Allambi Moves on $54m Shoptop Scheme at Balmain

Plans for a $54-million shoptop scheme in Sydney’s Balmain have gone on exhibition, with Allambi Property proposing 36 homes and two retail spaces.

The 2860sq m site at 189 Darling Street, 7 Waterview Street and 2 Colgate Avenue includes frontage to Balmain’s major retail strip.

About 3km west of the Sydney CBD, it falls within the Waterview Estate Heritage Conservation Area, although no individual elements are protected.

The design by Woods Bagot would replace 1960s shoptop building on the site with a four-storey and a five-storey building sharing a basement. A sandstone cottage would be retained and adapted for retail use.

That 1960s shoptop building was designed by Frank Kolos and James Howard Bryant, whose 1969 Hilton Hotel in Sydney was described by Architecture Australia as “an unfortunate tower-and podium scheme… in a configuration of breathtaking ugliness”.

Typologies would include six one, 18 two, 11 three, and a single four-bedroom apartments. Basement parking would be available for 45 cars and four motorcycles, as well as 35 bicycle lockers.

▲ The existing FSR control would be exhausted with less than two storeys of development, the proposal argues.

Among other variations to local development standards, the application is calling for an increase in permitted floor space ratio from 0.7:1 to 1.52:1. That 118 per cent increase would yield gross floor area of 4374sq m.

Landscaped area of 383sq m is proposed, which would fall below the control of 20 per cent (or 572sq m). No height limit currently applies to the site.

A local diverse housing control would require fewer three-bedroom units and more one-bedroom units, but Allambi has applied for a variation on the grounds that the proposed mix provides sufficient diversity.

▲ A sandstone cottage on the site would be retained for adaptive re-use as retail space.

It’s not the first urban renewal project in a Sydney lifestyle suburb for Allambi, after a 2023 proposal for a 16-apartment re-mix at 22-234 Bondi Road and 1 Wellington Street. The developer is lead by managing director Shaun Bond, who brings a Lendlease pedigree, and chief financial officer Jacki Bond, formerly of Goldman Sachs.

Uplift targets for Balmain uncertain

In September 2025, the Inner West Council voted to approve the Our Fairer Future plan, an alternative to the state government’s Transport Oriented Development scheme. Under the Our Fairer Future model, an additional 20,000 to 30,000 homes will be added to the local government area, with a focus on transport infrastructure hubs.

▲ The design by Woods Bagot would respect quieter residential frontage along Waterview Street, according to the application.

However, home targets and uplift for Balmain, Rozelle and Lilfyfield will not be finalised until masterplanning for the Bays West precinct has been completed. Earlier this month, the Minns government announced an 8500-home scheme for that suburb. A government spokesperson told The Urban Developer that rezoning for Bays West is intended to be complete by 2030 at the latest.

Meanwhile, developer Perifa won the first contract under the NSW government’s Pre-Sale Finance Guarantee program in January. That project, a $285-million, 225-apartment redevelopment of the beleaguered Balmain Leagues Club site, will sell 32 homes into public ownership if no other bidders are found.