Exclusive first look: Urban Property Group reveal Little Bay apartments project
Prominent Sydney developer Urban Property Group have lodged a new development application for their coastal Little Bay apartment project.
After securing court approval for a concept development application at their 11,612 sqm Jennifer Street block, they've now recently filed the detailed development application to Randwick City Council that comprises of 76 apartments designed by Hill Thalis Architecture at 11 Jennifer Street.
The proposal adopts the courtyard apartment type, which Hill Thalis founding principal Philip Thalis says is puzzlingly rare in Australian cities, despite its suitability to the climate and long architectural traditions of sociability.
The proposal adopts the courtyard apartment type, which Hill Thalis founding principal Philip Thalis says is puzzlingly rare in Australian cities, despite its suitability to the climate and long architectural traditions of sociability.
"The courtyard garden type has antecedents in many urban cultures around the world," Hill Thalis noted in the design statement submitted to the council.
"As is the case in many examples of this type, the courtyards organise the primary access and address to the various cores, and they are planted with endemic species and dotted with seats.
"The entry (northern) courtyard has framed vistas open to the landscape on the east side, and back to Reservoir Street to the west. The southern courtyard opens to the ESBS."
The proposal is for 76 dwellings in three separate buildings that frame two substantial landscape courtyards. While the pair of northern buildings that front Crown Road are linear, the larger southern building has a U-shaped configuration.
The apartments are distributed over three and part four residential levels above a single level basement car park.
There will be 10 one-bedroom apartments, 38 two-bedders, and 28 three-bed units. 15 of the ground floor garden apartments have direct street or garden access and private gardens. The top floor apartments on both levels two and three have larger floorplans and have extensive terraces.
"The proposed development provides a mix of accommodation to support the needs of a future population, including families given the sizes and mix of apartments," Hill Thalis added.
Urban Property Group went through the Land and Environment Court to obtain approval for 38 apartments and 8 townhouses back in 2019, but have since been back and forth with design proposals for the site.
The Little Bay area on the eastern side of Anzac Parade has seen new urban precincts created over the last two decades, including the redevelopment of the former Prince Henry Hospital site and the early stages of Little Bay Cove to its immediate north.
The Little Bay project is part of UPG's continually growing development pipeline.
In the past month they've submitted applications in Penrith, and a townhouse and apartment project at Edmondson Park both close to train station infrastructure. Those two projects alone add a further 1,100 dwellings to UPG's pipeline.