Renovo Solutions has lodged a development application for a proposed 29-storey flexible rooming accommodation tower at 37 Cordelia Street in South Brisbane, designed by renowned Australian architecture practice FK.
Located within the evolving Kurilpa precinct, the development proposes 350 rooms across levels five to 28, with an emphasis on shared resident amenity throughout the building. The ground plane will feature food and beverage, retail and a new publicly accessible arcade.
Against the backdrop of Queensland’s shortage of well-located rental accommodation, 37 Cordelia demonstrates the role that constrained and underutilised inner-city sites can play in expanding supply. Sites of this kind are often difficult to develop efficiently using conventional building models, particularly where narrow dimensions and structural requirements erode usable floor area or compromise amenity.
Resident amenity includes more than 1,100 square metres of communal spaces, coworking space, a gym, masterchef kitchen, dining and lounge areas, landscaped double-height terraces across alternating tower levels and lawned rooftop breakout.
37 Cordelia Street builds on Renovo’s established property development and asset-repositioning work. It reflects the group’s core proposition: leading development with engineering and construction capability embedded from the outset, and working closely with architectural partners to create viable, high-quality outcomes on sites that conventional approaches leave constrained or underutilised.
Renovo Solutions Director Simon Heathcote said the project showed how development, architecture, engineering and delivery could work together to unlock a difficult site and contribute to the broader accommodation challenge.
“The location is exceptional, but it is a challenging piece of land to develop well. Continuing our longstanding relationship with FK allowed us to bring Renovo’s development proposition and engineering insight together with FK’s architectural and urban design expertise. The strength of the scheme came from testing ideas together from the beginning,” Heathcote said.
“The significance of 37 Cordelia extends beyond the 350 rooms proposed here. Across Queensland, many well-located sites are overlooked or substantially underutilised because conventional solutions are infeasible.”
“Unlocking those sites one by one can make a meaningful cumulative contribution to accommodation supply, without compromising design quality or resident amenity.”
With roughly 20 metres of frontage onto Cordelia Street, the narrow site presented significant structural and planning constraints. The flexible rooming accommodation model allows residential spaces to be supported by shared facilities throughout the building rather than relying on the conventional apartment model of private balconies.
FK Principal Alex Ward said the architecture – inspired by the interconnected natural systems of Brisbane’s native fig trees – was developed in tandem with the Renovo engineering team, ensuring that the design delivered both an elegant and efficient outcome.
“On a site this narrow, every column has a material impact on how the building can function, so architecture and engineering had to be considered as a combined performance driven solution from the beginning,” Ward said.
“By moving the stabilising system to the perimeter, we were able to free up the floorplate and give the building much greater flexibility. The engineering then becomes part of the building’s architectural identity – creating opportunities for depth, shade and integrated greenery across the facade.”
Ward said a “park in the sky” overlooking the Brisbane CBD would provide valuable communal space. This lawned rooftop garden will incorporate outdoor dining and barbecue areas.
The project has now progressed to construction pricing with Hutchinson Builders, while Renovo, FK and the wider consultant team continue design development in parallel.
37 Cordelia forms the first stage of Renovo’s plans for the landholding, with the adjoining 42–44 Manning Street site identified for future development under a subsequent development application.
