Developer dumps office space for new Brisbane riverside unit tower

A four-storey riverside office building at Milton could soon make way for a 30-storey residential tower, with development plans lodged with Brisbane City Council this week.

The applicant, Silverstone Developments, already had council approval to construct a 26-storey office building on the Coronation Drive site, before pivoting to a residential development.

“We had a pretty good crack at trying to get some bigger office tenants, but with cap rates blowing out to where they are, it just makes more financial sense [to build residential at the site],” Silverstone development manager Wade Fraser said.

The proposed tower overlooks Coronation Drive to the Brisbane River.Credit: Woods Bagot

Despite the additional storeys, both the approved office building and the proposed residential tower reached a height of 110.05 metres.

If built, the Woods Bagot-designed 299 Coronation Drive would be of a similar size to the proposed Kings Row development about 300 metres along the road and approved in December.

It would have a gross floor area of 25,905 square metres and include a four-storey podium, with 192 units spread over 26 storeys.

In an unusual mix for Brisbane, where one- and two-bedroom units dominated, 144 of the units would have three bedrooms, with the other 48 having two.

“The demand for that kind of product in that western corridor is quite strong,” Fraser said.

“...There’s quite an affluent market through Saint Lucia, Paddington and those surrounding suburbs, which potentially could be looking to downsize.

“And it’s a good buying opportunity for groups and people from down south – if you’re in Sydney and you can get a three-bedder on the river in Brisbane, that’s such a great opportunity.”

There would be seven carparking levels containing 291 spaces.

The podium levels at the base of the tower.Credit: Woods Bagot

In its assessment report prepared on Silverstone’s behalf and submitted to the council, town planning firm Urban Strategies says the 2339-square-metre site is prime for residential development.

“The site has direct access to major road networks, public transport infrastructure (including the Milton Ferry Terminal and the Milton Railway Station) and active transport infrastructure along the Brisbane River (Bicentennial Bikeway),” it says.

Because the site was zoned for office use, Silverstone’s proposal was considered impact assessable, meaning it would have to go out to public consultation.

“We think there’ll be a fair bit of support for it,” Fraser said.

“It’s in an area which has traditionally been more dominated by office and lighter industrial product, but it’s five minutes from the city. It’s across the road from the ferry terminal.

“We’ve got Park Road right there and, at the end of the day, it’s one of the very few riverfront near-city sites in Brisbane that may be able to have residential.”

It was the latest in a string of development applications switching out approved office buildings for residential projects.

Morris Property Group shifted from a planned 24-storey office building to a 33-storey residential tower by the river at North Quay.

That came months after plans for a Fortitude Valley office tower were canned in favour or a build-to-rent residential development, due to a shift in the property market.