Refreshed Tower Plans Greenlit for Brisbane Olympic Precinct

Developer Limitless has been given the green light for The Cullen, its tower proposal in the heart of the planned 2032 Brisbane Olympics athletes village precinct at Northshore Hamilton.

The approval follows another twist in the planning tale of the project.

Affordable co-living units have been added to the mix of the reworked development proposal, which also comprises 130 hotel rooms and 576sq m of retail, food and drink as well as other commercial tenancies.

Brisbane-based Limitless, led by Nick Barr, has revised its scheme a couple of times since filing its initial planning documents for the 1382sq m site at 5 Hercules Street in 2022 with Economic Development Queensland.

“We’ve had so many goes at this … and so we’re very happy to finally have the approval,” Barr told The Urban Developer.

The original plans comprised a 24-storey, 100-apartment tower with podium carparking and rooftop space. It was superseded early last year by a Plus Architecture-designed scheme for a 124-key hotel and 50 apartments.

Under the final and approved plans, the tower will rise 18 to 19 storeys with a total of 107 co-living/rooming accommodation units spread across levels 4 to 9 and the hotel studios and suites occupying levels 3 and 10 to 16.

▲ A render of the The Cullen co-living/hotel tower approved for the Hercules Street site at Northshore Hamilton.

Northshore Hamilton is about 6km north-east of the Brisbane CBD and The Cullen site is in the western portion of the designated Priority Development Area, which will play host to two-thirds of the Olympic athletes competing at the 2032 Games.

“This application represents an evolution of prior concepts for the site,” a submitted planning report said, adding the inclusion of co-living units will “notably increase” the provision of a housing outcome that is “severely under-represented within the current housing market”.

According to the report, ABS data for Hamilton identified that only 20 studio units exist in the suburb, representing 0.5 per cent of all its residential product.

“Increasing construction prices culminated with the cost of living pressures has meant a vast majority of single and dual-income households are unable to secure fit-for-purpose housing in well-located parts of Brisbane,” it said.

“Hamilton is one such location that requires additional housing stock for smaller households (noting recent approvals are for larger and high-end units given construction pricing pressures), and is a location that displays desirable characteristics for high amenity living outcomes.

“The proposed development of rooming accommodation studio apartments will contribute to increased housing diversity for Hamilton, assisting to address a significant shortfall in affordable living opportunities for younger single and couple renters.”

▲The approved version of The Cullen is “an evolution of prior concepts”.

The Cullen’s co-living units and hotel rooms will sit above a four-storey podium with separate residential and short-term accommodation lobbies on the ground floor.

Communal recreation amenities will span levels 3 and 4, and include a pool, gym and wellness centre, barbecue-dining area and landscaped terrace, kitchen, co-working space and meeting room, lounge and living areas.

Carparking spaces for 64 vehicles are to be accommodated within three podium levels and the development plans incorporate a public realm at the corner of Hercules and Main streets.

The brick patterning of the podium is designed to connect with the riverfront precinct’s industrial history and reclaimed timber incorporated in the landscaped and public-facing areas of the development pays homage to the area’s wharf.

“This proposal for a residential-led mixed-use development will contribute to the accommodation of the projected growth within the PDA and will also assist in showcasing Northshore Hamilton with high quality and contemporary built form,” the documents said.

*This post was originally published on https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/limitless-northshore-hamilton-games-village-brisbane-queensland-approval