Darwin apartments: SR Developments plots 11-unit tower at 150 Smith St, Larrakeyah
The developer behind what could be just the second high-density residential tower in Darwin’s inner suburbs in the last seven years has given insight into the pressure developers are under to make a buck in the current landscape.
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A developer has submitted an application for what could be only the second new residential apartment block commenced in Darwin in the last seven years.
Melbourne outfit SR Developments has lodged an application with the Development Consent Authority (DCA) to erect an eight-storey, 11-unit residential tower at 150 Smith St, Larrakeyah.
The 992 sqm site currently contains a single residential dwelling and adjoins the seven-storey Chelsea residential tower at 148 Smith St.
According to documents filed with the DCA, the development would include 10 two-bedroom units and one five-bedroom, two-storey penthouse.
Each unit would include a 22 sqm balcony with hanging vine walls, two ensuite bathrooms, and “open plan kitchen/living/dining area and a large study/home office”.
“Each apartment is large and spacious and will be prime for a young family or work from home professionals,” the development documents state.
The residential tower would also feature 23 carparking spaces and shared amenities including a tiled barbecue area, seating area, swimming pool, extensive landscaping and an enclosed gym on the ground floor.
In its application, the developer appeared to have misapplied the relevant zoning scheme – but inadvertently provided a window into the sorts of pressures developers are under to make a buck in Australia’s high inflation, high interest rate environment.
Believing the site to be subject to density controls – the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment (DLPE) said it wasn’t, falling within the Central Darwin Area Plan which – the developer said it would have no choice but to exceed the density limits, albeit slightly, in order to make a buck.
“The total density proposed is 1110 sqm which is over the 992 sqm density available,” SR Developments stated in its application documents.
“This density for this designed apartment product is required to ensure project feasibility in Darwin within an environment of high interest rates and escalating construction costs.
“It is necessary to grant these apartments to remain a profitable project that is likely to get built.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ most recent Producer Price Indexes report, the cost of delivering residential apartment blocks by 25.3 per cent between the September 2020 and June 2024 quarters.
Meanwhile, in the decade since the March 2014 quarter, the median price Darwin units fetch on the market has tumbled from $525,000 to $390,000 (they plunged as low as $280,000 at the height of Covid-19) – squeezing developer margins at both ends.
The construction of new high-density apartment blocks in Darwin City and its inner suburb has been negligible in recent years.
Earlier this year, construction began on The Athanasiou Group of Companies’ 10-storey, $12m LUXE boutique apartments at 35 McMinn St, Darwin City – the first new project of its type commenced in seven years.
The total value of residential building – both single and multiple dwellings – has tumbled from about $200m a year in 2013–14, to about a quarter of that in 2023–24.
In a statement, a DLPE spokesman said the Central Darwin Area Plan – which covers the area between Cullen Bay and Stuart Park, including Darwin City – supports higher density developments “to cater for short and long term population growth”.
“There are zones in the NT Planning Scheme that encourage high rise housing options – with none of these zones having prescriptive density controls,” he said.
The scheme does not take into account market conditions and economic factors such as interest rates, demand, supply chains, labour force availability and costs of building materials, the spokesman added.
The Urban Development Institute of Australia NT was contacted for comment.
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Originally published as Darwin apartments: SR Developments plots 11-unit tower at 150 Smith St, Larrakeyah
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