First look: St Leonards set for tallest tower as Anson Group file for mixed-use development
St Leonards is set to welcome one of its tallest towers, with Anson Group seeking to develop a 50-level tower right next to St Leonards train station.
They've submitted $187 million plans for a 173-metre tall tower at 617-621 Pacific Highway, bounded by Atchison Street, Pacific Highway and Christie Street. It will top JQZ 2022-completed tower 88 by JQZ, which is 157 metres tall.
The proposed mixed-use tower will home 195 apartments above six-level podium with retail and commercial floors, basement car parking for 72 cars, a new community and arts centre, and a mid-tower communal level. The project will neighbour Stockland's office tower which they are seeking to redevelop into two 63 and 45-level towers.
Architecture firm BVN drew inspiration from New York's Flatiron building, suggesting it will be a "new market for St Leonards."
"Because of the site's unique geometry, there is opportunity to celebrate the site location and geometry. A 'flat-iron' building, which creates a unique building identity," BVN noted in their Architectural Design Report submitted to the North Sydney Council.
"The unique nature of the permissible envelope creates a unique and identifiable western facade where the building is one-apartment in width."
BVN said there are two key themes that strongly reflect their architecture - the materiality and landscape of the building.
"The facade colour palette takes inspiration from the colour of the clay-rich soil and Ashfield slate bedrock upon which the site sits, to create a visually grounded and warm appearance."
Over half of the apartments are two-bedrooms (104), while there are 36 one-bedders and 50 apartments with three-bedrooms or more.
The Access Report report Argentum Group said the North Sydney Development Control Plan is 10 years old, and the apartment mix provision applies as a blanket approach across the entire LGA and thus not specific to the locality.
"As such it does not reflect the most current shift in lifestyle and market preference for apartment living and desire for additional bedrooms in St Leonards," they stated.
"This has been a consistent market direction over the last 5 years across Sydney.
They said the proposed mix has been designed to adapt to the change in apartment living preference, that has been accentuated post COVID lockdown period where there has been a shift to working from home and consequently the need for larger apartments with better spatial amenity are more desired."
At the top of the building is a two-level penthouse which BVN describes as a "multilevel crown".
"This provides a distinctive architectural profile to the tower. At these levels the glazing is profiled to match triangulated elements within the tower."
The resident amenity will be on the 24th level in the form of a swimming pool, spa, multipurpose room, and outdoor terraces. There's nearly 400 sqm of retail across and over 2,600 sqm commercial space.
There were a handful of pre-lodgement meetings with council after an initial design scheme was put together by FJMT.
The 1,062 sqm site is currently occupied by two mid-rise commercial buildings in a Modernist/Brutalist architectural style, dating back over four decades, with exposed concrete-aggregate finish.
BVN said the character of Pacific Highway, Atchison, and Christie Streets is in transition as a significant number of new developments have been delivered or are in design phase.
"The redevelopment of the site for a mixed use development will significantly improve the amenity of the surrounding area by delivering a mix of commercial, residential, retail, art, and community uses," BVN stated.
"The character of the proposal reflects its residential use and utilises strategies to introduce warmth/scale and connection from internal to external spaces. It provides opportunities to introduce planting and greenery. This signals a shift from the previous commercial context of St Leonards."
Last year Anson Group filed plans for a four-building, 200-apartment development in Sydney's Kensington.
Read more: First look: Anson Group plot mixed-use Kensington development
