Lord Mayor wants South Brisbane high towers built to rent

Taller apartment towers are again planned for South Brisbane as Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner looks to accommodate another 10,000 residents in the area.

The proposal is contained in a redevelopment plan for Brisbane’s Kurilpa Precinct, bordered by the Brisbane River between Hanson Concrete at West End and the old Pauls Milk Factory at South Brisbane.

Brisbane City Council is proposing taller towers than envisaged in a controversial 2014 rethink of the Kurilpa Penisula.

Schrinner said the move reflected a desire to build up, not out, where there were services to support such development.

He said local public transport connections, combined with the prohibitive cost of carparks for developers, should deliver population more people but not as many cars.

While the Lord Mayor suggested affordable housing could be factored into the mix, he said there would be incentives for developers and financiers to make South Brisbane a build-to-rent hotspot.

“They’re really interested in this, and they’re really interested in hanging onto this for the longer term,” Schrinner told the Queensland Media Club on Thursday.

“And that way we can then work with those people to make sure there’s ongoing and long-term supply of rental accommodation.”

“And urban sprawl is a really big challenge for cities around the world.”

Schrinner said the council was running out of land for large greenfield residential estates and wanted to concentrate more on “urban consolidation”.

South Brisbane is well serviced by public transport and car and green bridges, and is already at a higher density than many suburbs.

An artist’s impression of a 30-storey tower proposed for Boundary Street at South Brisbane.

“It is actually hard to find a better location within the city than Kurilpa for all of those things,” he said.

“It has the train line, it has the Brisbane Metro coming, it has the City Glider, it has great facilities and it is literally within walking distance to the CBD.”

In one application currently before council, developers have proposed a 30-storey tower on Boundary Street - the existing limit, which on that site would stand 93 metres tall. It has also referenced the long-standing plan to transform Kurilpa “into a finer grain street and pedestrian network supporting an intensification of land use and a transition towards a vibrant inner-city neighbourhood”.

Under Schrinner’s proposal, developers would be able to lodge applications for towers up to 274 metres high, which is Brisbane’s aviation safety ceiling height and taller than 1 William Street.

“By putting new homes close to where the transport is, close to where the facilities are, we can create a precinct that I think will become Brisbane’s most sustainable community.”

Schrinner did not detail the impact of the previous apartment boom in South Brisbane and West End, which left the local schools crammed, forcing hurried expansions from the state government.

A previous Kurilpa growth plan was called in by then deputy premier Jackie Trad in 2015 and criticised for failing to adequately consider the impact of population growth.

Schrinner said the proposal would allow for a mix of building heights, and not necessarily add to road congestion in the area.

“It will be a place where you can choose to have a car,” he said.

“You won’t need a car, but you can choose to have a car, but you won’t need one, because of the great access to public transport and great walking and cycling.”

Labor’s council leader Jared Cassidy questioned whether the proposal would provide more affordable housing and again called for the release of a citywide housing strategy.

“We need a comprehensive strategy that meets the needs of Brisbane residents whether they live in South Brisbane or out in the suburbs like Bald Hills or Pallara,” Cassidy said.