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Plans have been lodged for a first-of-its-kind 25-storey apartment tower next to Westfield Carindale, as an ambitious Sydney-based developer tests Brisbane council’s appetite for dramatically taller buildings in the suburbs.
A section of a bush block at 1202 Creek Road in Carina Heights, directly opposite the shopping centre, would be cleared to make way for 253 apartments and 370 car parks, if the development application from Parkmor Property Group is approved.
Parkmor, which is privately owned by Sydney’s Bigeni family, purchased the 9050-square-metre block beside Belmont Private Hospital, via its development vehicle Carindale PPG Pty Ltd, in February 2025 for $5.6 million.
Six and a half months later, Brisbane City Council announced its plans to drastically increase building height limits to 30 storeys around Carindale shopping centre, and also boost heights around retail hubs in Indooroopilly and Nundah. The changes are yet to be formally adopted.
The proposed tower sits just metres outside the boundary of the area slated for increased height limits, but the application leans on the council’s desire to have more residents living in apartments near transport and shopping hubs under its “tall over sprawl” mantra.
“The proposal is consistent with council’s strategic direction and comfortably falls within the revised height limits contemplated under the amendment,” it says.
The former Belmont Specialist Centre previously occupied the site, but was demolished after closing in 2018. A retirement facility with 132 beds was approved for the site by the council in 2020, but was never built.
Plans for the new Carindale tower include three five-bedroom units, 15 four-bedroom units, 81 three-bedroom units, 139 two-bedroom units, and 15 one-bedroom units.
It would also have a cinema, rooftop pool and garden with a fire pit, barbecue area, gym, hot and cold plunge pools, a steam room and a sauna.
Under the current South East Queensland Regional Plan, the council is required to zone sufficient land to deliver 210,800 new dwellings by 2046, with nearly 90 per cent of those to be attached terraces, townhouses, or apartments.
The state government is currently reviewing the plan, following an election promise from Premier David Crisafulli.
But Dr Rachel Gallagher, a lecturer in urban planning at Griffith University who has previously been a Labor candidate in The Gabba council ward, said planning policies designed to encourage high-density development often failed to consider the feasibility of implementation.
Gallagher, who analysed the city’s zoning levels in a recently published research paper, said half of the land zoned in Brisbane for townhouses and apartments was too small to support those developments.
“Brisbane lots are typically 400 square meters in size, but at least 600 square metres is required to accommodate multiple dwellings,” Gallagher said.
“Only 51.2 per cent of land zoned for multiple dwellings actually met the minimum size requirement for this kind of development.
“To take advantage of the planning policy, landowners would need to combine their lots, a process known as land assembly, something that is difficult, slow and relatively uncommon.”
Gallagher said apartment developments typically occurred on larger sites, in areas historically planned for increased density, and with access to appropriate infrastructure.
She said Brisbane areas rezoned to allow for high-density developments did not necessarily meet those conditions.
Other factors, including character and heritage protections, vehicle access and parking, also limited redevelopment in established suburbs, she said.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the state government was resetting the planning partnership with local councils.
“We are working collaboratively with councils to review every regional plan across Queensland and ensure planning keeps pace with future housing and infrastructure needs,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the office of Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said it would not comment on Gallagher’s research.
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