Skyhold to Transform Brisbane Quarry

A former quarry in the inner-city Brisbane suburb of Balmoral will be transformed into a townhouse and apartment development if Skyhold Group’s plans for the site are approved. 

The south-east Queensland developer has filed a development application with the Brisbane City Council for 14 two and three-storey townhouses fronting Lytton Road and 167 apartments across three buildings at the rear of the site. 

The Fender Katsalidis-designed project occupies about a third of the site, retaining an existing conservation zone. The architect said the focus on natural materials and finishes with large windows and balconies would provide natural light, ventilation and views to the lush landscaping.

Skyhold managing director Zhen Chen said the development would provide different housing typologies to cater to young families, professionals, downsizers and retirees. 

“Our focus has been delivering much-needed housing in a leafy, green environment in a way that does justice to a 2ha site only 5km from the CBD,” Chen said.

“This area has great amenity—schools, bus and ferry transport, parks and local retail.

“We are supplementing that with generous facilities for residents with work from home options, basement carparking, a gym and pools that will create a wonderful lifestyle, promoting social interaction and community living.”

▲ The project includes a mix of three-storey townhouses and 167 apartments across three buildings towards the back of the site.

The planning for this area is aimed at creating low-to-medium density residential development to boost housing shortages across the inner city. 

“This is the perfect place for much-needed housing, with two-street access and basement parking limiting local traffic impacts and the large sloping site allowing buildings that don’t impose on our neighbours,” Chen said.

“We want to create a welcoming and comfortable environment that promotes social interaction and community living. We have spent the last 15 months working with world-leading architectural firm Fender Katsalidis, aiming to provide quality housing and housing diversity to the area.”

The three apartment blocks will step up from four to six storeys across the site, with the tallest set into a cliff. 

Maven Studio founding director Megan Rodgers was involved in the project and said it was a “design-led and wellness-focused residential precinct” that masterfully negotiated a challenging site.

Nearby Bulimba is also enjoying a flurry of activity with Cielo filing plans for a mixed-use project along Oxford Street, a $35-million apartment development near Riding Road, another high-end apartment project at Balmoral, and Shayher Group’s Bulimba Barracks masterplan on the boil. 

Plans for another former quarry site on the other side of the river were filed in June last year for a 16-apartment development at 336 Kingsford Smith Drive at Hamilton on a 1516sq m parcel of land.

But with the sloping topography of the former quarry site, creative solutions had to be found.

The Plus Architecture-designed apartment building varies in height from two to seven storeys, terraced up the sloping block that also fronts Quarry Street.