By ANNA USHER

Aurora Property – a related entity of Ausgrid – has lodged a pre-development application for a major project at the Honeysuckle Nursery site – despite saying just weeks ago it had no plans to redevelop the site.

Documents filed with the NSW Department of Planning on 12 September outline an eight-storey mixed-use building under the state’s Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) program.

Key details include:

• 107 apartments, with 3% (four units) set aside for affordable housing.
• Height: 29 metres (eight storeys).
• Retail space: 928 sqm of ground floor shops fronting Military Road.
• Basement parking and 710 sqm of communal open space.
• Estimated cost: $108.1 million.
• Jobs: 150 during construction and 32 ongoing.

A scoping report prepared by Urbis shows a shop-top housing development, with retail and townhouses on the ground floor, topped by an apartment tower.

If approved, existing buildings – Honeysuckle Gardens, Midas and the Mackie Lane Community Garden, will be demolished. The site would be rezoned from E3 Productivity Support (under the Mosman Local Environment Plan) to MU1 Mixed Use, with the height limit lifted from 12 metres to 29 metres and the floor space ration increased from 2:1 to 3:1.

The project is projected to cost $108,168,252.

A scoping report reveals Aurora has identified that the site is “no longer required for ongoing network purposes and as such, is suitable for repurposing.” It argues the proposal aligns with the surrounding context” and will “invigorate the public domain, fostering a vibrant and lively community”

“This proposal aims to transform an underutilised landholding in a prime location, providing high-quality residential accommodation, including affordable housing, and creating employment opportunities,” it says.

The project was declared a State Significant Development by Minister Paul Scully in June, but an Aurora spokesperson revealed to the Australian Financial Review in August that there were “no plans to develop the site.”

Last week’s filing suggests otherwise, with a full Environmental Impact Statement now to be prepared and placed on public exhibition.

A spokeswoman told Mosman Collective that following “several collaborative discussions” with the NSW Planning Department, Aurora now “intends to continue with submission of the required documentation in line with the [Housing Delivery Authority] process.

“At the same time, Aurora is reviewing options for the site, including the possibility of an outright sale,” she said.