Reforms Spark Billbergia’s 9-Storey Chatswood Upsize

Billbergia is adding affordable housing to its Chatswood project as it joins developers making the most of NSW incentives.

The prolific developer’s updated proposals, which were initially filed with Willoughby Council in early 2024, are now on exhibition via the State Significant Development (SSD) pathway. 

The project, planned for a site at 849, 853, and 859 Pacific Highway and 2 and 8 Wilson Street, consists of a dual-tower built form. 

The site was rezoned in 2023, and an architectural design competition was undertaken and plans filed thereafter.

By October of 2024, Billbergia had filed a deemed refusal appeal with the Land and Environment Court, as well as going back to the drawing board to propose the current scheme that bypasses the council thanks to the SSD process.

The new proposal was “generally consistent” with the original design, Billbergia’s application said, but would reach 36 storeys rather than the previously planned 27 storeys.

It has taken advantage of the up to 30 per cent uplift in floor-space ratio and building height provisions allowed by the Housing SEPP reforms. 

▲ A rendering of Billbergia’s Chatswood dual-tower project.

The NSW Government reforms that came into effect last year have proven exceptionally popular with developers.

Tapping into these incentives for its Chatswood project, Billbergia upped the apartment number from 251 units to 332 units. 

Of those, 239 had been allocated as market apartments and 59 as affordable units, providing at least 10 per cent of the total floor space as affordable housing for at least 15 years, the developer said.

The remainder will include designated live/work apartments, also called Small Office Home Office (Soho) units, which will allow apartment buyers to also buy office space within a shared podium.

The project, which has an estimated development cost of $310 million, would include six basement levels with parking for 390 cars and 368 bikes.

Billbergia’s application said it was “uniquely positioned” to deliver affordable housing given its relationships with community housing providers. 

▲ PBD Architects designed the Pacific Highway project.

Progressing with the original scheme submitted without affordable housing “would not capitalise on the bonus scheme introduced by the NSW Government and not deliver much needed affordable housing in an accessible location”, the environmental impact statement from Urbis said.

The developer signalled its interest in further affordable housing projects when it announced its partnership with Metrics Credit Partners to deliver an 80-storey Sydney CBD project, which like many Billbergia projects is geared to market housing, either high-end or aimed at young professionals and downsizers.