Frank Reveals Fourth Project for Brisbane’s Teneriffe Pocket

It lodged plans for Ducale in August of 2022, with the original 37-apartment scheme subsequently reduced to 26 apartments.

The revised proposal included five double-storey, three-bedroom homes designed by BYculprit.

The eight-storey scheme was approved in September, 2023.

The developer then added Murano at 37 Wyandra Street, a 45-apartment, 10-level project also designed by BYculprit. That scheme is now under construction, with its mix of one to four-bedroom apartments topped by two half-floor penthouses.

In August, Frank filed plans for its third Wyandra Street project, The Francis, at 22–40 Wyandra Street with the Brisbane City Council.

The 147-apartment proposal would rise to 22 storeys and occupy four lots between Wyandra and Wyatt streets. It was designed by Cavill Architects and includes 413sq m of ground-floor retail, food and drink space, and a pedestrian connection through the site.

Elena, which Frank said plans for were now before the city, takes the developer further south onto Helen Street.

Licastro said the concentration of projects at Teneriffe had created a responsibility to consider the broader neighbourhood.

▲ A rendering of Elena, an eight-storey-plus-rooftop development slated for 26–30 Helen Street designed by Cavill Architects.

“We’ve become deeply invested in this pocket, and with that comes a responsibility to think beyond the individual site,” he said.

“By acquiring neighbouring sites, we’re able to take a more considered view of how buildings sit together, protect important outlooks, create appropriate setbacks and deliver design outcomes that strengthen the character of the neighbourhood.”

With Elena, Frank is proposing 38 homes across eight levels plus a rooftop, with the project weighted towards larger three-bedroom apartments and owner-occupier living.

The design draws on two defining elements of the area: Teneriffe’s historic woolstores and the greenery and subtropical character of the nearby James Street precinct, the developer said.

The Helen Street site is on the edge of Teneriffe’s Heritage Sub-Precinct and is surrounded by former woolstores, with the project using their masonry, scale and architectural rhythm as references for a contemporary design.

A landscaped porte-cochère would lead to a glazed lobby, while planting would continue across the podium, balconies and façades to a rooftop garden.

▲ Frank said the Elena design drew on two defining elements of the area: Teneriffe’s historic woolstores and the subtropical character of James Street.

Deep balconies and operable façades are designed to improve cross ventilation and provide protection from Brisbane’s western afternoon sun.

The ground-floor homes would have private outdoor areas and pools, while upper-level residences would have views towards Teneriffe, the Brisbane River and Brisbane city skyline.

The rooftop would include three pools, with private pools for each of the two penthouses flanking a communal western-facing pool and resident entertaining area.

Three basement levels would provide 102 car spaces.

Frank Developments project director James Strahan said Elena was designed to respond to Teneriffe’s architectural history.

“Teneriffe possesses one of Brisbane’s richest architectural histories, and our ambition was to create a building that belongs to that story rather than competes with it,” Strahan said.