Nine-Storey Residential Scheme Filed for Darwin

A “back to basics” residential project offering 96 apartments has been filed with the Northern Territory Government.

Landowners Winged Victory NOS Pty Ltd, a company associated with Darwin-based Tomazos Group’s Matthew Tomazos, brought in Atelier Mark Bell (AMB) to design and lodge the development application for 20 Harvey Street in Darwin.

It is planning to develop 24 two-bedroom units and 72 one-bedroom apartments in a nine-storey building with onsite amenities. 

The proposal, which includes 106 carparking spaces, aims “to provide affordability without compromising on the design”. 

It will have a stepped facade to reduce bulk and scale, full width balconies to help capture natural ventilation, with open-sky lightwells in the central covered walkways. 

“It’s believed that this back-to-basics approach will help create a new era of affordable living for Darwin,” according to the development application.

The 1720sq m subject site abuts an existing 12-storey AGL apartment development. 

It also borders McMinn Street and Garramilla Boulevard, with some of the area home to a mix of older-style light industrial and commercial sheds. 

▲ A render of the AMB-designed project dubbed Rhapsody Apartments.

However, the area is undergoing a residential shift, with sites redeveloped into residential apartment blocks ranging from 7 to 12 storeys. 

Garramilla Boulevard. named for the Larrakia word for Darwin, has been revamped in recent years to “provide a new entry point to Darwin’s CBD”.

The neighbourhood character is “evolving through each market cycle of development”  during the past two decades, with more higher-density proposals coming forward, and has huge potential for developers, according to the application.

“The availability of more affordable land in comparison to other areas around town has the potential to make this part of the city fringe its own unique precinct as the older-style buildings get redeveloped,” it said. 

“The proposed 20 Harvey Street development complements the emerging street character and land use for this area.”

Darwin remains the cheapest state capital in the nation to buy homes after hitting a peak in May 2024. House prices have fallen incrementally since then, according to PropTrack, although prices remain 1.46 per cent higher than a year ago.

Developers are looking at major subdivisions in the likes of Holtze, while Norbuilt has resurrected plans for a “tropical-style” apartment block at Johnston.