transformation. Marvel Stadium and the Docklands waterfront are less than 10 minutes away on foot, offering both sports and leisure attractions.&nbsp;

Bourke Street Mall, Queen Victoria Market, and the State Library are all within walking distance, while Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne’s oldest park, provides a green escape just to the north.

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Proximity to some of the city’s largest employers and education hubs, including the courts precinct, legal chambers, RMIT, and major hospitals, makes 640 Bourke Street an appealing residential address for professionals, families and students alike.

Education opportunities span all levels. Nearby, Haileybury City Campus offers private schooling just a short walk from 640 Bourke Street. Just beyond the CBD fringe, Carlton Gardens Primary School, one of Melbourne’s oldest state primary schools, and Docklands Primary School provide convenient government schooling options.

Higher education is equally accessible. RMIT University’s city campus spans multiple buildings just a few blocks away, while the University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus is easily reached via tram along Swanston or Elizabeth Streets.

Victoria University’s City Queen campus, focused on law and business, is also close by, positioning 640 Bourke Street within walking distance of three of Melbourne’s major tertiary institutions.

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The neighbourhood’s retail tapestry continues to evolve into something distinctly local and walkable. Just steps away, Woolworths Metro on Bourke Street ensures that everyday essentials are easily within reach.&nbsp;

For larger shopping trips, Spencer Outlet Centre on Spencer Street and QV Melbourne on the opposite side of the CBD broaden the offering with supermarkets, fashion, dining and specialty stores.

The lane-to-lane vibe unfolds beautifully in nearby arcades and alleys. Hardware Lane, with its European-style red-brick paving and alfresco dining, pulses with jazzy evenings and casual lunches.

A few minutes north, Howey Place and Centre Place offer leafy, boutique-lined lanes where hidden cafés and niche retailers congregate under historic glass-covered cloisters.

Completing this tapestry is the newly opened Mecca “beauty playground” on Bourke Street. Spanning 4,000 sqm over three levels, the flagship blends immersive retail within an art-deco heritage setting.

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This finely grained network of shops, eateries, arcades and service outlets defines the everyday lifestyle at 640 Bourke Street - further enriched by over 3,000 sqm of resident amenity including a Turkish-inspired pool, gym, co-working rooms and private cinemas.&nbsp;

Now selling from $640,000 to $3.95 million, with off-the-plan stamp duty concessions available until October 2026. Prospective buyers can visit the on site display gallery which has&nbsp;fully built one, two, and three-bedroom apartments.

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Joel Robinson

640 Bourke Street: A heritage address at the heart of Melbourne

Lower North Shore development specialists&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/abadeen-group">Abadeen</a>&nbsp;has topped out its new local apartment development,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/northcote-collective-naremburn-2-6-northcote-street-naremburn-nsw-2065">Northcote Collective</a>.&nbsp;

Located in the tightly held suburb of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/naremburn-nsw-2065">Naremburn</a>, Northcote Collective is a collection of just 58 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments designed by award-winning architects Rothelowman.&nbsp;

The building is just a five to 10 minute walk from the heart of Crows Nest and the new&nbsp;St Leonards and Crows Nest Metro stations. Abadeen has also brought doorstep convenience, with a ground-floor retail offering on Northcote Street.

Northcote Collective is being delivered by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/decode">Decode</a> — an iCIRT-rated construction company well regarded in the new development industry.

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“This is an important and exciting moment for Northcote Collective, and we’re proud to celebrate this milestone with our partners, consultants, and future residents,” said Justin Brown, Executive Chairman and Founder of Abadeen.&nbsp;

“From the outset, our vision was to create something truly special for Naremburn — homes that respect the character of the neighbourhood while elevating the standard of Lower North Shore living. With connectivity to transport, retail on the doorstep and a true village lifestyle, this milestone also comes at a perfect time when buyer confidence is returning to the market. I am incredibly proud of our team and of Decode for their dedication in helping us bring this vision to life.”

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The development is two-tiered, with two rooftops for residents. The taller building has an impressive rooftop pool, a rare inclusion in the new Sydney apartment market. The level, with panoramic views, also includes an entertaining terrace with barbecue facilities.

Local downsizers and young professionals are showing the strongest interest in the development, with recent improvements in the property market — supported by three rate cuts in 2025 — boosting borrowing power and buyer confidence.

Auction activity across Sydney surged by almost 30 per cent in recent weeks, with clearance rates above 70 per cent — signalling a renewed wave of buyer demand.

Northcote Collective will welcome buyers in 2026.

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Abadeen tops out Northcote Collective in Naremburn

Sunshine Coast-based <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/devcon-property-group">Devcon Property Group</a> has acquired one of Maroochydore’s most prominent development sites for $12 million unlocking the potentialfor a mixed-use project in the Cotton Tree precinct.

&nbsp;

The 4,178 sqm site at 41–43 Aerodrome Road—well known locally as the former home to one of Australia’s last Sizzler restaurants—was sold via an off-market expressions of interest campaign by Colliers agents Nick Dowling and Baydn Dodds. More than 70 targeted buyer groups were approached, resulting in multiple competitive offers for the property.

Devcon Property Group Managing Director Michael Kain said the acquisition was a strategic move in line with the company’s focus on delivering high-quality projects in prime coastal locations.&nbsp;

“We’re excited about the possibilities this site, in one of the Sunshine Coast’s most iconic beachside &nbsp;communities, offers for a broad range of development outcomes,” Kain said.

“Its location, ocean view potential, and proximity to the Maroochydore CBD and beach make it an &nbsp;outstanding development prospect. Our plans are to refurbish the existing building and then review &nbsp;development options for the remainder of the site.”&nbsp;

<img alt="Aerodrome Rd site overlooking Beach (Large)" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a29dc4ed-68c1-4bec-a4fc-283063dcde1e" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Aerodrome%20Rd%20site%20overlooking%20Beach%20%28Large%29.jpg?VersionId=b0WxJWevmLoAfCP4YvGImZpR3rSCJJ9L" />

Colliers Special Projects Manager Baydn Dodds said the sale reflected the ongoing strength of the &nbsp;Sunshine Coast’s development site market, particularly for projects capable of achieving water views. &nbsp;

“Sites of this scale, in walkable beachside locations with ocean views, are tightly held and continue to attract significant interest from both local and national developers,” Baydn Dodds said. &nbsp;

“Holding a prominent position as the former home to one of Australia’s last Sizzler restaurants and more recently occupied by Rashays, the prime site is located just 150 metres from Maroochydore Beach.&nbsp;

“With stunning ocean view potential, located in one of the Sunshine Coast’s best known iconic &nbsp;beachside communities, within steps of shops, cafes and the beach it is no surprise that there was strong interest in the site. The transaction highlights the ongoing depth of demand for well-located &nbsp;mixed-use sites across the Sunshine Coast.”&nbsp;

Colliers Sunshine Coast Managing Director Nick Dowling said the transaction reinforced the &nbsp;Sunshine Coast’s status as one of Australia’s most active development markets.&nbsp;

“The combination of strong population growth, lifestyle appeal, and infrastructure investment is &nbsp;driving demand for quality development opportunities,” Nick Dowling said. &nbsp;

“The Sunshine Coast is one of only three markets nationally to record an increase in crane numbers, &nbsp;reflecting the strength of the region’s construction pipeline.&nbsp;

“Opportunities like this are rare and continue to generate strong buyer interest in the region.”&nbsp;

The Sunshine Coast development market is booming, with several high-profile developers like Cube Developments, Gardner Vaughan Group, and RCQ, planning developments in the region.

Devcon buys Sunshine Coast’s former Sizzler site for new apartment development

Sydney House, the residential redevelopment of the landmark City Tattersall building on Pitt Street in the Sydney CBD, will officially launch to the market this month.

The $800 million development, a joint venture between&nbsp;Singapore-listed <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/first-sponsor">First Sponsor</a>&nbsp;and leading Melbourne-based developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/icd-property">ICD Property</a>, will see a glass tower with 241 apartments and a 135-room hotel built above the restored heritage-listed podium.

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The apartments will offer&nbsp;rare northeast-facing views across the sparkling Sydney Harbour and Hyde Park, all positioned above a luxury hotel with exclusive access to premium amenities and five-star lifestyle services.

Internationally acclaimed architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/bvn-architecture">BVN Architecture</a>&nbsp;handled the design for the residential component and the interiors for the hotel, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/fjc-studio">FJC Studio</a>&nbsp;focused on the heritage podium.

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First Sponsor’s CEO, Neo Teck Pheng, together with ICD Property’s CEO, Matthew Khoo commented that the joint venture team was ecstatic to bring this extraordinary project to market as the first opportunity for those looking to secure their ultimate CBD luxury residence elevated by premium hotel amenities, including select premium services designed for effortless living.

“<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/sydney-house-194-204-pitt-street-sydney-nsw-2000">Sydney House</a> will offer a sophisticated expression of modern CBD living, capturing panoramic vistas to Sydney’s most beloved icons, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as Hyde Park out to the North and South Heads,” Khoo said.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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Mr Neo expressed that the reinterpretation of the heritage podium levels will feature an elegant heritage bar and restaurant, along with luxurious hotel and function facilities, enhancing the experience for residents. The historical features will be reborn, ensuring that these grand, opulent spaces will once again be enjoyed, appreciated and celebrated by residents, Sydneysiders as well as interstate and international visitors alike.

Managing sales for the project, SRM Residential Partner Tim Rees said that the team has received an overwhelming response to date, largely from local downsizers and upgraders looking for the ultimate lifestyle purchase.&nbsp;

“Once completed in late 2027, Sydney House will be Sydney CBD’s newest icon blending modern architecture with historic grandeur located in one of the most prestigious enclaves of the CBD,” Rees said.&nbsp;

“Pitt Street is arguably the most significant street in all of Sydney. Just a stone’s throw from Circular Quay, Sydney Opera House, Hyde Park and Darling Harbour, Sydney House offers seamless connection with the CBD and beyond. Pitt Street Mall is literally across the road and there is an abundance of dining and cultural venues in close proximity. The outlook from Sydney House will be breathtaking with views of Hyde Park and Sydney’s famous iconic landmarks on offer.

“Following the trend of other global cities such as New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, luxury inner city apartment living with access to premium hotel amenities is the new ‘trophy home’ for wealthy downsizers or empty-nesters who aren’t looking to slow down, as they want to live in the heart of the action.”

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The project boasts a prime CBD location surrounded by the city’s most premium shopping centres including David Jones and Westfield Pitt Street as well as some of Sydney's best restaurants, bars,&nbsp;pubs, theatres, museums, art galleries, and parks.

Residents will be able to access the newly opened Sydney Metro Gadigal Station, located within a block from Sydney House. This station provides connectivity to Martin Place (one min), Barangaroo (three mins) and North Sydney (11 mins) as well as Chatswood and Macquarie University through to Castle Hill and Norwest. With services every four minutes during peak times, the Sydney Metro provides the ultimate convenience with 21 stations from Tallawong to Sydenham.

One of Sydney’s leading residential construction companies, particularly in premium off the plan luxury residences, Richard Crookes Constructions, will complete the project in late 2027.&nbsp;

Price guides at Sydney House include one-bedroom apartments from $1.5 million, two-bedroom apartments from $2.3 million and three-bedroom apartments from $5 million.

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Set to bring next level luxury to Sydney CBD’s prestige property market

Buyers set for first chance at Sydney House, Sydney CBD's newest landmark tower development

Joint venture partners&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/amalgamated-property-group">Amalgamated Property Group</a>&nbsp;(APG)&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/base-developments">Base Developments</a>&nbsp;have kicked off construction&nbsp;on its second Gold Coast apartment tower, Affinity Broadbeach, which is due for completion in early 2028.

More than 50 per cent of the 180 two- and three-bedroom apartments have sold, with buyers particularly impressed by&nbsp;the spacious and functional floor plans, close proximity to the beach, premium inclusions, and expansive resort-style amenities.

APG has just released a new limited collection of three-bedroom skyhomes with three living rooms and four bathrooms.

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Graham Potts, Principal and Founding Director Amalgamated Property Group, said the strong demand for <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/affinity-broadbeach-40-46-chelsea-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218">Affinity Broadbeach</a> highlights a genuine need for affordable luxury residential developments on the Gold Coast.&nbsp;

“It’s exciting to see construction kick off on this sought-after project which is set to create a new benchmark in luxe coastal living on the Gold Coast," Potts said.

"Buyers are attracted by the seamless blend of convenience and elegance that Affinity offers, together with the knowledge that our 20-years of industry experience ensures we continue to deliver homes to the same high standards our reputation has been built on."

Capital Construction Queensland, the inhouse construction arm of APG, is handling the building. Potts says having the internal build capability provides buyers with confidence in delivering a high-quality building, referencing Amaya Broadbeach which is nearing completion nearby.

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Carly Cottam, CEO of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/project-marketer/motiv">MOTIV</a> Group which is selling Affinity, says there's a clear undersupply of property across Southeast Queensland and an even greater shortage of well-designed, spacious residences.

"That’s why Affinity has attracted such strong demand," Cottam says.

"Every detail, from the intricate finishes to the intelligent spatial planning, has been crafted for the discerning owner-occupier. Beyond the residences, the amenity is designed as a true extension of the home."

&nbsp;

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Affinity’s superior amenities are resonating with buyers who are impressed by the range on offer, from the expansive outdoor heated pool, to the state-of-the-art gym, steam and sauna facilities, outdoor entertaining terraces, and a business centre.

"The offering reflects exactly what buyers are seeking when right-sizing or upgrading - spacious residences complemented by curated residential amenity, all within moments of the beach and vibrant retail and dining precincts,” Cottam added.

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Dennis Milin, Principal of Base Developments and Milin Builders, and Director of Capital Constructions Queensland, said the team is excited to deliver another collection of premium homes in the heart of Broadbeach.

"With more than three decades of proven success in construction and development, our award-winning portfolio across the ACT and NSW speaks for itself, now further demonstrated by the strong progress at Amaya Broadbeach on First Avenue in Queensland,"&nbsp;Milin said.

“In partnership with a highly regarded team of designers, engineers and trades, and supported by our experienced Gold Coast construction professionals, we remain committed to delivering projects defined by quality, timeless design and uncompromising standards."

Early works at Affinity are already advancing, with guide walls for shoring and bulk excavation underway.

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With a proven track record in large premium projects, APG has been developing residential and commercial property across Australia for more than 20 years. APG and Base Developments are the same duo behind the successful Amaya Broadbeach, currently under construction on First Avenue and due for completion in early 2026, as well as a number of other successful joint developments in Canberra, including Botanical in Turner, Kiara in Narrabundah, Ivy in Woden, and the three-tower Oaks precinct in Phillip.

APG is currently building The Eastbourne, 349 homes, a premium office building, and a retail and dining precinct at ANZAC Park East.

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Amalgamated Property Group and Base kick off construction at Affinity Broadbeach

Historic Site

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GUEST OBSERVER
The roar of the crowd at the stadium. Jostling to see the New Year fireworks in the public square. Captivated by the band at the pub. Meeting mates outside the train station. These experiences conjure sites of importance for each of us.
As a Melburnian, places that come to mind for me are the MCG, Federation Square, Flinders Street Station and Festival Hall. Sydneysiders could be thinking about the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/223371661">Opera House</a>, Central Station, the Enmore Theatre and Homebush Stadium.
It’s people that make these places important. Without crowds, an idling Gabba in Brisbane or an empty Cottesloe Beach in Perth is a less exciting place.
Each of the above places possesses outstanding social value. It’s why state heritage laws and local planning schemes can protect places of community importance.
However, this <a href="https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/contested-space-social-value-and-the-assessment-of-cultural-signi">does not happen enough</a>. Of more than 2,300 items on the <a href="https://heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/heritage-protection/levels-of-protection/">Victorian Heritage Register</a>, for instance, about 10% are listed for their social value.
Although data are scarce, the numbers are likely similar for heritage lists across Australia. This leaves treasured meeting places – <a href="https://theconversation.com/once-a-building-is-destroyed-can-the-loss-of-a-place-like-the-corkman-be-undone-112864">neighbourhood pubs are a prime example</a> – at risk.
With restrictions on public gatherings, urban heritage places of social significance have more allure than ever. Just as we are distanced from each other, we are separated from these places. Their temporary absence in our lives, and the sense of community and comforting memories we associate with them, only add to their cultural significance.
 
However, heritage typically gives more priority to the historic and aesthetic integrity of older fabric, buildings and structures than to ongoing social and cultural relationships <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342624259_Place_and_Heritage_Conservation">between people and built places</a>.
A lack of participatory methods to involve the public in heritage decisions is another problem with how authorities and the private sector manage the cultural values of historic places.
Two landmark cases
For more than a century, authorities <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/220585029">typically safeguarded</a> monumental architecture and places embodying the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/44846813">apparent progress of the Australian nation</a>, such as public buildings and memorials.
Since the 1970s, <a href="https://australia.icomos.org/publications/charters/">additional cultural values</a> – social, scientific and spiritual – have been inscribed in heritage practice. Yet, as I explore in <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=997484554716146;res=IELAPA">my research</a>, traditional ideas of aesthetic and historic value have been privileged in conservation. Other significant cultural values have not been treated as equally important.
The introduction of social value saved Flinders Street Station when it was threatened with demolition in 1972 for high-rise development.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333975/original/file-20200511-49584-eahqrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333975/original/file-20200511-49584-eahqrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
 Model of Flinders Gate Project, 1974. Wolfgang Sievers/State Library of Victoria (reproduced with SLV permission)
The National Trust wanted to preserve the train station. But its <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=997484554716146;res=IELAPA">committee of architects</a> perceived it as an “architectural monstrosity” because its Edwardian Baroque style was out of favour.
After long deliberations, the National Trust deemed the station a landmark […] a major focal point of Melbourne’s city life [with] the Clocks! section [sic] inextricably bound to the social fabric of Melbourne and Victoria.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334232/original/file-20200512-66707-1yumqxu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
The famous clocks overlook the intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets, pictured here in the early 1970s. Rennie Ellis/State Library of Victoria (reproduced with SLV permission)
So Flinders Street Station was protected for its lasting importance to Melburnians. Only later would it be recognised for its architecture.
Despite its social value, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-10/science-of-flinders-street-station-new-look-paint/9135080">when the station was repainted</a> in original colours in 2017, there was little public engagement in this decision. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494412000424">Research</a> on people’s perceptions of historic places has shown they often prefer agedness and wornness over traditional conservation works that make places look new again: the <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=0y9jCHHdKokC&amp;pg=PA119&amp;lpg=PA119&amp;dq=%22patina+of+age%22+ruskin&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=7C2jBgWES3&amp;sig=ACfU3U2AjpX-Zcee--19v8t1KMOfx76CIQ&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiZhe_zh67qAhWCyDgGHUEKAtQQ6AEwAnoECDAQAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=%22patina%20of%20age%22%20ruskin&amp;f=false">patina of age</a> has value. <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429506352">Public participation</a> could have resulted in a different conservation decision based on Melburnians’ preferred colours and textures.
Another landmark case involves the MCG. Authorities rejected a comprehensive heritage listing for the stadium in the 1980s, when the Great Southern Stand was developed, because a listing might have prevented redevelopment.
The MCG designation was reconsidered, however, in the lead-up to the 2006 Commonwealth Games. It then met revised thresholds to be fully state-listed. It was “<a href="https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/126894666/">the matches and public not the buildings</a>” that created the heritage importance.
And to retain the cultural importance of the MCG in the future lives of Melburnians, flexibility on the stands was required. With the support of club members and heritage authorities, the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/64493">1928 Members’ Pavilion</a> made way for the new Northern Stand.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336626/original/file-20200521-102667-ajzwnp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
 Ian Harrison Hill, ‘Demolition of Members’ Stand [Melbourne Cricket Ground]’, photograph, 2004. State Library of Victoria, Pictures Collection, H2004.24/4 (reproduced with the permission of the State Library of Victoria and Ian Harrison Hill)
Social value in the past, present and future
At the MCG, social value was projected into the future, allowing for flexibility during redevelopment.
At Flinders Street Station, social value was perceived as developing in the past. The recent station works demonstrated that, even when public places are heritage-listed, their management often does not include participatory methods.
Neighbourhood pubs, which are being <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2017/last-drinks/">rapidly redeveloped</a>, are another form of at-risk public place with great social value. Pubs become important to people for their longevity as gathering places, often more so than for their architecture, facades and interiors.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345460/original/file-20200703-33926-1dxq2fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
 The now-demolished historic Greyhound Hotel in St Kilda had potential to inspire the public realm in future development works. National Trust of Australia (Victoria)
The National Trust is <a href="http://www.trustadvocate.org.au/national-trust-backs-city-of-port-phillip-call-to-protect-social-heritage/">seeking to conserve</a> some pubs. However, authorities have far more power to mandate the continuity of historic places’ built fabric rather than ensuring redevelopments <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2017.1399283">retain community spaces</a>.
Even when this does happen, opportunities can be missed <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/south-east/search-begins-for-venue-managers-for-reborn-london-hotel-in-port-melbourne/news-story/596d9585d7ee7d55c4d697c322a3d11f">to use historic elements of the demolished buildings</a>. Participatory and social approaches to heritage have unrealised potential to guide the design and use of the future public realm.
A major step towards placing people at the heart of heritage would be to mandate and fund a diversity of participatory methods in state and local heritage governance. It’s important, too, to embed community participation across private sector heritage practice. Only by working towards more holistically conserving the broader cultural values of historic places can heritage achieve cultural stewardship for people.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138128/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/james-lesh-257650">James Lesh</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Architectural History, Urban and Cultural Heritage, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a>
This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-heritage-protection-is-about-how-people-use-places-not-just-their-architecture-and-history-138128">original article</a>.
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Heritage protection is about how people use places, not just architecture and history

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Breakfast Point’s historic Blacksmiths Workshop at 123 Peninsula Drive has been snapped up by a high net worth individual for $7,300,000.
Following a competitive expressions of interest campaign, the 3,133 sqm heritage building was marketed and sold by Ray White Commercial Western Sydney Managing Director Peter Vines and Directors Victor Sheu and Joseph Assaf.
Providing uninterrupted views of the Parramatta River, Mr Vines said the landmark property attracted interest from developers, residential buyers and operators in the hospitality industry.
“This was one of the most unique properties I’ve ever worked on and it was no surprise that we received more than 100 enquiries, and nine offers, given there can be numerous future uses for it,” Mr Vines said.
“This was the last available waterfront asset within the award-winning Breakfast Point master planned development, nearing completion by Rose Group and CBUS Property, on a 52ha site which is home to some 2,650 dwellings."
<img src="https://f.datasrvr.com/f1/820/15065/BP_4.JPG" width="640" data-imagetype="External">
The property was built in 1891 and has housed the display suite for the entire project for many years.
The building is 400 sqm internally and the site has an R3 Medium Density zoning, however, it has received approval for commercial use.
“It would suit hospitality, commercial office, residential or a mixture of uses which would need approval by the City of Canada Bay Council,” Mr Assaf said.
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Historic Breakfast Point Blacksmiths Workshop sold

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GUEST OBSERVATION
There are jackhammers everywhere. A new Parramatta is emerging out of the rubble, seeking to make real its tag line: “Australia’s next great city”. Thickets of new residential and commercial towers are rising – testament to the city’s ferocious ambition – overshadowing what remains of the squat, 1970s office blocks built during Parramatta’s previous development boom.
There are many today who loudly proclaim Parramatta’s centrality to the story of Sydney. Mike Baird, when premier of NSW in 2015, called Parramatta nothing less than “the infrastructure capital of the world”, its fortunes tied closely to those of the state and the nation. The west is booming, as the New South Wales government releases huge tracts of land in the north-west and south-west of Sydney for development, and developers are cashing in on Parramatta’s rise.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229562/original/file-20180727-106530-15gurnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229562/original/file-20180727-106530-15gurnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
It’s been claimed Parramatta is the infrastructure capital of the world. <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.flickr.com/photos/redwolf/39847046615" target="_blank">redwolfoz/Flickr</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY</a>
National Australia Bank is setting up its new headquarters at the A$2 billion development that is Parramatta Square. A new light rail network is on the way. Western Sydney University has completed its A$220.5 million high-rise campus. A new A$1 billion health precinct at Westmead is coming.
So, Parramatta is a city on the make. And the numbers tell us why. The NSW government’s population projections show Greater Sydney growing by more than 1.5 million people over the next two decades. The City of Parramatta’s population is forecast to grow by over 75,000 over the next decade alone.
Presented as objective fact, too often it’s forgotten that such numbers are primarily expressions not of a certain future but of a recent past, projected forward in time. Today’s population projections are comprised, to no small extent, by yesterday’s migration policies. They are not an inevitable future, but an intentional one, a story about where we want to go.
Western Sydney attracts a high proportion of Australia’s migrants. Parramatta, in particular, is a city being radically reshaped to meet the volume of demand projected off the back of this recent, record-breaking intake. Between the 2001 and 2016 census dates, the city welcomed almost 20,000 more Indian-born residents and 16,000 Chinese-born arrivals.
Over the same period, the number of Parramatta’s Australian-born grew by just 6,000. Today, the proportion of Parramatta’s population that identifies as Australian by ancestry is just 13%, compared to 23% for Australia as a whole.
Clearly, Parramatta’s A$10 billion transformation is preparing the city for a future that will be culturally distinct from its past. Australia’s next great city is emerging as a beacon of our nation’s hopeful, cosmopolitan future, built on growth, multiplied. But what kind of city will it be?
What makes a city
A city, after all, is more than the sum of its speculative real estate invest- ments and projected demand. Cities, as Leonie Sandercock reflected in her essay Practicing Utopia, are “neither organisms nor machines. They are flesh and stone intertwined. They are ‘built thought’.”
Surely, to be great a city must capture our imaginations. It must offer, all at once, a place to get lost in and a place in which to belong. In great cities we seek both refuge in the crowd and a sense of connection with something bigger than our selfies.
The greatest cities of the world also immerse us in experiential encounters with the archaeology of other eras. They are storied landscapes. Walking through these cities, we quite naturally absorb the daily integration of archaic infrastructures – horse troughs, cobblestones, ceramic piping – with the computationally connected services of our emergent present.
It is through the remnant traces of past eras that we can imagine a sense of physical connection with those who came before us. We hear a lot about the challenges that population growth brings to Australian cities. Mostly, we are conditioned to thinking of these challenges as infrastructural, or monetary.
But as our new, denser urban forms are rapidly realised, with forests of cranes and thickets of high-rise apartments replacing the sleepy suburbs that once represented the Australian dream, we’re also going to need to rebuild, as it were, the narratives of place and of belonging that define our cities.
As Robert Hughes once said, delivering a <a href="http://www.teachingheritage.nsw.edu.au/section07/d_ntref_hughes.php" target="_blank">National Trust lecture</a> in 1998 on Australia’s forgotten histories:
"An urban culture that predicates itself chiefly on an obsession with development is not worth having. A city needs deep memory, without which it becomes merely a stage set."
It is the accumulation of stories and experiences inscribed in built form that gives a place its distinct identity. Such stories are not only for the culturally sensitive: they drive real-estate investment too. When a city is rebuilt from scratch, we risk losing these stories and connections.
Australian cities have never been particularly good at celebrating the stories of people and place that have shaped them over time. Is this still true? More and more, our planners, designers, architects and developers seek to use the resources of the past to cultivate a contemporary sense of place. Decades of urban sprawl and featureless, automobile-dependent suburban landscapes have led to a renewed push for the creation of “liveable” urban identities that celebrate place and community.
The art of city building is now the art of place-making. In this context, local heritage becomes an asset; an important contributor to both economic and cultural vitality. You can see this in the prices paid for the converted warehouse buildings and sugar mills dotted across the suburban landscape.
So, if it’s going to be Australia’s next great city, the radical rebuilding of Parramatta is also an opportunity to ask questions about how we make use of the past as a resource for building the future.
Parramatta – a gathering place
So often celebrated within historical accounts as the “cradle of the colony”, Parramatta’s history has been synonymous with the story of Australia’s beginnings as a nation.
This, after all, is where Australia’s identity as an agricultural nation was first forged. Having followed Arthur Phillip down the river in search of arable land, it is where early convicts successfully proved not only the economic viability of the fledgling colony, but their worthiness as free citizens. It is likewise in Parramatta that the British government first tested its limits of moral and administrative governance in its new colony through the building of not only the first Government House, but also of prisons, factories, asylums and “native institutions”.
This heroic story about Parramatta’s colonial foundations continues to be told through sites like Experiment Farm, the Parramatta Female Factory and the many other colonial administration buildings that remain. You walk into the Parramatta Heritage Centre and you will learn much about this story. And yet, cleaving to the notion of European founding, somehow standing in for the beginning of time, has in turn obscured other narratives.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229558/original/file-20180727-106521-1mh522t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229558/original/file-20180727-106521-1mh522t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The Parramatta Female Factory continues to tell Parramatta’s colonial story. <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Parramatta_Female_Factory.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>
Parramatta’s founding is a big story, particularly when it helps forge the identity of Australia as a largely Europeanised nation. But the cradle story has also contributed to a certain blindness about the experiences of people in Parramatta since the days of Phillip and his men. It excludes millennia of Aboriginal occupation, their custodianship of the environment and continuing urban presence, as well as the great diversity of people who have arrived here from nations across the globe.
Rich as it is, Parramatta’s story requires considerable rethinking and public conversation in order to bring it into a stronger relation with the present. As Australia’s next great city appears in view, this dialogue is beginning to happen, and new evidence is being found within the rubble. A cultural plan for the new CBD released by the City of Parramatta in 2017 acknowledges that Parramatta “always was, always will be, a gathering place”.
An archaeological analysis recently undertaken by Comber Consultants as part of the redevelopment of Parramatta Square has tentatively found the area may have been used as a gathering place for at least some 5,000 years. Such discoveries prompt a reassessment of the nature and experience of early interactions between settlers and Aboriginal peoples.
This gathering place likewise witnessed the “Battle of Parramatta” in 1797, when a hundred Aboriginal warriors led by Pemulwuy arrived in formation down George Street. They were fighting against the many injustices inflicted upon them by the new arrivals. Pemulwuy would be shot, his warriors dispersed.
A rich history
The City of Parramatta commissioned us in 2017 to offer an account of Parramatta’s many “waves of migration”, a project inspired by this revived notion of Parramatta as a gathering place. We found that not all the convicts who first settled here were European. Africans and Indians were among the first convicts.
The different nationalities caught up in the convict system reflected a number of diverse political struggles being fought at the time of European arrival in Sydney. Political activists from around the world included the Scottish “martyrs” of 1794 and 1795, Irish rebels of 1798 and 1803, trade unionists and insurrectionists from Canada, military prisoners from India and rebellious slaves from the West Indies.
In the early years of Parramatta’s settlement there are records of the presence of various Maori, Afro-Americans, Indian, Chinese, Maltese and others. There is a long association in Parramatta with Maori connecting to the colony through trade, shipping, whaling and missionary activity.
Parramatta was also central, we found, to the story of Australia’s embrace of immigration after the second world war. The formation of a federal department for immigration after the war, and massive growth of European migration from the late 1940s through the 1960s, would alter the fabric of Australian life in decisive ways.
Parramatta, where experiments in European food production were first tried and tested, is also where our early experiments in migrant support took place. It was here that many new arrivals from war-torn Europe first settled. An American naval base hospital, established in Granville Park in 1942, was used after 1945 as one of the first hostels for migrants. Other migrant hostels were located in nearby Ermington, Dundas and Villawood to accommodate displaced persons and recent migrants.
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229560/original/file-20180727-106499-3zqqsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229560/original/file-20180727-106499-3zqqsw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""></a>
The US naval base hospital in Granville Park was used to house migrants after 1945. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/holroydlibrary/3382868089/in/photolist-6a1gFb-69W5Wx-69W5PT/" target="_blank">Holroyd City Library/Flickr</a>, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY</a>
We saw that over the 20th century processes of “chain migration” would shape Parramatta fundamentally. Chain migration – the term used to describe how migrants follow others from their town to a new host destination – was most strongly practised by Lebanese and Greek communities.
We learned of the significance of two women from the Lebanese village of Kfarsghab, Rosie Broheen and Zahra Youssef Assad Rizk, who were among the first to have settled in Parramatta, after arriving in Australia in the late 1890s. Since their arrival, families from the Kfarsghab village continued to migrate to Parramatta, a process that intensified as part of the post-war wave of migration to Sydney. Chain migration was actively supported by Australian migration policy at this time, which placed strong emphasis on family reunion.
By 2008, an estimated 10,000 people in Parramatta could trace their ancestry to the village of Kfarsghab. Indeed, the importance of Parramatta to this community was commemorated when the main street of the village in Lebanon was renamed Parramatta Road. Another Lebanese village of importance to Parramatta is the Maronite village of Hadchit in northern Lebanon. There are now about 500 Hadchiti households in areas such as Westmead and Harris Park.
We found great gaps in knowledge about the continued presence of Aboriginal people after the initial years of contact (gaps that are beginning to be filled). One woman we spoke to said she was sick of hearing about “her culture” being thousands of years old while not being listened to in the present.
And so, while we did gather together diverse stories of migration and movement in and around Parramatta – sometimes free movements, some under adverse circumstances – what was ever-present was the invisibility of lives not previously deemed of any real importance to the evolving story of Parramatta and its role in accommodating different ideas about Australia’s place in the world.
Keeping place
In commissioning our research, the City of Parramatta Council has sought to fill some of the gaps in its historical knowledge of migration impacts on the city. It plans to acknowledge and celebrate these many experiences – of both gathering and dispersal – through interpretive artworks within new developments like Parramatta Square. There are hopes for a “Keeping Place” that acknowledges stories of Indigenous lives, including their dispossession.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100652/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Through ongoing practices of interpretation, documentation and story-telling, as well as continuing dialogue about the most appropriate future uses of significant historical sites such as Parramatta Park and the Parramatta Female Factory, we hope Australia’s next great city can also be a place where new cultural imaginaries of place can be celebrated. Looking beyond the exaggerated localism of much local history and the “foundational narrative” of colonial beginnings, Parramatta is a place where many different versions of becoming Australian can be cultivated and explored.
Sarah Barns, Engaged Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University 
Phillip Mar, Research Associate in Cultural and Social Research, Western Sydney University
This piece is republished with permission from <a href="https://griffithreview.com/editions/who-we-are/" target="_blank">Who We Are</a>, the 61st edition of Griffith Review, via <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. 
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Reimagining Parramatta: a place to discover Australia's many stories

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A former naval site on the Sydney Harbour has been unveiled to the public, after being out of bounds for 150 years to Sydneysiders.
The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust has launched a national campaign aimed at opening up the former HMAS Platypus site — part of Australia’s maritime history — to the public and re-launching the site as Sub Base Platypus. 
The former submarine workshops will be revitalised to provide terraces, streets, squares and gardens for public by the waterfront, along with retail spaces such as cafes and shops.
The Harbour Trust, which looks after historical sites on the Sydney Harbour, has called for expressions of interest to turn the 1.8 hectare site into a cultural, community and commercial hub, according to a media release. The campaign closes on October 31.
Parts of the site will be opened to the public from mid 2018, with the bulk of the work on the buildings expected to proceed over the next two years. 
While unveiling the campaign, the Federal MP for North Sydney, Trent Zimmerman, said he was pleased to see one of the Harbour’s most important historical and industrial locations opened up to the public after 150 years. 
“Under its legislation, the Harbour Trust has a responsibility to ensure the site is opened up to the public and to contribute to its further protection, which is why the Government is happy to support this call for cultural, community and commercial groups to become part of the Sub Base Platypus story,”  Zimmermann said. 
The Chair of the Harbour Trust’s Board, Kevin McCann, said the while the industrial heritage values of the buildings will be retained, the buildings and public spaces will be adapted for the public recreation and the revenue raised would be invested back into the parklands.
The site has a lettable area of 12,000 sqm with spaces available ranging from 35 sqm through to the Torpedo factory, at 6,630 sqm. 
The Torpedo Factory is the largest building on site with three floors. At the height of the wartime production, the factory employed 200 civilian workers.
“Once completed, we will see Sub Base Platypus become a special destination for Sydneysiders and visitors alike, providing a range of facilities and venues for cultural performances, function areas, cafes and restaurants, as well as offices and commercial spaces,” said chief executive of the Harbour Trust, Mary Darwell. 
The site is Cammeraygal Country and was once a gasworks providing gas for street lights, homes and businesses on the North Shore of Sydney. As part of the war effort, the site was resumed by the Commonwealth Government in 1942 and became a torpedo manufacturing and maintenance factory as well as a service facility for the naval vessels of the Pacific Fleet. 
In 1967 the site was commissioned as the base for the Royal Australian Navy’s Oberon-class submarines and was named HMAS Platypus. The submarine base was closed in 1998 and the asset was transferred to the Harbour Trust in 2005.
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

Former naval site at Sydney Harbour to be redeveloped as public spaces

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Port Arthur Villas, a set of self-contained getaway units near Hobart, has recently sold for an undisclosed sum.
The freehold property, located opposite the Port Arthur Historic Site, went to the market with price expectations of $1,45 million.
The <a href="https://www.realcommercial.com.au/property-hotel+leisure-tas-port+arthur-5337846" target="_blank">complex</a> includes a residence, reception and laundry building, nine four star units in three separate blocks, tractor shed, barbecue shelter and surplus development land all set amongst landscaped gardens and lawn on 1.2 hectares.
The target price was split as $450,000 for the residence and $1,000,000 for the nine units. It last traded for $300,000 in 2006, according to RP Data.
The property was built from 1987 to 1989 and the units were upgraded in 2006 for more than $100,000. They have a private sewerage system, town water, plus a large dam fed by a running creek.
The residence spans two-storeys and has three bedrooms and a private courtyard.
The property is only a five-minute walk to the historic site. Previous DA approval was received for adding six more villa units.
World heritage-listed Port Arthur Historic Site is among the most significant convict era sites in Australia and worldwide. Port Arthur attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year.
The vendor wanted to sell as he is retiring.
The selling agent was Knight Frank's John Blacklow.
<img src="/images/2016/11/21/PortArthur1.png" alt="">
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