Aspial doubles up on Brisbane megatowers

Singaporean developer Aspial wants to build a second Brisbane apartment building of 91 storeys.

Aspial Brisbane

Not content with one megatower in Brisbane, Singaporean developer Aspial will move ahead with the construction of a second skyrise apartment building of 91 storeys.

Aspial subsidiary World Class Land has lodged a development application with Brisbane City Council for the development at 240 Margaret Street, the second to reach the maximum allowable height, after securing approval for a similar size building at 30 Albert Street.

It bought the Albert Street site for $36 million in 2014, nearly double the price paid for the property by vendor Cornerstone in 2013.

It is proposing a 783-apartment development with a gross floor area of more than 61,000sq m on the site, designed by Cox Rayner Architects.

The company has also engaged Cardno to work on the development process.

The latest proposal follows the approval of the $460m Albert Street development, which will contain 732 units, and comes as several commentators have begun to question whether there could be an oversupply developing in Brisbane.

Aspial declined to comment when contacted yesterday.

The Margaret Street tower is adjacent to where AMP Capital is making progress on the 90-storey Skytower, which will add more than 1100 apartments to the city’s unit supply.

Brisbane’s off-the-plan apartment market slowed in the December quarter with 1300 units selling at an average price of $613,631 — substantially cheaper than similar properties in southern capitals.

Unconditional sales dropped 7 per cent in the December quarter compared with the September quarter with 2208 new residential apartments remaining for sale across the inner Brisbane market — a supply of around five months.

Despite worries in Brisbane, Aspial has continued to make progress on its first major project — Australia 108 in Melbourne.

Last September it appointed Brookfield Multiplex to build the $1 billion development, which was designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects and will include 1105 apartments over 100 storeys.

It has already sold the 750sq m penthouse to a Chinese national for $25m, and is planning two penthouses for the Margaret Street project.