Creating a vibrant Sutton Street
By Kylie Knight and Nick Crockford
With eight developments slated or underway, Sutton Street is changing and has the potential to play a major role in creating a vibrant precinct for locals and visitors.
Sutton Street has evolved since the 1860s when Reverend John Sutton bought farming land there and later subdivided it, paving the way for shops, hotels and boarding houses to be built.
During the late 1980s, part of the street became a mall only to reopen in 1997.
It has been a major artery to Redcliffe’s “city heart”, home to shops, businesses and services, with arcades linking it to the foreshore.
Moreton Bay City Council is presently undertaking a Coastal Building Design Review which includes the Redcliffe Peninsula, Deception Bay and Bribie Island.
Sutton Street is part of the review which aims to “improve development outcomes and align them with the kind of neighbourhoods that our community wants to live, work and visit”.
A Council spokesperson says it has previously engaged with the community to “understand what is important to them when it comes to building design” and will seek feedback on the review’s draft report in 2026.
Mayor Peter Flannery says: “With roughly one third of the City’s population living on the coastline, Council wants to get the design of coastal buildings right while accommodating future population growth”.
Open Architecture Studio Founding Director Michael Bailey describes Sutton St as the “back-up vocals” to “lead singer” Redcliffe Pde and a space that has its own personality but is an important “companion”.
“I think it’s a really important street not only for access but it plays a very different role to the esplanade, which is the hero street with views of the water. Your hero retailers are not necessarily located there, so it’s all that secondary stuff that keeps a city going,” Michael explains.
“It also provides a nice space that’s a bit of a respite from the wind and the sun that you might get on the esplanade.”
He says Sutton St has the potential to mirror aspects of the Fish Lane precinct at South Brisbane.
“It (Fish Lane) is this really protected, almost hidden, little gem which has all this sub-tropical planting and there’s lots of little nooks and crannies and beautiful curated places for you to discover,” Michael explains.
“It’s not South Bank. It’s not the big hero space with views of the city on the water but it is this really important hidden gem that offers some really boutique experiences.
“I think all the little arcades that connect it (Sutton St to Redcliffe Pde), and Bee Gees Way, offer that permeability between the two streets. I think they are really important companions.”
Michael says Fish Lane was a collaboration between Queensland Rail, the City of Brisbane and developers, who curated a vision for the precinct and implemented it. He believes the same approach could be taken with Sutton St.
“We’ve actually been talking to some of those developers (in Redcliffe), saying you need to go to council with a coherent masterplan for the whole of the CBD that provides flavour and an urban design guide,” Michael says.
His company is involved in the Stafford Urban Renewal Plan, working with a number of developers to create a market-led precinct vision, and he says a similar plan was successfully created for Stones Corner.
Michael says Sutton St has “a certain magic to it with Humpybong Creek behind and the foreshore and jetty” nearby.
“I think when you start to add in projects to rejuvenate Humpybong Creek ... getting rid of the carpark that’s on top of the creek and putting that into a multi-storey elsewhere, putting a beautiful plaza there and connecting that to the beach and the jetty, upgrading the jetty to actually have a marina there where boats can pull in for the day. (That is when) you start to talk about a destination that people would really be drawn to.
“I think those are the things, when you start to look at a really vibrant CBD ... then you start to talk about a mature city and a mature city heart that is attractive not just for locals.
“The best sort of tourism destination is actually one the locals love first and foremost.”
Michael says the vision for Sutton St should cater to all ages, with activity early in the morning and entertainment options to create vibrancy at night, particularly for those aged in their 20s and 30s.
Councillor Karl Winchester (Div 6) says Sutton Street is “ripe for uplift and activation”.
“I certainly encourage refreshed thinking about the future of the Redcliffe CBD, maintaining character while unlocking its full potential. Think Fish Lane in South Brisbane and Cairns Esplanade,” he says.
“Sutton Street can support a boutique mix of residential, short-term accommodation and commercial activation.
“A renewed approach should ask how we open up a nighttime economy, secure short-term accommodation, better manage traffic, parking, public transport and walkability.”
Development potential
4-8 SUTTON ST
Apartments have been selling fast in Essence on Sutton - a new eight-storey development at 4-8 Sutton Street. With 26 three and four-bedroom apartments, Essence on Sutton has attracted off-plan buyers and at the time of writing, only six remain. Essence on Sutton is near the entrance to Suttons Beach car park.
25, 27, 29 SUTTON ST
Three blocks, being marketed by Ray White Special Projects, may also join the raft of developments along Sutton St. Collectively covering 1778sqm, the parcel of land is described as a “premium beachside development site”. Though code assessed for a building height of six storeys, marketing details say there’s “scope to increase to eight storeys based on surrounding precedent”.
77 SUTTON ST
Plans for a nine-storey, 65-apartment development were approved in October. The development, on a 2168sqm block at the corner of Dix St, will have 39 two-bed apartments, 25 three-bed apartments and one four-bed apartment.
1 REDCLIFFE PDE / 82 SUTTON ST
One Redcliffe, the huge development on the corner of Redcliffe Pde, Anzac Ave and Sutton St, is in demand with more than 70 per cent of residencies sold. Plans are to build One Redcliffe in two stages, with tower one first. This is expected to take two-and-a-half years. Stage two will take 18 months. When finished One Redcliffe will have 214 apartments, and 14 retail and commercial spaces.
99 SUTTON ST
A new social and affordable housing complex has been officially opened. The Brisbane Housing Company (BHC) project provides 82 new homes close to the heart of Redcliffe’s CBD.
165-169 REDCLIFFE PDE/SUTTON ST
Plans which include roof-top dining have been approved at one of Redcliffe’s most prominent waterside venues. Development application, by Enhance Property Investments, is for a “food and drink outlet” on the site which includes the former Pilpel restaurant. The application covers a 1757sqm area on four lots, facing Sutton St, the waterfront and bus interchange car park between the site and Redcliffe RSL.
167 SUTTON ST
Work is set to start early next year at Lumiere, a development of 18 apartments on a vacant block at the corner of Sutton and Creek streets. Reports suggest the nine-storey building, with “half-floor” three-bedroom apartments, will take one year to build and be completed in February 2027.
CORNER SUTTON ST and ANZAC AVE
A development application was approved in 2023 for Bluewater Square shopping centre to be transformed, with a 142-room hotel built on top of the existing structure. The hotel would include a bar on the top floor, a swimming pool, and public art and murals on the front. The centre was sold to a Brisbane-based property group in September this year. The group is assessing its plans for the centre, and no new development application has been submitted to council.