Tall & Urban News

Queensland property group Geon Property has relodged plans for the initial stage of its ten-stage transit-oriented development in Brisbane’s inner-north.

The AU$750 million (US$506.6 million) Albion Exchange development, which is expected to be delivered over the next 15 years, should revitalize a 4,900-square-meter state government-owned development site running adjacent to the existing Albion train station.

In March of 2018 an agreement was signed between the government and Geon to deliver the upgrades that would be the “anchor of an emerging suburb” and connect the east and west of Albion, currently segregated by the train line.

The original plans for two new multi-level residential towers reaching 30-stories and 23-stories with 333 units were later revised down to 25-stories and 22-stories with 309 units in April of 2019.

Plans have now been relodged for stage one approval with towers reaching 20-stories and 19-stories respectively sharing 253 units, with building footprints for each residential tower reduced by up to 10 percent.

The heights of both towers are now lower than the council-approved 20-story buildings across Albion Road on the Aveo site.

The development site is immediately south of and above the existing Albion Train Station, stretching as a spine from the Albion Overpass through to the former Albion Fire Station located on Merehaye Street.

Geon Property development manager Tim Rossberg claims the design changes had been made following extensive consultation with Brisbane City Council and continued discussions with local residents and businesses.

“The scale of the development has been reduced in line with Council and community feedback,” Rossberg said, adding, “We had a number of sessions in small and large groups to get feedback from the community and one of the key takeaways was that the locals want something to happen, with over 70 percent of all submitters supporting the application.”

“There is a genuine feeling in the Albion community that the area has been quite dormant for many years and is in need of renewal.”

Stage one is earmarked as one of the largest stages of the development and includes a public plaza connecting the east and west of Albion Road, a new food and beverage destination, health and well being offerings and boutique retail.

“We looked at the design and rationalized the floor plates and, while the smaller buildings mean fewer apartments, we’ve retained a large number of three-bedroom units,” Rossberg said.

“We had a closer look at our basement carparks and reduced the public space slightly to draw out new efficiencies to help better shape this multi-staged project.”

Plans also maintain significant private communal space for residents, comprising 26 percent of the total site area, exceeding Council’s five percent minimum requirement. Public open space will be reduced slightly to 54 percent of the stage one site area, providing 3,294 square meters of green and open space.

Stage one of the Albion Exchange master plan also includes an AU$28.7 million (US$19.4 million) upgrade of transport facilities at the Albion Train Station as well as improved accessibility to enhance the precinct’s integration with the local streetscape.

Geon Property has been shaping the vision for Albion Exchange for almost three years and is aiming to break ground by the second half of 2020—pending approval—pushing back the commencement timeline to allow for a detailed design and a pre-sale process.

The master plan for stages two to 10 has also been lodged separately with the Brisbane City Council. The eventual remaining stages of the development will comprise large format residential, retail and commercial developments, alongside lifestyle facilities and green space.

For more on this story go to The Urban Developer.