This Just In: These Brisbane Suburbs are Being Rezoned for 30-Storey Buildings in New 'Tall Over Sprawl' Council Plan
Brisbane City Council is tackling the housing shortage with proposed suburban housing upgrades, but they might not actually be affordable.
The ongoing fight against housing shortages is moving into its next stage for Brisbane, with Brisbane City Council (BCC) announcing the next stage of its aptly titled 'tall over sprawl' strategy that will inject high-density housing into key Brisbane suburbs. There's a sense of urgency to the plans, which are being rapidly assembled to get out ahead of a project 1.5 million people who'll be making Brisbane home over the next 15 years.
BCC Chair of Planning, Adam Allan, told the ABC that 600 people are moving to Brisbane every week, and that BCC is looking to upgrade the housing offering with surgical considerations. "We need housing in lots of different ways; one bedroom units, studios, town houses, so what we are trying to do is with our planning is to set the city up in a way that provides housing for everybody," Allan explained.
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With these factors setting the stage, BCC is taking a "sky's the limit" approach, having announced three key areas last week that will be rezoned for affordable, multi-storey housing developments. All three areas are already suburban hubs, with shopping and transport readily accessible. The smallest ceiling will be 15 storeys in Nundah, followed by 25 storeys in Indooroopilly and a peak of 30 storeys in Caringbah.
In this economy, a major priority for the proposals should be affordable living, but that's a tall order for developers. Not only is Brisbane one of Australia's most expensive cities to live in, it's expensive for developers to provide new housing as well. In fact, as reported by the ABC, post-pandemic construction costs are leading to most new apartments being luxury properties — and having luxury price tags — just so developers can break even.
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The labour opposition within BCC is urging that the plans need more affordability aspects, a sentiment echoed by Greens MP Michael Berkman — who told the ABC that the planning system is rigged for developer profitability. "We have seen the state LNP government remove any existing mandates for affordable housing and they are doing all of this simply because it improves developer profits," Berkman explained.
Berkman added that the tall over sprawl plan "is going to do nothing to even touch the tip of the iceberg on the housing crisis. If we do not address this meaningfully now with the Olympics on the horizon it is going to be a housing catastrophe."
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