Court Deal Clears Path for $1.5bn Newstead Green Project

A confidential court settlement has ended a long-running dispute between Seymour Group and Dexus over plans for the $1.5-billion Newstead Green project in Brisbane’s inner north.

The deal follows nearly a year of delays and allows Newstead Green, approved in 2023, to proceed under new conditions agreed by Seymour Group.

While the specifics remain under wraps, project lead Daniel Farquhar— grandson of company founder Kevin Seymour—told The Courier-Mail last week the development remained “very similar” to what was originally approved.

The precinct will sit on a 1.8ha site at 99 Breakfast Creek Road and deliver eight residential towers ranging from 12 to 15 storeys.

Designed by Bureau Proberts, it will included more than 800 apartments above a 10,000sq m retail centre, which is expected to include a Coles and Harris Farm-style offering.

A central public plaza and green spine will connect the buildings and provide open space, while the plan also includes commercial office space and three levels of basement parking.

Farquhar said the team was now returning to detailed design work for the retail and apartment components, with a view to launching a marketing campaign and seeking subsequent approvals.

How Newstead Green unfolded

“We’ve had people knocking on the door to see if they can partner with us and it’s time to dust all of that off, get back into the detail and get cracking,” he said.

The group had said the development would support more than 2000 construction jobs and generate over 800 permanent roles once operational.

Farquhar said the development was expected to be delivered before the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, adding new housing and retail capacity in a key inner-Brisbane corridor.

The project was thrown into limbo last year after Dexus appealed its approval, arguing its Gasworks tenants could face a 15 per cent drop in sales

▲ A rendering of Newstead Green’s outdoor area.

“These impacts will seriously erode the viability and vitality of the retail tenancies at Gasworks Plaza,” Dexus said in its notice of appeal.

Seymour Group hit back at the time, accusing Dexus of taking an anti-competitive position to protect its commercial interests.

Gasworks Plaza, which opened its first stage in 2013, is a 9875sq m retail and dining centre built around the heritage-listed Newstead Gasometer.

The precinct, developed in multiple phases, sits beneath two A-grade office towers and has helped anchor the area’s transformation over the past decade, attracting high-end hospitality operators, boutique services and a corporate daytime workforce.

Newstead Green, by contrast, is largely residential-led and focused on creating a vertical village anchored by supermarket retail and integrated open space.