By ANNA USHER

A 10-storey apartment tower would rise over Military Road on the site of Mosman’s Honeysuckle nursery, the Midas tyre shop and the Mackie Lane community garden, under plans now on public display that give locals their first proper look at one of the suburb’s biggest developments.

The $63.6 million project, first revealed by Mosman Collective last July, has grown from eight storeys to 10 and would climb 33.8 metres, nearly three times the street’s 12-metre limit, stepping down to five storeys on Hale Road across a 3,170 square metre block of six lots with a 92-metre Military Road frontage.

It would hold 100 apartments, 32 one-bedders, 56 two-bedders and 12 larger, above ground-floor shops, with just three flats set aside as affordable housing. The site was owned by an Ausgrid entity, with Sydney developer Abadeen now driving the project and architects DKO behind the design.

The renders show a curved, warm-toned tower in vertical fluting and deep planted balconies, stepping from 10 storeys at the Lang Street corner down to five behind, its sandstone base topped by dark bronze metal and greenery spilling to a stepped garden roof.

Double-height shopfronts and awnings would line Military Road, with the flats and a ground-floor lawn behind on the quieter Mackie Lane side. The all-electric one, two and three-bedroom flats come with induction cooktops, solar and EV charging, and a rooftop with gardens, a gym and a sports court.

Abadeen says the new tower would deliver 20% of the 500 new homes Mosman must build by 2029, on a site about 550 metres from Bridgepoint and 600 metres from Cremorne. Its economic assessment tips 490 construction jobs, 22 ongoing shop jobs and $3.4 million a year for the local economy.

Council frozen out

Because the state fast-tracked it as State Significant Development through its new Housing Delivery Authority, the Planning Minister will decide it, not Mosman Council, which can only lodge a submission.

Council has previously said the affordable housing component was “insufficient” and should not be “just small one-bedroom units,” asking for the garden to be handed back “so this land can continue to be used by the Mosman community.” It also called for a pedestrian bridge over Military Road.

The developer knocked back both requests, with the EIS confirming “no voluntary planning agreements or public benefit offerings” beyond the three affordable flats.

The community garden

The Mackie Lane garden, run on a handshake agreement, is perhaps the heaviest blow for scores of elderly residents, who must now search for a new site to grow fresh produce and connect with their community.

The project’s Engagement Outcomes Report also cited concerns about student and pedestrian safety, with the principal of Middle Harbour Public School seeking clarification on construction noise, dust, traffic impacts and the loss of student outdoor learning at the community garden.

Traffic and contamination

Cars would funnel in and out via Hale Road alone after Transport for NSW blocked a Military Road driveway, with three on-street spaces lost during the build, up to 30 trucks a day, and just 15 visitor bays against the 25 the council’s rules require.

The plans show 24 of the 100 flats, all facing Military Road, would get no direct sun between 9am and 3pm on the shortest day of the year, more than the state’s design guide allows.

The corner ran as a petrol station for decades, a Mobil at 516 Military Rd and a Caltex at 494-500 Military Rd, leaving the soil contaminated with hydrocarbons, benzene and asbestos to be cleaned up before construction.

The plans are on the NSW Planning Portal until 19 August. Search SSD-93787211 to read them or make a submission.