Mid-Rise Mixed-Use DAs Target Inner West Light Rail Stations

A Hong Kong-listed developer, and a BTR specialist, are testing new models at Sydney tram stations with Goldilocks-sized proposals.

A pair of applications for mixed-use mid-rise buildings have landed before Inner West council officers, representing about $72 million in development across the two projects.

Build-to-rent developer and manager Alt Living has lodged a proposal for an $54.9-million, eight-storey co-living tower at 18 Mcgill Street in Summer Hill.

Residential gross floor area across the 202 rooms would equal 5573sq m. With total GFA of 6267sq m, the remainder would be allocated to communal areas and ground-floor retail space.

The 1957sq m site borders Old Canterbury Road, about 6km west of the Sydney CBD, and sits 100m from the Lewisham West light rail station and 450m from the Lewisham train station. 

The project is located on the Greenway, a 6km biking and pedestrian route linking the Cooks River to Iron Cove, and is adjacent to the Hawthorne Canal, which is subject to flooding risk. Parking spaces for 25 cars, four motorcycles, and 67 bicycles would be provided on level 1.

Reflecting the area’s changing character, the site was rezoned from industrial to mixed use in 2019, and an application for an eight-storey building with 57 apartments was approved in 2020. 

That proposal set parameters for height, envelope and massing for the site, as well as enshrining a voluntary planning agreement to provide a public park, community office space at a peppercorn rent, and two studio apartments for council ownership. Alt Living is applying to renegotiate those commitments, replacing the community office space with a dark kitchen for a charity, and pricing two co-living units as affordable.

▲ This would be Alt Living's first Sydney and first co-living project, after BTR developments at Melbourne's 11-41 Buckhurst Street and 100 Buckhurst Street.

The build-to-rent specialist has been backed by Melbourne developer Landream, which has been sharpening plans for its own $900-million mixed-use precinct in Pyrmont. 

Commercial is out and co-living is in for projects across the city, with a Mirvac-John Holland joint venture seeking approval in December 2025 for a swap at the $960-million Waterloo Metro Quarter.

In nearby Lilyfield, the Hong Kong-listed Hopefluent Group has proposed a $17-million six-storey mixed-use building, with 28 apartments above ground-floor commercial space and basement car parking.

▲ Hopefluent has about 4000 full-time employees across Hong Kong and mainland China.

The site at 36 Lonsdale Street and 64-66 Brenan Street is about 5km west of the CBD, and is currently occupied by a two-storey warehouse, a single-storey residence and a single-storey commercial building. It was marketed in 2023 by Raine and Horne, with a guide of $15 million.

Adjacent to the City West Link and just 100m from the Lilyfield light rail station, the 1680sq m site would yield gross floor area of 2517sq m, with just 27sq m dedicated to commercial use and the rest to residential. 

The resulting floor space ratio of 1.5:1 would sit within the site-specific control, above the local control of 0.6:1 for residential development on sites above 450sq m, as a result of a council-led rezoning in 2022. The proposal is also applying for a height variation of 3.6m (or 10.8 per cent) above the limit of 33.2m.

▲ The site is adjacent to a supermarket, a major road, and a light rail station.

Austin Tuon, a director of the proponent’s investment vehicle HFT Lonsdale, has provided architectural services through VTAS Architecture. The three-storey podium would be topped by two elements of five and six storeys, as well as a landscaped rooftop courtyard.

In October 2025, Braxton secured a Lilyfield approval from the local council in just eight weeks, compared to timeframes across broader Sydney of up to 18 months.

The council is seeking to accelerate 30,000 homes over the next 15 years, voting in September last year for a housing-focused Our Fairer Future rezoning plan as an alternative to the NSW government’s Transport-Oriented Development model.

In the 2024 calendar year, Hopefluent reported turnover of HKD$947 million (AUD$180.23 million), falling 27 per cent from 2023 and attributed to ongoing weakness in the Chinese property market. Australia is the first international market for Hopefluent, which is active in real estate and property services as well as development.