Mosman Supersite: Policy Play Drives 103-Home Proposal

Plans to replace 12 multimillion-dollar homes with a $123.3-million apartment block on a Mosman supersite sold last year have been filed.

The DKO-designed proposal spans a single 5638sq m site at 42A-52 Rangers Avenue and 21-31 Brierley Street on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

It would deliver 103 apartments across a six and seven-storey building rising to 25.035m above three basement levels.

Those basements would provide 198 carparking spaces, all accessed via Cartref Lane.

Shared facilities include a swimming pool, gym and rooftop communal open space.

The block comprises 14 one-bedroom, 58 two-bedroom, 29 three-bedroom and two four-bedroom units.

The site was assembled last year for a reported $86 million by entities linked to Arissa Group and its director Frank Scarf, enabled by the NSW Government’s Low and Mid-Rise Housing reforms.

Months before the application was lodged in December, Scarf said pushing higher density into Mosman’s lowrise streets would attract opposition.

He said the project aimed to move away from a luxury-only apartment model and deliver a broader mix of homes for buyers priced out of detached housing.

▲ Aerial view of the 12-home supersite at 2A-52 Rangers Avenue and 21-31 Brierley Street at Mosman.

According to planning documents, the scheme was filed on behalf of Mosman One Pty Ltd and has an estimated construction cost of $123.3 million.

Local planning controls cap heights on the site at 8.5m but the proposal seeks almost triple this height through a Clause 4.6 variation.

Density reaches the maximum permitted under the LMR framework, with a proposed floor space ratio of 2.2:1, relying on a stated 346m walking distance to Cremorne town centre. 

Standalone homes in this pocket of Mosman typically sell for more than $4 million and up to $7 million. 

Scarf has also flagged the option of using the state’s affordable housing incentive, which would allow additional height in exchange for including 15 per cent affordable housing. 

Planning documents show 46 of 62 trees are proposed for removal, offset by 853sq m of deep-soil landscaping.

▲ Rendering by DKO of the apartment block planned for the Mosman supersite.

The site is not heritage-listed but is close to several local heritage items, including Cartref, a heritage-listed Federation-era home on Brierley Street.

A heritage assessment concluded redevelopment would not cause unreasonable impacts.

The proposal arrives as LMR applications accelerate across Mosman.

Nearby, an eight-storey scheme at 48-50 Almora Street proposes 14 apartments, including three affordable homes, with 31 basement car spaces and a swimming pool, and is under assessment by the Sydney North Planning Panel, while a six-storey project at 93-101A Awaba Street of 29 apartments with 58 carparking spaces has moved to appeal after a deemed refusal. 

Other LMR applications recorded by the Mosman Municipal Council include proposals at 1-3 Moruben Road—a 27-unit, eight-storey residential building—and 5-9 Bond Street, which lists 27 planned residences

As previously reported by The Urban Developer, the reforms have drawn close attention at Mosman, where legal proceedings are under way and applications lodged under the policy are being tracked publicly.

Premier Chris Minns has publicly described Mosman as one of the state’s most resistant councils, while planning minister Paul Scully says the reforms are already reshaping land values and development behaviour in high-cost suburbs close to jobs and transport.