Boarding House Plans Bank on Neutral Bay Upgrade

Plans to redevelop the Pickled Possum Bar into a shoptop boarding house could be the first of many changes to Neutral Bay Town Centre.

The North Sydney Council is preparing a planning study for the suburb looking at increased height, density and employment while retaining the region’s village atmosphere. 

The application from Laundry Partners Pty Ltd for a six-storey development was submitted ahead of the planning study.

It would replace a row of shops including the bar for a combined 829sq m site at 246-254 Military Road, Neutral Bay.

The short-stay accommodation would provide 78 self-contained boarding rooms with five communall living rooms, plus kitchens, bathroom and laundry facilities.

The Scanlan Architects-designed shoptop property will provide more affordable and diverse housing in the area, according to the developers.

“In the North Sydney Local Government Area, an estimated 2400 bed spaces in boarding houses were lost between 1984 and 2013. This was due to the redevelopment of sites across the LGA,” the report by Mod Urban said.

“There is strong demand for this type of housing to accommodate key workers and young professionals in the area and the site is well-located close to a range of public transport and key services.

“Accordingly, the proposed development could assist with the shortfall in student housing and low income housing in the area.”

▲ The existing buildings and streetscape of Military Road at Neutral Bay were recognised in a 2021 study.

The Neutral Bay Town Centre planning study is in the draft stages and is expected to go on exhibition in September. 

Earlier this decade, the council undertook a Military Road Corridor Planning Study, which was adopted in 2021.

It suggested future development would be supported by three new public plazas and the relocation of the Grosvenor Lane carpark underground to create an art alley and community centre in its place.

In this process 435 submissions were made to a draft future direction report—shown during the study—and more than half of the residents supported a modest height increase to eight storeys but thought 12 storeys was inappropriate.

Currently, this section of Military Road is zoned as mixed-use with a height limit of 16 metres.