The Queensland government has paved the way for the construction of a 15-storey luxury apartment tower on the historic river-front grounds of heritage-listed Shafston House.
The State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) issued its response to the proposed development at Kangaroo Point on Friday, giving it a green light, after the developer revised his initial plans.
Records show Kevin Pan from Burgundy Group Property Development bought the site for $15 million in 2020.
The unimproved land value of the picturesque 9,958m2 riverside block was $13.5 million when it was last valued in 2021.
It is now up to the Brisbane City Council to make a final decision about the controversial project.
If approved, a 15-storey apartment building with 37 luxury three- and four-bedroom units will be built on the Shafston House grounds, next to the 172-year-old state heritage-listed building.
Shafston House was described by one concerned local resident as Brisbane's "equivalent of Kirribilli House" in Sydney.
Plans for two two-storey homes on the northern edge of the site have been scrapped.
As part of its response, SARA has imposed conditions including that future uses of Shafston House itself be limited to a single dwelling and that the grassed lawn area be kept free from development.
The department lists several reasons for its favourable decision and said:
"The development minimises adverse impacts on the cultural heritage significance of the place by retaining the terraced lawn and existing views of Shafston House from the river and proposing a building of a height and scale that is appropriately separated from the heritage buildings on the site."
A spokesperson for the planning department said SARA was aware of "community concerns in relation to building height and heritage impacts".
"In response to issues raised by SARA, the applicant amended the tower design to reduce its overall height, lighten its appearance and increase its separation from Shafston House," the spokesperson said.
Architect Jeff Brown said the proposed tower will sit "within a profile of existing tall buildings and a silhouette that's already there".
He said the "prime goal" is to protect the site's historic buildings by "spreading the onus of responsibility" for maintenance "across a broader group of people".
The move is a major blow to some nearby residents and heritage advocates who say the tower will diminish the historic estate.
'It's Brisbane's history we're tipping down the drain'
Retirees Paul and Lorraine Wish live in the Peninsula Apartments unit block, which has direct views over Shafston House to the Brisbane River.
If council approves the tower development, the couple will instead look out at a wall.
"Our quality of life would go backwards, we wouldn't get to see the sun, we wouldn't get the breeze that we have here now. That's why we came here, it was so peaceful," Mr Wish said.
"But it's not really about us because we can move on, we can sell the unit and move on to somewhere else – the city's going to lose something very special."
The retiree said the development should not go ahead.
"It's Brisbane's history that we're just tipping down the drain," he said.
Choking back tears, Ms Wish said she thinks developers have too much power.
"This is my home, this was my retirement and it's not there anymore, it's about to be changed and we can't afford to just keep upping and moving and moving all the time," she said.
"We're retired, we're pensioners and it's really hurting me."
Mr Brown said residents would not be looking out at a "blank wall".
"It's got depth, it's got tonality, it's got texture in the materiality of it, at a high standard," he said.
Kangaroo Point resident John Mowbray, whose relatives were early settlers in the area, said Shafston House is an "intrinsic" part of the neighbourhood and he opposed the construction of a tower on its grounds.
"If you come up Thorn Street and look at Shafston House nestled there, trees behind it and suddenly that view's going to be truncated by a modern 15-storey building — I don't like that at all," he said.
He said the estate should be returned to Queenslanders and used as community space.
"This is the last of the grand riverine properties and if we don't want it, build all over the place, but I've got a very strong feeling there are a lot of people in Brisbane that really would like to see something done with Shafston House that gave it back to the citizens of the city," he said.
Development allowed under council zoning
In a written response to questions, Burgundy Group said the footprint of the apartment development is less than 7 per cent of the site and would fund the restoration of Shafston House.
"The heritage experts advise that the faux heritage additions and alterations on the site are unsympathetic and will be removed," the statement read.
"The aim is to open the site and restore it to its original condition."
The statement said the site had been "identified for development under the City Plan for decades".
"In 2021 the allowable height was increased from 12 to 15 storeys in line with Peninsula Apartments' height. That went through community engagement and neighbours had every opportunity to express concerns then," it said.
Burgundy Group said the unit tower will provide "extra housing" in an "established high-density location."
"This city has a desperate housing shortage and a variety of housing types is needed to address that shortage," it said.
But Greens MP for South Brisbane, Amy MacMahon, said it is affordable housing that the city needs.
"A 15-storey monolith of luxury apartments is not what this community wants – it will do nothing to address the housing crisis that we have here in Queensland," she said.
The proposed development sparked a community protest in 2021 and dozens of objections have been lodged with the council.
But Ms MacMahon said the planning system is "geared towards developers".
"This property is considered code assessable meaning any submissions that the community put in count for nothing, so the community voice here doesn't need to be considered whatsoever," she said.
The different faces of Brisbane's third-oldest home
Built in 1851, Shafston House is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register and described as "one of a small group of riverine estate residences" that demonstrates the "early pattern of Queensland's history".
The gothic-revival style brick and stone house sits on a large block which slopes down to the Brisbane River at Kangaroo Point.
The site has had many uses since construction began 172 years ago, including as a private house and an Anzac Hostel for the care of incapacitated ex-servicemen.
Property records show businessman Keith Lloyd bought it from the Commonwealth of Australia in 1993 for $1.8 million.
He used the heritage building, more recent additions and the adjacent unit tower, as the headquarters for Shafston International College.
Mr Lloyd sold the property to Kevin Pan from Burgundy Group Property Development in 2020 for $15 million.
Brisbane City Council said the application is required to be decided within 25 business days from when it received the advice from SARA.
"Council's independent planning officers will assess the application against the provisions of the Brisbane City Plan 2014," a spokesperson said.
