First look exclusive: Cbus and Galileo revise plans for new North Sydney apartment development

Cbus Property and joint venture partner Galileo Group has revised plans for their new North Sydney apartment development following the introduction of new height limit allowances if affordable housing is factored into new developments.

Urban revealed in mid-2022 Cbus' original plans for the new on a prime 3,950 sqm site across 173-179 Walker Street and 11-17 Hampden Street.

They've gone back to the drawing board and brought in Rothelowman to rejig the plans, add more levels, and reconfigure the apartment mix. Cbus is now proposing 258 apartments.

The tallest building, Hampden House, will now rise 30 levels, three more than previously submitted, and home 161 one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments.

Hampden House, the tallest building of the three proposed. Image credit: Rothelowman

Gone are the contemporary terraces that were proposed two years ago. Now a new building, still dubbed Walker Terraces, will span 12 levels and have 78 apartments, 11 of which will be part of the Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA).

The agreement requires five per cent of the dwellings to be allocated for affordable housing, contributing to the broader effort to increase housing supply in well-connected urban areas.

While the documents submitted to the North Sydney Council suggest 11 apartments will be part of the VPA, they also say the other 67 apartments in Walker Terraces will also be affordable. That triggers the new 10 per cent affordable housing criteria as part of new developments which allows developers to push heights and floor spaces up by 30 per cent. 

The term "affordable" means apartments will be offered at around 20 to 25 per cent under market rate.

An artists impression of Walker Terraces. Image credit: Rothelowman

There is a third building proposed on the large site, a five-level building connected to Hampden House. That will have a handful of apartments and a rooftop lap pool.

The new application represents the latest iteration in the site's development, which has undergone two previous concept designs. Local architecture and design firm fjmtstudio designed the 2022 plans, after SJB had had a crack on behalf of Avenor, who sold the site to CBUS in a joint venture for around $150 million in 2021.

The new Rothelowman proposal aims to address several key issues identified in the previous planning envelope and original development application, the documents suggested.

The issues identified include improving solar access to neighbouring properties, increasing the width of the podium setback for tree planting, and ensuring the facade expression responds to adjacent heritage items. 

Rothelowman has incorporated a terraced form at the top of the tower to minimise overshadowing impacts on neighbouring properties, particularly 88 Berry Street and Doris Fitton Park.

The new proposal also includes a two-level transitional podium that more naturally connects the tower with a smaller building on Hampden Street and allows for more planting areas, allowing the precinct to make a generous offering to the street and neighbourhood as a whole, maintaining the leafy green character of the existing context.

The new design also consolidates communal spaces on the ground floor to provide diverse amenities for residents.

On the original submission in 2022, Cbus Property’s Chief Executive Officer Adrian Pozzo told Urban the intention is to develop high-end owner-occupier residences in this fabulous location, with views across the eastern side of Sydney Harbour and northern Sydney.

“In recognising the prime location of the site within close proximity of the vibrant and burgeoning North Sydney CBD, we seized the opportunity to create this partnership to deliver this outstanding residential development opportunity,” Pozzo said.

Cbus works nationally on large-scale residential projects. They're currently developing 111 Castlereagh Street, the transformative redevelopment of the former David Jones department store on Castlereagh Street.

The original department store, dating back to 1938, will be restored and converted into a nine-level podium, a mix of commercial office space and retail, while a new structure with luxury apartments will rise a further 20 levels.

Cbus' latest in Brisbane is the recently completed 443 Queen Street, a 47-level tower with 264 apartments, while down in Melbourne their next apartment project will be on the dress circle St Kilda Road, opposite Albert Park, on a prime site they secured late last year.

Cbus Property is a wholly owned entity of Cbus Super, the industry superannuation fund for the construction, building and allied industries.