Sherpa Shifts Gaze from Beaches to Brisbane’s ‘Aria Territory’

Gold Coast-based developer Christie Leet is making a strategic move into Brisbane’s inner-city market, filing highrise plans in the well-marked territory of luxury tower titan Tim Forrester’s Aria Property Group.

Leet’s Sherpa Property Group has put about $15 million on the table to secure a site at South Brisbane for a 28-storey residential play comprising 147 apartments and is already looking for another.

“We’d like to do two buildings a year in both Brisbane and the Gold Coast,” Leet told The Urban Developer. “In our mind, we’ve moved from being a boutique developer to being more along the lines of Aria.

“But we’re just providing a more accessible and affordable product.”

Sherpa’s proposed $200-million South Brisbane development debut bolsters the group’s pipeline well beyond $1 billion.

The tower scheme—dubbed Symphony—has been designed by HAL Architects and is earmarked for a 1366sq m site at 21-23 Cordelia Street.

It follows the success of its Flourish-branded residential developments on the Gold Coast aimed at delivering “well-designed, attainable apartments in sought-after locations”.

▲ A rendering of Sherpa’s proposed 28-storey debut Brisbane development.

Targeting first home buyers and rightsizers, Symphony would provide a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments starting from under $700,000.

Under the plans lodged with Brisbane City Council, it would also feature an activated ground floor with retail space and be crowned with a two-level communal rooftop, including wellness amenities and resort-style recreation facilities.

Leet said bringing Sherpa’s Flourish brand to Brisbane was a “major milestone” for the group, which has already delivered 16 residential projects across south-east Queensland.

“Symphony is an incredibly exciting step for us, it’s our first move into inner Brisbane, and we see huge potential here to deliver something different in a market that really needs it,” he said.

▲ The South Brisbane scheme designed by HAL Architects features a resort-style rooftop recreation area.

Pending approval, Sherpa is looking to begin construction in early 2026. It has already tapped builder LPS Group to deliver the project.

“More than half the challenge at the moment is delivery and we’ve got that covered,” Leet said. “We’ve reached an exclusivity agreement with LPS and they have very good capacity, providing we give them $100 million worth of building on the Gold Coast and $100 million in Brisbane each year.

“So I think we’re sitting pretty well there. We’re LPS’s only customer and they’re totally transparent with their figures and they’ve built in Brisbane before.”

Symphony’s strategic positioning puts it at the heart of Brisbane’s cultural precinct, South Bank, Aria’s Fish Lane and just across the river from the CBD.