“We want to put more homes where the jobs are, where the transport is, and where the services are,” he said.
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“By focusing on anti-sprawl, we protect Brisbane’s unique lifestyle while creating opportunity and greater housing choice for the next generation.
“This is about delivering new homes for Brisbane families while ensuring our suburbs remain the best places to live, work and relax.”
The council’s latest vision to squeeze more homes around transport hubs, in what planners call transport-oriented developments, will reignite debate about urban density and changing suburban skylines.
In Brisbane, transit-oriented developments have been built at Coorparoo Junction on Old Cleveland Road, close to the south-east busway, and at Yeerongpilly, near the train station and Queensland Tennis Centre.
Two existing apartment buildings at Coorparoo Junction, which form part of the Coorparoo Square complex, are 19 storeys and 13 storeys high, while in Yeerongpilly developer Consolidated Properties has approval to build a 25-storey-high residential tower on Bedivere Street.
There are also similar schemes in Sydney and Melbourne. In Sydney, higher-density development is allowed within 400 metres of more than 30 significant train and metro stations.
In Victoria, the state government approved the development of seven new residential towers in the eastern suburb of Box Hill last year, with three expected to stand more than 40 storeys tall, and the largest to rise 50 levels.
The Brisbane City Council released maps showing the zones where new height limits will be allowed around Indooroopilly shopping centre and train station, the Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre and bus interchange, and Nundah Village shopping centre and train station.
Labor council opposition leader Jared Cassidy said an affordable housing mandate should be enforced by the council.
“It’s no good making announcements about housing supply when you know most people won’t be able to afford it, nor access it,” he said in a statement.
Work on the plan will begin shortly, with community consultation next year.
Property Council Queensland’s executive director Jess Caire said the property sector welcomed the initiative given the scale of Brisbane’s housing crisis.
“Industry has identified that the cost of providing a single basement car park in an apartment building is roughly $100,000, highlighting the need for Brisbane to examine options to better leverage our existing transport infrastructure,” she said.
“This review is the latest step in this process and the Property Council looks forward to providing industry’s perspective on how this opportunity can be maximised.”
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