Brisbane Aviary Site: Triple Skyscraper Scheme Revealed

It has been the subject of multiple bids for development and ownership in the past five years, now plans have again been brought forward for the former Aviary site at Toowong. Once the home of one of Brisbane’s first Woolworths supermarkets, built in 1956, the new plans filed by south-east Queensland group Verso Developments would transform the 1.4ha site into a $1-billion triple-tower residential precinct. Verso Developments was engaged by landowner IJ Capital to project manage the development , which comprises three towers of 58, 55 and 49 storeys, as well as 5480sq m of public realm. The inner-western Brisbane site, 4km south-east of the CBD, with frontages on High Street, Sherwood Road and Jephson Street, has been a vacant block for years after the mothballing of the Aviary site in the wake of cost escalations during the pandemic. The 18-month consultation process alongside work by the architects KHA and PWP Landscape Architecture has been an “incredible opportunity” for Verso Developments chief executive Steve Laffey. “This site should be providing much need housing, and with its proximity to the university, the train station, buses and active transport, it’s the right place to be adding density to the city,” Laffey said. “Our conversations with the Toowong community over the past 18 months have shown general support for the concept of going higher to create an environment with fewer buildings, which ultimately allows the expansive ground plane.” ▲ The precinct will have a strong focus on public realm that connects the three residential towers. Laffey said the two existing approvals for the site would enable five towers across the parcel of land and significantly reduce the open space, but neither of the existing plans proved financially viable. The new scheme would comprise 1031 apartments in a mix of one, two, three, four and five bedrooms, as well as swimming pools, gymnasiums, and a dog park. It would also include 12,000sq m of new retail spaces for cafes, bars and shops, and 1860 parking spaces. The design provides three interconnected and landscaped public spaces, each linked to the entry points on High Street, Sherwood Road and Jephson Street. An existing commercial office building at 88 Jephson Street would be demolished to make way for the development, while a heritage two-storey building on the High Street would be retained and adopted into the design. Site with a long history In 1956 one of Queensland’s first Woolworths supermarkets opened on the site, and operated from there for many decades. Stockland proposed three residential towers for the site before selling the 1.3ha amalgamated property in 2019 for $40 million. The State Development Corporation and RW Capital acquired the site in 2020, unveiling plans for The Aviary Toowong—a $450-million mixed-use precinct designed by Nettletontribe and inspired by The Grove Shopping Centre in Los Angeles. The project comprised a 25-storey luxury apartment tower with 150 units (later revised to 29 storeys with 15 additional apartments), a 20-level office tower, 30 curated retail spaces anchored by Harris Farm Markets, a cinema complex and an outdoor dining quarter. ▲ Restaurants and bars would provide ground plane activation for the residents of more than 1000 apartments across the triple towers. Despite receiving Brisbane City Council approval in October of 2020, the project was eventually abandoned . State Development Corporation managing director Ross McKinnon told The Urban Developer at the time that “Covid, then building cost increases and interest rate rises” led to the project being scrapped. “We gave it our best shot, but things were out of our control,” McKinnon said. During this period, the developers carved off a 4000sq m portion at 80-88 Jephson Street, selling it to Po Seng Group for $25.15 million with its own separate development approval. Brisbane-based investment company IJ Capital paid $53 million in 2023 for the remaining 9000sq m site at the corner of Sherwood Road and High Street. IJ Capital, led by Scott Lai, planned to team up with Po Seng Management to create a 1.3ha mega-site with considerable scope for development. According to Verso Developments’ website the project is due for completion in 2032.

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