Brightlands’ Co-Living Tower Greenlit for Olympic Suburb

Brightlands Living will push ahead with its plans to build a 14-storey co-living and specialist disability accommodation tower at Woolloongabba after the Brisbane City Council greenlit the project. 

Two-time Olympian Ed Fernon established Brightlands Living, focused on creating inclusive communities with a focus on wellness and belonging.

Two houses will make way for the tower at 155-159 Regent Street at Woolloongabba.

The tower will comprise 57 co-living units, 48 two-bedroom apartments and 15 specialist disability accommodation units on the 2024sq m amalgamated site behind Buranda Village and near to the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The Place Studio-designed tower is aimed at creating a “wellness community that caters to a range of residents with different housing needs”, including traditional apartments, co-living, and NDIS apartments.

▲ Two houses will make way for the 14-storey mixed-use tower in the heart of the hospital precinct.

It’s the Sydney-based developer’s first Queensland development, with two other projects in NSW, one of which included building yurt tents behind a heritage property in Leura.

The project would provide an additional 117 dwellings to an already-stressed rental market in south-east Queensland.

The Domain Rental Vacancy Report for November showed Brisbane’s vacancy rate was below the national average at 0.7 per cent.

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said the data showed no signs of an improvement after October’s national record low. 

“Tenants continue to face tough conditions in this competitive market, with asking rents on a record-breaking streak of increases,” Powell said.

“Seasonally we see a lift in vacant rentals at this time of the year as the rental market moves into the busy changeover period. 

“With affordability constraints continuing into the new year, we may see current tenants shift towards more affordable rental options during this changeover.”