By ANNA USHER

Five low-rise apartment blocks in Lavender Bay would be demolished and replaced with twin towers of up to 32 storeys, under a $214 million plan now on public exhibition – with just seven of its 163 apartments set aside as affordable housing.

The scheme would rise beside the suburb’s 19th-century terraces and a short walk from Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden, on a tightly held block above the Sydney Harbour Bridge railway line.

Developer Central Element wants to demolish 32 existing homes across five lots and build 163 apartments in two towers – a 23-storey northern building and a 32-storey southern one -designed by architects SJB.

The North Sydney Local Environmental Plan caps buildings on the site at 12 metres, or about four storeys. The developer is seeking a rezoning to build far higher.

The artist Wendy Whiteley, who created the nearby harbourside garden that bears her name, has joined residents fighting the proposal.

“Ever since we arrived at Lavender Bay late in 1969, it seems we’ve been in a constant battle to preserve the special magic of this place, fending off property developers,” Whiteley said.

“The latest crop of State Significant Developments seeks to impose 70-metre-high buildings instead of the gazetted 12-metre height. There has been no consideration of the effects on neighbours or of the area’s amenity, currently enjoyed by all residents and visitors alike.”

Just seven affordable apartments

Of the 163 apartments, seven would be set aside as affordable housing – 3 per cent of the building’s floor space.

The EIS says those units would be managed by community housing provider Bridge Housing and locked in “in perpetuity”, ranging from 72 sq m to 116 sq m on the lower levels of both towers.

The development’s estimated cost is $214 million excluding GST.

What the towers would deliver

The site spans 2,304.5 sqm across five lots fronting Lavender and Middlemiss streets and is currently occupied by five double-storey apartment blocks.

The two towers would sit on a shared podium – four storeys facing the Harbour Bridge and six facing Lavender Street.

Five basement levels would hold more than 170 car spaces and 181 bicycle spaces. Twenty-one trees would be removed.

The plans include a publicly accessible link on the site, two pocket parks, and 1,076 sq m of open space at ground level.

Why can’t the council stop it?

The towers are being assessed as a State Significant Development, which means North Sydney Council’s planning controls are not binding.

The project was fast-tracked through the NSW Government’s Housing Delivery Authority and declared State Significant by the Planning Minister in May 2025.

Final approval rests with the Department of Planning, the independent Planning Panel or the minister – not the council.

The developer argues the towers would add 131 homes to a council area that the EIS says has approved fewer than a third of its five-year housing target.

The garden, the parks and the public housing next door

Central Element says it chose the two-tower form partly to limit overshadowing of nearby public space.

A stated objective of the plans is to “maintain good levels of direct sunlight” to Clark Park, Bradfield Park and Wendy Whiteley’s Garden.

The site is not heritage-listed and sits just outside the Lavender Bay Heritage Conservation Area, recognised for its 19th-century streetscape.

It is flanked by two Homes NSW public housing blocks, at 62 Lavender Street and 1 Middlemiss Street, which the government declined to sell.

Have your say

The EIS is now on public exhibition, opening the formal window for community submissions.

The application, SSD-86797708, lists departmental planner Caitlin Hopper as the contact.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU: Are you a Lavender Bay resident affected by the tower plans? Email [email protected]