Brisbane’s $1.5bn Little Italy Wins Green Light

Ciao, baby! Little Italy is coming to a big slice of inner-city Brisbane as part of a $1.5-billion triple-tower mixed-use precinct. Panettiere Property Group’s bold vision for Newstead—the traditional heartland of the city’s Italian community—has been given a definitive ‘Andiamo!’ from the Brisbane City Council. The precinct is earmarked for an amalgamated 7440sq m site fronting Longland, Stratton and Kyabra streets, next to the landmark Gasworks Plaza and 3km north-east of the CBD. Topping its centrepiece piazza and laneways filled with Italian-flavoured retail, dining and entertainment offerings, its three towers—Oro, Bianco and Argento—rising up to 33 storeys will comprise 1001 apartments. “This has been six years in the making,” developer Max Panettiere told The Urban Developer . “It’s a big investment. “For a private company, it’s probably one of the biggest inner-city Brisbane development plays anyone’s done. “It’s a whole new precinct and the council have been really supportive of it.” ▲ Renders of the approved triple-tower development at Newstead. Significantly, the development is also a huge injection for Brisbane’s bottom-of-the-barrel pipeline of new housing. Panettiere says despite the prevailing challenges of getting projects out of the ground, shovels will hit the dirt for Oro—the first 335-apartment tower in Little Italy—as early as March. Initially, the plan was to deliver primarily build-to-rent housing but Panettiere is now keeping his options open and—at least for the first stage—seems to be favouring a build-to-sell strategy. “We’re expecting to sell out very quickly,” he says. “Because there’s just no supply … none of the tier-one builders are building residential at the moment. “The issue now is not selling the apartments. The issue is finding a builder. “But the key for us is we’re a developer-builder. We’re building for ourselves and not reliant on a third-party builder … and the banks are backing us. “Basically, to be a developer in Queensland at the moment you’ve got to be a builder. Otherwise the feasibility just doesn’t stack up.” Courting a joint-venture partner, the Newstead site was taken to market this year through an international expressions-of-interest campaign. Panettiere says: “In the end, we decided to keep the site ... but, I mean, we’re still open to discussing a possible JV with a large sort of capital fund. “You know, someone who’s got a lot of money,” he quips. The approved Bureau Proberts-designed scheme includes three towers of 29, 31 and 33 storeys—all adorned with vertical gardens. They will comprise 335, 343 and 323 apartments, respectively, in a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom unit sizes. Among 6124sq m of communal open space, podium and rooftop recreation terraces will feature pool decks, gyms, sauna and steam rooms, media rooms, kids playgrounds and games rooms, private dining rooms and co-working spaces. Parking for 649 cars and 1138 bicycles will be provided across the podium and three basement levels. At ground level, the Little Italy precinct will feature a large centrepiece piazza surrounded by 2713sq m of cafes, restaurants, bars, pop-up stalls, beauty, health and wellbeing offerings. “Little Italy has been conceived as an exemplar vibrant and active retail and dining precinct in the heart of Newstead,” a design statement said. “A unique experience is created through a Mediterranean-style network of laneways, links and [central] piazza … whilst maintaining the distinct character of the surrounding streets of Newstead.” ▲ Work on the first tower could get under way as early as March of next year on the site at Newstead (centre image). “This ‘village’ will provide a connection between the Gasworks and Commercial Road entertainment precincts, and beyond to James Street.” Reminiscent of an Italian village, a unified palette of key materials—such as porphyry stone and travertine—will be used across the precinct with Newstead’s established heritage brick, concrete and smooth render. In 2017, the Panettiere brothers—Max, Joe and Michael—acquired a 3298sq m parcel at 75 Longland Street for $13.192 million. Four years later, it was approved for a 22-storey mixed-use scheme comprising 239 apartments. However, they had bigger plans in mind and started securing surrounding sites. Little Italy will span no less than 13 allotments—including a heritage masonry cottage built in the1880s that will be restored and integrated into the precinct. As Max Panettiere observed in March at the time of lodging the Little Italy development application: “The Chinese have got Chinatown (in Fortitude Valley), the Greeks have got West End … and pretty much every major city has got an Italian precinct but we don’t. “Traditionally, a lot of Italians moved to the New Farm/Newstead area, and every year the Italian St Joseph Festival was held in New Farm Park. It’s the city’s original Italian precinct.” ▲ Max Panettiere says he’s ‘still open to discussing a possible JV with a large capital fund—you know, someone who’s got a lot of money’. Italian migration to Queensland dates back to the 1870s and Brisbane experienced an post-war influx in the late 1940s. “It’s been a passion of ours to create a precinct where everyone can come and enjoy the Italian culture,” Panettiere says. “The plan is to have a bakery, a deli, restaurants, Italian ice-cream and the like. Everyone loves Italian cuisine. “And, you know, hopefully one day we’ll have a festival there as well.” With a big nod from the council, the sons of Italian migrant parents are a giant step closer to realising their development dream. You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

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