Fresh Crows Nest Corner Plan Filed After North Sydney Panel Rebuke

Its minutes encouraged the applicant to restart the design process, undertake more robust urban design analysis and consider working with an urban designer.

The council is now considering an 11-apartment shoptop project near Crows Nest Metro, with 348sq m of commercial space and an affordable-housing component underpinning the height uplift.

Yan Honda Architects has designed the four-storey building [rendering at top] for the 681sq m corner, with frontages to Willoughby Road, Holtermann Street and Zig Zag Lane.

Existing structures marked for demolition are a one-storey rendered building with a metal roof at 71 Willoughby Road, a two-storey brick building with a tile roof at 75 Willoughby Road, and a rear carport.

▲ The buildings at 71-75 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest, where revised plans seek 11 apartments above ground-floor retail.

Three ground-floor commercial tenancies would replace existing retail and commercial spaces, with 12 basement car spaces, 11 bicycle spaces and a rooftop communal terrace.

Upper levels would hold two two-bedroom apartments and nine three-bedroom apartments ranging from 106 to 138 square metres.

Both two-bedroom apartments are nominated as adaptable affordable housing.

Planning documents said the affordable component accounts for just over 15 per cent of residential gross floor area, enough to claim a 30 per cent height uplift under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021.

North Sydney’s local controls apply a 10m height limit to the site.

With the bonus, the proposal relies on a 13m envelope, then seeks a Clause 4.6 variation for roof-level elements.

▲ The 681sq m corner site at 71-75 Willoughby Road and 3 Holtermann Street, Crows Nest, highlighted in yellow.

Those exceedances include the lift overrun, parapet, awning, services and parts of the rooftop balustrade.

Following the panel criticism, the project team withdrew the first application, brought in Atlas Urban and returned with a lower-yield design pitched around Crows Nest’s fine-grain retail character, established street wall and corner-building forms.

Ray White marketing material from last year described 71-75 Willoughby Road as a landmark 680sq m freehold that was being offered for the first time in 30 years, with more than 58m of frontage, laneway access and holding income.

Public property records show 71 Willoughby Road sold for $9 million in February, 2025 after a $2.08-million sale in 1994.

ASIC documents show Grand City Capital was registered in NSW in February, 2025 shortly before the Willoughby Road holding changed hands. Records list Li Chen and Nan Zhang as directors.

The application lands in Crows Nest’s metro-led planning shift, after state controls took effect in late 2024 to guide capacity for 5900 homes and up to 2500 jobs around the station, with new residential projects carrying affordable-housing contributions of 3 to 18 per cent.