Byron Bay to get new housing estate as Tower Holdings wins approval for 149 lots

After years of opposition, a developer will auction lots in Byron Bay’s first housing estate in more than 30 years for an expected $3m each.

Up to 149 homes have been approved for Byron Bay’s newest housing estate.

After years of community opposition, a Sydney developer has ­finally won approval to develop the first house and land estate in Byron Bay in more than three ­decades.

The idyllic northern NSW township’s first masterplanned community, Harvest Byron Bay by Tower Holdings, will offer 149 newly built houses on lots ranging from 450sq m to 900sq m.

The first 10 house-and-land packages will be auctioned off on December 18, with lot sizes beginning at a hefty 450sq m.

Given the median house price in Byron Bay was $2.7m in May, Tower Holdings founder Terry Agnew reckons the house-and-land packages will fetch about $2.95m apiece for a four-bedroom house, with four bathrooms and a double garage.

Some of the house-and-land packages would also feature swimming pools, said Mr Agnew, adding that the estate on Ewingsdale Rd was positioned about 1km from the beach and 2km from Byron’s bustling township.

Byron Bay by Tower Holdings.

Mr Agnew bought the 60ha site eight years ago for $7m. At that stage it was zoned rural and was sold by the mortgagee in ­possession.

The NSW government has since rezoned the parcel.

Mr Agnew said his original partner, developer Villaworld, had at first wanted almost 300 houses built on the site. But after various knockbacks from the council and a visit to the Land and Environment Court, the estate is full steam ahead with the first residents expected to move in from mid 2023.

Mr Agnew, who is also in the process of selling Queensland’s Great Keppel Island for $60m to mining entrepreneur Gina Rinehart, has significantly reduced the amount of house-and-land packages, and says he is building on less than 50 per cent of the Ewingsdale Rd site.

Mr Agnew said because of the high rents in Byron, which went up 30 per cent last year, the sub division would attract investors, who could ­account for 20-30 per cent of ­purchasers.

“I think these houses could rent for $1500-$2000 a week,” he said.

“I think there will be plenty of smart people buying, because it gives you a reasonable return, better than Sydney.”

Mr Agnew expects to retain some of the house-and-land packages himself as an investor.

“The whole area, from Lennox up to the Gold Coast, it’s all in play, it’s so pretty and people can come up and buy a place around Bangalow for $1.5m and work from home,” he said.

The Harvest estate will feature more than 50,000sq m of recreational open space, bike paths, walking tracks plus a community centre and gardens.

Every home will include water tanks, solar panels, electric vehicle chargers and Tesla home ­batteries.

According to Tower Holdings, the development’s design minimises environmental impact with a 49 per cent reduction in the clearing of native vegetation from its original DA scheme and a 30m wide landscape buffer adjacent to Ewingsdale Rd, ensuring it won’t be visible from the road while creating a secluded estate setting.

The site plan will also conserve 38.4ha of existing vegetation, including 2.9ha of existing frog ­habitat, to preserve endangered species of wallum froglet and wallum sedge-frog.

The community will have a “no dogs and cats as pets” rule to protect native wildlife.

House builders Metricon and Brighton Homes have designed Harvest’s homes with spacious indoor living spaces flowing outdoors as well as luxe kitchens featuring Caesarstone benchtops and Fisher & Paykel appliances.

Outside, native planting and landscaping on each block include turf, driveways, a letterbox and a clothesline.

There will be three new parks and several cycleways and paths built throughout the estate. The parks will include a large community park adjoining Ewingsdale Rd, while the new Harvest oval will be perfect for workouts, according to the developers.

Stage one of the project will involve 54 lots with house sizes ranging from 260sq m-365sq m and lot sizes from 450sq m-900sq m.

The marketing agents are Adam Ross of Knight Frank and Su Reynolds of Byron Bay First National.