Traders in Purple Moves Fast with Wollstonecraft Units

Traders in Purple’s plans for a $88.3-million tower in the Crows Nest Transport Oriented Development zone have gone on exhibition

The scheme proposes one 12-storey tower of 78 apartments and will be open for comment until December 1.

A floor space ratio of 3.5:1, the maximum allowed under local controls, is proposed for the 3011.8sq m site at 8-24 Nicholson Street, Wollstonecraft, on Sydney’s North Shore. 

The development would comprise residential floor space of 10,542sq m, and communal open space of 1212sq m, along with 71 carparking spaces in three levels of basement.

The typology in the proposal is heavily weighted towards the 56 three-bedroom apartments, compared to 20 two-bedroom and just 2 one-bedroom apartments.

With an estimated development cost of more than $60 million within a TOD, the project qualifies as State Significant Development, but does not trigger the State Design Review Panel process as the budget does not exceed $100 million.

Traders in Purple sought advice from the North Sydney Council, as well as the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, on variations from a variety of design guidelines and controls.

In particular, the proposal notes a discrepancy between the Crows Nest TOD Precinct design guidelines, and council officers’ preferences and understanding, of suitable frontages along Oxley Street.

The guidelines call for active street frontages, and non-residential ground floors, but without clarity as to which parts of Oxley Street that applies, and in contradiction to the 3m landscaped setback called for. Council officers also expressed a preference for setbacks beyond that minimum, in pursuit of greener streets, as well as no preference for non-residential ground floors.

The application also proposes a height of 47.5m, which is a variation of 4.5m or 10.4 per cent over the limit of 43m. At a pre-lodgment meeting council officers noted the benefit of rooftop open space, as well as the potential impacts of overlooking and noise.

▲ A greener street with deeper setbacks is preferred by council, in contravention of TOD design guidelines.

The site was only acquired in April this year, with Traders in Purple saying at the time that a speedy development process was planned. 

A proposal for another Sydney land purchase by the developer at the same time—46-50 Cowan Road at St Ives—was filed in September for 75 luxury apartments alongside the Pymble Golf Club.

While the site of the application is surrounded by buildings and projects of similar size, larger proposals are progressing along the Pacific Highway under the Crows Nest TOD guidelines.

A 40-storey Freecity tower at 378-398 Pacific Highway was upscaled from 31 storeys after taking advantage of the TOD rules in June this year.

Over-station development at the Crows Nest Metro station is also under way, with Thirdi scrapping a planned office tower at the mixed-use precinct Hume Place in July. The 45,000sq m of commercial space will be replaced with 474 apartments.

In October, Deicorp’s 22-storey Falcon and Alexander building at 391-423 Pacific Highway, 3-15 Falcon Street and 8 Alexander Street exhibited a modification to remove commercial space from the “worst performing office market in the country”, and replace it with a 100-key hotel while bumping apartment yield from 188 to 212.