Gold Coast-based developer Sherpa Property Group has acquired a South Brisbane site for $27 million, with plans for a 186-apartment tower valued at $320 million that will reserve a cohort of its most affordable units exclusively for first homebuyers.
The acquisition marks the company's second Brisbane project and builds on its Flourish brand, which locks out investors from purchasing the entry-level stock in each development to give owner-occupiers a foothold in the market.
Sherpa purchased the 2,309sqm site, located at 2 Cordelia Street, from a partnership led by GreenFort Capital, which had paid $19.9 million for the property in 2022.
GreenFort Capital, BentallGreenOak and Partners Group had planned a major build-to-rent project on the site which is currently occupied by a low-rise warehouse.
Sherpa Property Group plans to lodge a development application for the tower next month with the concept to include ground-floor commercial space.
The new project sits close to Sherpa's first Brisbane development, Symphony, a $255 million, 146-apartment tower at 21-23 Cordelia Street where 114 units have already sold off-the-plan.
Construction of Symphony is under way with completion due in 2028.
"We are big believers in the future of Brisbane as we lead into the 2032 Olympics and beyond," says Sherpa Group founder Christie Leet.
“The success of Symphony has guided us into what will be our second project and we look forward to submitting our plans with council soon so we can deliver yet another quality project to the inner city residential market.
“Our Flourish model has been very well received both in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and we’re excited to be able to offer some of these apartments again exclusively to first homebuyers to help get them into the property market.
“The model has been extraordinarily well received in our previous projects and it is something we are committed to moving forward.”
Leet says the Flourish model was developed in response to the affordability crisis squeezing first homebuyers out of new apartment stock, particularly in high-demand corridors like South Brisbane.
Under the model, Sherpa identifies the most attainable apartments in each project and restricts their sale to owner-occupiers buying their first home, preventing investors from snapping up the cheapest units before they reach the market.
The exact number of apartments to be reserved for first homebuyers at 2 Cordelia Street has not been disclosed, nor has indicative pricing for the project.
The South Brisbane projects form part of a broader expansion across South-East Queensland that has pushed Sherpa's development pipeline to $1.7 billion.
On the Gold Coast, the company has invested $42 million on site acquisitions at Palm Beach over the past year, assembling land for a $500 million dual-tower Flourish precinct that received council approval for its second tower last month.
The Palm Beach precinct will deliver more than 380 apartments across the two towers.
Leet says South Brisbane's proximity to the CBD, public transport links and the cultural precinct around the Queensland Performing Arts Centre make it a natural fit for the Flourish brand's target demographic of younger buyers entering the market for the first time.
Sherpa's pipeline now spans multiple stages of development across the Gold Coast and Brisbane, with the 2 Cordelia Street project subject to approval from Brisbane City Council before construction timelines are confirmed.
The company plans to launch the new Brisbane project early next year.
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