First look: Aria bulk up Canopy House in Kangaroo Point by buying next door
Aria is again seeking to bulk up its upcoming Kangaroo Point apartment project, Canopy House.
The design change comes after the Tim Forrester-led developer, who focuses heavily on sustainable practices, green buildings and extensive rooftop amenity, has bought the site next door to the approved Canopy House, now giving them a larger footprint of around 2,300 sqm across 50-62 Leopard Street, Kangaroo Point
They're seeking to add a further four levels to the previous 29-level tower by Rothelowman, which were approved in August after a change application in June last year.
The new design will also see the step in the building removed. The tower floorplate will now get larger from levels 14 upwards, where previously narrowed to home the larger three-bedroom apartments. The design change will see the apartment numbers increase from 136 to 196.
The majority of the increases will be in the two-bedroom stock. There will be 75 per cent more two-beds, with then numbers jumping from 64 to 112. The three beds will increase 27 per cent from 66 to 84.
With the increase in the apartments will come an increase in the parking spaces, up to 295 from 226.
The new design will also see an extended podium which will now feature a resident park with a barbecue kitchen and outdoor dining area, playground, and seating pods.
The documents suggest the new design will improve the facade, providing a "greater visual relief to the built form and significantly increasing the project’s ‘Green Factor’."
The land acquisition next door provides more than 130 metres of additional street frontage to Mark Lane, Leopard Street and Vulture Street.
Town planner Saunders Havill Group suggested in the documents submitted to the Brisbane City Council that the increased size of the site and the full control of the block-end provides for several significant improvements to the project in terms of its ground plane public realm offering, vehicle access, servicing and circulation, constructability, and sequencing methodologies.
They said the widening of the Mark Lane carriageway and verge will provide an improved pedestrian experience and vehicle safety, while also creating an opportunity for Mark Lane to become a destination laneway with echoes of Fish Lane.
The site had previously had two dwelling houses which Saunders Havills said were "left isolated", and had limited development potential.
Icon is forecasting an August start of construction, with a crane being installed onsite by March next year. Completion is forecasted for the end of 2027.