Graya has completed its latest Brisbane luxury apartment development, proving that “being fussy pays off in the long run”.
Chalk, a 10-apartment block at 228 Moray Street at riverside New Farm, was approved in March, 2023.
The developer is no stranger to the suburb, having already completed another project on the same street, Maison.
Aimed at owner-occupier market, the latest development features a communal rooftop space with multiple entertaining areas, barbece, fire pit and built-in daybeds around a pool.
The development has been one of Graya’s smoother builds, according to co-founder Andrew Gray.
“The project has been in the works for three years from start to finish,” he said.
“It was a slow process to start with—originally it had an old boarding house on the site and we applied for demolition, but we were rejected for that because it was pre-1946.
“However, it had been significantly changed and there were limited character components left, so we ended up disputing that in court and winning, which got us demolition approval.”
Graya subsequently filed a development application for the site, an in-house first for Graya’s design team as the developer moved to bring more operations in-house.
“Chalk was the first apartment project our internal design team did for us, and we definitely want to bring what we can internally,” Gray said.
“This build was relatively simple, it was a flat block with a single basement and three levels of apartments with lots of precast which is a nice feature, so we didn’t have too many issues—it was definitely one of the smoother builds.
“But doing the design work and documentation internally allowed subcontractors to price it correctly, which limited variations—so having the correct documents up front helps the whole build process.”
Eight of the 10 apartments are sold. Graya still has the top penthouses available.
“Usually we try to sell prior to completion, but we wanted people to touch and feel and walk through it,” Gray told The Urban Developer.
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The luxury apartment market in Brisbane looked likely to remain strong, Gray said.
“We’re confident in the high-end market, especially in places like New Farm where there’s not a lot of development sites and so there’s limited opportunity. When any of these developments go up in places like New Farm, they sell pretty well,” he said.
“It comes down to where your site is, we don’t take on any old project, it’s all about having the correct site in an A-grade location—being fussy pays off in the long run.”
Graya. has a Broadbeach tower currently in the design phases and due to be filed with the Gold Coast councol next month, comprising premium single-floor apartments. It follows the developer’s Gold Coast debut last year, a 20-apartment Palm Beach tower.
