Frasers Property Pivots Newstead Plans to Twin Towers

Frasers Property Australia has filed significantly revised plans for an approved inner-city Brisbane development, morphing a single mixed-use highrise into luxury twin towers. The project redesign signals a strategic pivot by the Singapore-listed developer in response to planning policy shifts and prevailing market conditions. Comprising two slender towers rising up to 16 storeys, it would accommodate 70 apartments and 3 street-level terraced townhouses—almost half the number of residences of its original proposal given the green light just two years ago. It is earmarked for a coveted 3016sq m site spanning eight lots on the corner of Chester and Morse streets at Newstead, about 3km north-east of the Brisbane CBD. The initial approved scheme was for a larger single tower rising up to 17 storeys with 141 units, including 10 terraced townhouses. According to the change application, Frasers Property has refined the design “responding to industry-wide construction cost challenges and growing demand of all housing typologies”. “The applicant and the project team have undertaken a detailed design review to ensure that the development will achieve a viable scheme whilst also delivering a high quality residential development for this inner-city location,” an Urbis planning report said. “The changes proposed as part of this application reflect design changes that are necessary to ensure that the development is shovel ready.” As well as the overall change from one to two “tower and terrace townhouse” buildings and the significantly scaled back number of units, other key elements of the revised Rothelowman-designed scheme include the removal of four basement levels and the introduction of three podium levels with parking spaces reduced from 257 to 134; and an increase in landscaped communal areas. ▲ Renderings of the reworked design for the Frasers development at Newstead. “This rare site presented a unique opportunity to blend the blue-chip aspects of New Farm with the urban excitement of Newstead’s thriving scene and is primely positioned to link two of Brisbane’s most iconic precincts, walkable to both James Street and The Gasworks,” Frasers Property development director Jamisen Rivera said. “The residences are as luxurious as they are diverse, with a mix of two, three and four-bedroom apartments designed to maximise the 360-degree views to the CBD, New Farm, north Brisbane and Hamilton Northshore. “We want our residents to become embedded in their community, so the design includes a public plaza on Morse Street with a generous open-air garden, providing true street activation. There is also an intimate resident park to serve as a ‘backyard’, a meaningful space connecting residents with their environment.” “On the rooftop, recreation pavilions on each building include shaded terraces, dining pavilions, barbecues, lawns and pools, fostering a sense of community in each tower.” Rivera also said with the Newstead site surrounded by retail amenities, Frasers Property aimed to bring the project “into the fold with a substantial retail offering on the ground level.” ▲ The reworked design morphs the project from a single tower to two. Rothelowman principal architect Jeff Brown said the revised design was “a deliberate response to the opportunities presented by Brisbane’s iconic sub-tropical climate… the interweaving of a robust architectural palette and a prioritisation of landscape as an intrinsic part of the overall expression”. He added that the twin tower design allowed “for all dwellings to be corner apartments, gaining multiple frontages and expanded vistas” with the trio of terrace homes enabling integration “as a scaling device creating a familiar and comfortable domestic tone to the streetscape”. “The terrace homes have been crafted as a collection of three bespoke dwellings providing a carefully considered domestic layering to the street,” he said. The submitted planning report also noted that since the original approval was granted in 2023 “Brisbane’s planning policy and growth context has been evolving”. “Specifically, Newstead is continuing to evolve into a premier inner city residential suburb, and is experiencing growth in both residential, retail and office space, with many high density residential development applications,” the documents said. “It is also identified in Brisbane’s Inner-City Strategy as a ‘Priority Precinct,’ meaning that the area is earmarked for significant growth.”

Frasers Property Pivots Newstead Plans to Twin Towers

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