Urbis said the proposal would protect and maintain views of Shafston House from New Farm and the Brisbane River.
“The future ownership structure for the proposed residential estate provides an opportunity to conserve and restore Shafston House and its grounds, along with the wards, orderlies and postal depot buildings by sharing ‘upkeep’ expenditure across all owners of the estate, and thereby reducing the maintenance burden,” Urbis said.
Designed by Kerry Hill Architects, the tower would house 51 dwellings – 48 units, two river homes and one guesthouse, up from 37 units and two river homes.
The proposal also included a private six-berth marina.
Site cover on the famously open space would also increase from 27 to 32.5 per cent, including the heritage-listed buildings on site. There would be 102 car parks (six for visitors) and 70 bike spaces (14 for visitors) on site.
But the proposal would likely be met with opposition. Several submissions have been made to the council against the smaller, 15-storey plans.
The tower would dominate the Kangaroo Point skyline.Credit: Kerry Hill Architects
“We believe that the government and council have an obligation to the people of Queensland to ensure that nothing modern is ever built on this heritage site and this Brisbane river treasure is preserved,” one anonymous submitter wrote.
“Accordingly, this property and its grounds must be retained ‘as is’ for current and future generations.
“We believe that 99 per cent of Brisbane residents and visitors would feel the same way if they were made aware that this is a protected heritage site, and that the developer is planning on crowding out
one of the two remaining historically important houses on the Brisbane River.”
Another submission called for a more radical intervention.
“I would support BCC and/or the state government buying back this entire property and putting it back in the hands of the public,” they said.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Read the full article here
