Proposed North Gong high-rise triples height limits near station
127m, 38-storey tower heads to NSW planners
One is a proposed 127-metre mixed-use tower on the fringes of Wollongong’s CBD. The other is an approved 144-metre tower in suburban Sydney.
The proposed Wollongong project at 4-4a Flinders Street, North Wollongong, is the site of a car yard. The other, at the corner of Railway Parade and Burleigh Street in Burwood, caused outrage when it was revealed it was once home to Aussie rock’n’roll royalty - the Young brothers (Malcolm and Angus of AC/DC fame, and their eldest brother, producer George). Music writer Glenn A. Baker told ABC News the significance of the house could not be overstated, describing it as a “sacred” site where famous artists would regularly gather.
The Wollongong proposal is 38 storeys, one less than the Burwood tower - and that is about where the similarities end, for now.
There has been no such silence in Wollongong.
Sydney-based developer Urban Property Group has pushed beyond existing planning controls with a high-rise co-living and residential proposal next to North Wollongong train station. The company held two community briefings earlier this month, drawing a range of pointed questions from residents.
The State Significant Development Application (SSD-85464245) proposes 293 build-to-sell apartments — with 15 per cent of gross floor area designated as affordable housing — and 211 co-living apartments, along with ground-floor retail. An earlier plan for 150 hotel rooms has since been dropped.
The building height stands in stark contrast to existing controls. Planning consultant Brendan Moskins of Beam Planning told the briefings that the Local Environmental Plan permits 32 metres on the site, rising to a maximum of 41.6 metres with state government bonuses. The proposed 127 metres is roughly three times that maximum. Moskins argued the station-adjacent location justified the scale, telling residents it was “more appropriate to place housing right next to the station, opposed to distributing it more broadly across local government areas in lower density areas.”
The project has been declared state significant by the Housing Delivery Authority. That means it bypasses Wollongong City Council and goes directly to the NSW Department of Planning for assessment.
The broader North Wollongong TOD precinct has been earmarked by the Minns government for more than 5300 new homes, with higher density around stations central to the policy. However, the Flinders-Station streets corner sits outside the formal TOD boundary, making the height justification a likely flashpoint when the application reaches public exhibition.
Residents raised concerns during online briefings about traffic congestion, Station Street access to the neighbouring Dan Murphy’s, flood risks to the basement, overshadowing west of the rail line, potential noise restrictions on the North Gong Hotel, disruption to the bus stop outside the site, whether the co-living apartments would effectively become student housing, station capacity, and construction impacts on pedestrians.
The developer said the site would not flood during a one-in-100-year event and that further analysis would show no unacceptable overshadowing impacts. Construction is not expected to begin before early 2027 and would take at least two years.
Once the application’s submitted, it will be posted on the Department of Planning’s major projects portal for a formal public exhibition period of approximately one month. Community feedback can also be submitted now via the HillPDA engagement portal.
