Seniors Housing & Healthcare Trends

LOS ANGELES: A developer is integrating seniors living within the masterplan for a new mixed use community design on a regeneration site.

Low-profile Asian billionaire John Lin has lodged a masterplan for a $300 million-plus project including a riverfront public plaza, indoor sports facility, shops, units and retirement living in Milton.

It was being touted as a “landmark design which will shape the western approach to Milton and the Brisbane CBD”.

The proposal was the latest mega development for Mr Lin, the man behind the Barracks urban renewal project in Bulimba, a $250 million commercial hub next to Capalaba Central shopping Centre, a luxe housing estate at the old CSIRO site in Long Pocket and the Brisbane Quarter precinct.

In a much-needed vote of confidence for the area after several mega Toowong projects appeared to have been put on ice, Mr Lin’s Shayher Group has submitted a masterplan to Brisbane City Council for four towers on a block at 50 McDougall St.

The site is presently home to the Kings Row office towers, one of the first commercial developments fronting Coronation Drive.

Shayher revealed the plans several years ago and has been bringing heritage-listed Milton House back to its former glory while the masterplan was being refined.

The 1853-era homestead, one of the 10 oldest houses left in Brisbane, sits on part of the 14,780 sqm property.

A key aspect of the proposal was opening up 5000 sqm of the site to public green space.

It would also give Milton House, built by pioneering chemist and cotton grower Ambrose Eldridge, river views for the first time in decades.

It would also connect McDougall St to Coronation Drive for the first time.

While the Park Rd high street in Milton has experienced tough times in recent years, traders have been pinning their hopes on a raft of nearby unit towers to turn around their fortunes, including Mosaic’s latest offering in Railway Tce and The Ambrose unit tower which is nearing completion.

Town planners Urbis said in the development application (DA) that the masterplan would “preserve” the site for Shayher’s project, which included towers ranging from 30 to 37 storeys.

“The towers are intended to accommodate a range of uses including multiple dwellings, serviced apartments, short term accommodation, vertical retirement living and office tenancies,” it said.

“Proposed uses involve multiple dwelling, centre activities (community use, educational establishment, food and drink outlet, function facility, health care service, indoor sport and recreation, office, shop, shopping centre, short term accommodation, veterinary service), retirement facility, residential care facility, rooming accommodation and bar.

“Securing this approval will unlock a key landholding and a vision to deliver a world class architectural and landscape design for the site.”

Urbis also said the project would help address a projected increase in the city’s population of 1.3 million by 2041 and pointed out that a new, temporary neighbourhood plan for parts of West End on the opposite bank of the river allowed for heights up to 50 storeys.

“Future development in Brisbane needs to consider increased building heights in appropriate areas,” it said.

“By allowing taller buildings, the city can accommodate a greater number of residents and businesses within a smaller footprint.

“This approach supports higher density development, which can contribute to more efficient land use and reduced urban sprawl.

“By incorporating infill development, increased building heights and density in a thoughtful and well-planned manner, Brisbane can optimise land use, accommodate population growth and create vibrant and sustainable urban areas.

“This approach supports the city’s vision of a dynamic and inclusive future while preserving the overall quality of life for its residents.”

A preliminary Council approval dating back to 2012, for 20 storeys, was current until 2026.

Shayher had asked for a maximum of 40 storeys, but reduced that to 36 after Council’s planners said at a pre-lodgement meeting that it was “ambitious”.

They also pointed out that the area was zoned for commercial uses, not residential, but conceded the neighbourhood plan was “somewhat dated”.

“The demand for inner-city office space has declined since the release of the neighbourhood plan, and a housing crisis has emerged as a critical issue for local planning to address,” Urbis said.

It also said most of the site was above the one-in-100-year flood level and would not increase flood risk for surrounding properties.

Coronation Drive was cut during the February, 2022 flood.

Austraffic conducted a traffic survey on a Tuesday in February, a quieter time of the year, but said traffic forecasts for heavily-congested Milton Rd and Coronation Drive would not be reliable by the time the project was finished, anticipated to be in 2035.

It went on to say the site was well serviced by the riverfront Bicentennial Bikeway, which carried more than one million cyclists per year, as well as frequent bus and train services.

It added that the project would generate only an extra 324 car movements per hour in the morning peak and 510 per hour in the afternoon peak.

But Austraffic conceded local signalised intersections were already nearing capacity and safer pedestrian crossings and a safer cycling route to Milton train station were needed.

Cyclists would be able to cross the Shayher site on separated paths.

The project is impact assessable, meaning it can be appealed in the planning court and Shayher must inform neighbours. At time of publication, there were no formal submissions.