Green light for six-storey tower block

Proposals for 45 new apartments in a six-story development near the waterfront at Bongaree have been approved. 

Moreton Bay City Councillors last week gave the green light to plans for the two-bedroom, short and long-term dwellings at 14-18 Second Ave.

The development, on a vacant block also fronting Queens St, will also have a food and drink out, office and shop as well as 57 parking spaces.

Council officers said the application responded to a need for short-term accommodation on Bribie and the number of parking spaces exceed what is needed.

Questions were raised over the building’s height. At 25.5m it is over the recommended 21m limit in Council’s Building Heights Overlay.

However, the additional 4.5m consists of a roof-top open space area, lift overrun, gym and shade structures which are recessed and set back.

“They will have a negligible impact on the perceived scale and bulk of the building viewed from surrounding streets and public spaces,” Cr Brooke Savige (Div 1) said.

Conditions of the approval include concrete pathways along the front of the development to Queen St and connecting to Foley St.

“With the conditions recommended by officer, particularly around parking and pedestrian connectivity, I believe we can secure the best possible outcome from the proposal before us,” Cr Savige said.

The approval was passed unanimously.