Wee Hur Reworks Four-Tower Buranda TOD Masterplan

Listed Singaporean developer Wee Hur has filed revised plans for Brisbane’s Buranda transit-oriented development, scrapping two previously approved midrise office towers due to a “lack of tenant commitment”.

Under the reworked scheme, the 12,200sq m commercial component would be replaced by two 16-storey affordable housing towers comprising 300 homes.

The development pivot for the Woolloongabba project leans into the shifting market conditions and feasibility constraints of the city’s post-pandemic landscape.

According to the change application, the proposal doubles down on high-density residential living “to better meet the pressing demand for affordable housing, which is a well documented ‘crisis’ facing Brisbane and requires urgent attention”.

Overall, the revised plans for the Buranda TOD Stage 2 Eastern Precinct —designed by Red Door Architecture—would deliver four towers across the 13,195sq m site bounded by Gillingham Street, Logan Road and O’Keefe Street.

Its two new additions—The Garden House and The Pavilion—would each accommodate 150 affordable housing units, collectively contributing 180 one-bedroom and 120 two-bedroom apartments to the local market.

Both buildings are intended to be operated by a community housing provider, embedding a long-term affordability outcome within the precinct.

Wee Hur purchased the Buranda TOD development site in 2014 from Anthony John Group for $51.3 million, the first stage of which opened in 2019.

▲ The two new tower additions—The Garden House and The Pavilion—would accommodate a combined 300 affordable housing units.

In the interim, according to the planning documents, the developer had “struggled to make the development metrics of commercial development viable” for Stage 2 due to “the ultimate lack of tenant commitment on the site for a mid-rise commercial office space”.

“This has prevented the commencement of the commercial development at the approved scale as such commercial development is a tenant led delivery model,” a town planning report prepared by Planning Initiatives said.

It added: “The removal of the commercial office component… [on] this highly accessible yet underutilised site… has allowed the promotion of a ‘shovel-ready’ high-density residential node that achieves 1125 residential dwellings in one of Brisbane’s most accessible locations in respect of public transport, road networks, active transport routes, providing immediate access to employment, educational, social, recreational and community services across Brisbane.

“This includes but is not limited to the underlying substantial increase in customer base that is provided to support the commercial viability and vibrancy of the nearby Stones Corner retail precinct that is within direct walking distance from the Buranda TOD Stage 2 site.”

As well as the two newly-proposed affordable housing residential towers, the amended scheme includes The Canopy—a student accommodation tower scaled back from 711 units across 25 storeys to 580 units spanning 18 storeys—and the previously approved 27-storey apartment tower The Terraces.

“It is considered that the change application’s focus on high-density housing, with a focus on diversity and housing mix combining student accommodation, affordable housing and standard dwelling units, is an equivalently appropriate use of the Buranda Transit-Oriented Development site, when compared to the previous mixed residential and office approach,” the report said.

▲ Wee Hur’s revised plans for the Buranda TOD Stage 2 Eastern Precinct would deliver four towers comprising 1125 units.

“The intent of TODs is to facilitate high density development to maximise public transport usage and reduce car dependency and associated environmental impacts.

“The proposed focus on primarily high-density residential development within the Buranda TOD, places more people within direct walking distance (within 200m) of transit, directly supporting increased public/active transport patronage and therefore wider sustainability goals within Brisbane.

 “Whilst commercial offices often generate more potential for peak-hour public transit use, the effectiveness of this approach is entirely dependent on whether the residential location of the individual workers housing is within walking distance of a public transit station, otherwise private vehicle trips will be required to either access the closest public transit station or to drive to either the Buranda TOD or close by to park then walk to the commercial office, increasing peak hour car traffic.

“The nature of the high-density residential housing now proposed, provides for a more continuous 24-hour demand for local public and active transport infrastructure in the immediate locality as well as local services and amenities, when compared to the originally proposed office spaces which are generally underutilised outside business hours.” 

Together with the changes to the approved land use mix and built form, Wee Hur is also seeking more flexible staging provisions as well as the reconfiguration of 29 lots into 4 lots to allow each residential tower to be developed independently in terms of timing and ownership, with access to common infrastructure.