Consolidated Properties Files Three-Tower Plan for ABC Site

New plans for a three-tower, $520-million project on the former ABC Toowong site in Brisbane’s inner-west have been unveiled by Consolidated Properties Group.

But the development proposal is likely to be reduced to two towers to make way for one of Brisbane City Council’s planned green bridges.

The Brisbane-based developer lodged its plans for the 1.5ha riverfront site at 600 Coronation Drive, which it purchased from Sunland in March for $43.5 million, with the council on Friday.

To be known as Monarch, the development application outlines plans for three residential buildings up to 15 storeys designed by John Wardle Architects with the heritage-registered Middenbury House retained as a key element.

But according to Consolidated Properties’ head of residential James MacGinley, the expectation is that one tower site will be resumed for the construction of the Toowong-West End Green Bridge.

“We are working closely with the Brisbane City Council’s green bridges team to maximise the use of open public space while producing a world-class outcome for the precinct at the same time,” he said.

“The council previously identified the site as one of its three preferred locations for the bridge, which is expected to be built at the end of 2023.

“The bridge is a big win for cyclists and pedestrians and will be a key linkage to Monarch, which will also include a dedicated pedestrian walkway and a separate dedicated cycle path connecting Coronation Drive through to Archer Street," MacGinley said.

If the bridge plan proceeds and one of the three proposed towers is skittled, Monarch will comprise 233 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments to be priced from $550,000 through to $7-million-plus for the penthouses. It will also feature 12,500sq m of landscaped gardens—3000sq m of which are public parkland and pathways connected to the riverfront.

“It is a unique site,” MacGinlay said. “There is no better-connected site in Brisbane than 600 Coronation Drive, which has rail, bus, ferry, pedestrian and cycleway linkages as well as a proposed green bridge at its doorstep.”

If approved, construction is expected to start in the second half of next year and completed within 24 months.

John Wardle Architects partner Stefan Mee said the design emerged from the natural qualities of the site, which includes 100m-plus of direct frontage to the Brisbane River.

“The overall design intent is to draw the character of the riverbank into the site, to reintegrate the historic Middenbury House into its reimagined landscape and to integrate the residential towers into a beautifully connected precinct,” Mee said.

Middenbury House will be restored, refurbished and later used for a retail site, with the public able to access the house for the first time since it was built in 1865.

Sunland listed the Toowong site in August last year, after purchasing it in 2013 for $20 million. It abandoned its $600-million plans for a three-tower Zaha Hadid-designed development after a Court of Appeal decision in 2018 held firm on the site’s strict height limitations.

Prior to Sunland’s ownership, the site was ABC’s headquarters until December 2006. It is zoned residential and mixed-use.