Seymour’s $1.5bn Eight-Tower Brisbane Project Greenlit

Queensland property industry stalwart Kevin Seymour has been given the green light for a $1.5-billion, eight-tower urban renewal project in Brisbane’s inner-north.

Seymour Group’s North Newstead development will span a site the size of a CBD block at Breakfast Creek Road, once home to the nation’s second largest automotive dealer, AP Eagers.

It will comprise a mix of residential, high-tech future industry—including robotics, computer-aided design and communication technology—and retail uses.

Incorporating buildings ranging from 12 to 15 storeys, it also will include a “green spine” of public open space creating new urban commons as links through the 2ha site.

Seymour acquired the site at 99 Breakfast Creek Road in mid-2019 for $61 million.

A development application for the transformative mixed-use precinct was initially lodged in late 2021, with the developer enlisting architecture firm Bureau Proberts to design the sprawling project.

Project director Dan Farquhar said the proposed development would provide a significant boost for the liveability and vibrancy of North Newstead.

“The community has told us they want more off-street parking, improved access and greater amenity including fresh food markets and retail services, and the renewal of this site can deliver those things,” he said.

Farquhar said that in continuing Newstead’s history as a place of industry, the project also fulfilled Brisbane City Council’s twin aims of maintaining inner-urban light industry while also creating much-needed housing.

▲ Render of Seymour Group's approved $1.5-billion mixed-use project at Newstead.

He said the residential component would drive an evening and weekend economy supporting local businesses, with the first residents expected to move in within three years “well ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games”.

“The project targets owner-occupiers and aspirational buyers, continuing the urban renewal of this precinct with quality product.”

In approving the plans, Brisbane City Council indicated the size of the site supported increased density and the development would enhance the creation of a walkable neighbourhood with access to high-frequency public transport, employment, recreational and educational opportunities, and community facilities, reducing reliance on vehicles for commuting.

A neighbouring 1060sq m four-bedroom, five-bathroom penthouse with a pool at Mirvac’s Pier development in Newstead Terrace hit the market in May with a $20-million price tag.

As well, Melbourne developer Kokoda recently paid $124 million for Riverside Marine’s nearby 1.4ha site.

Plans also have been filed for a 17-storey tower comprising 199 one, two and three-bedroom apartments across the road from Brisbane’s famed Breakfast Creek Hotel built in 1889.

Another proposal  for a residential tower rising 14 storeys from a nearby prominent bend in the Brisbane River and comprising 62 apartments is earmarked for a 1792sq m site at 92 Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton.