Keylin has lodged a development application for Lotus on Water Street, a 15 storey mixed use building at 290 Water Street and 137-141 Warry Street on the Fortitude Valley side of Spring Hill. The project will retain the locally listed Brunswick Home Furnishers Showroom along Water Street as its street level anchor.
The proposal delivers 132 one, two and three bedroom apartments with flexible use at the lower levels, around 518 square metres of ground-level commercial and retail space, and a resident-only rooftop amenity on a 2,869 square metre amalgamated site. The site sits inside the Spring Hill Neighbourhood Plan’s Spring Hill East Precinct and the Mixed Use (Inner City) zone, roughly 650 metres from Fortitude Valley railway station and within easy walking distance of Victoria Park, the King Street precinct, Herston Quarter and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Keylin frames the proposal as a long-anticipated response to the area’s regeneration, citing the upgraded Exhibition train station and the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games precincts including the future Victoria Park stadium, National Aquatic Centre and Brisbane Athlete Village as drivers of demand. The 132 apartments are positioned to help address what the developer describes as the critical housing and accommodation shortage tied to the Games.
Designed by Jackson Teece, the 12 storey tower will comprise of a communal rooftop garden sitting above a three storey street building. The street building is split between a retained heritage frontage along Water Street and a stepped commercial form on Warry Street. The applicant has already obtained a heritage exemption certificate authorising removal of non-significant buildings on the site, while the significant Brunswick Home Furnishers Showroom and the adjoining heritage buildings along Water Street are retained.
The retained heritage buildings accommodate around 360 square metres of new shop, office and food and drink outlet uses, with a permeable residential lobby threading between the heritage forms to provide an active transition to the new podium. Above the heritage facades, levels 1 and 2 of the street building are recessed so that the heritage remains the dominant streetwall element.
The podium’s own architectural language draws on the mid-century furniture historically produced on the site, with a perforated metal screen referencing woven and rattan textures and a layer of climbing and cascading plants softening the parking levels behind.
The Lotus name draws on the project’s broader landscape narrative. The architectural team has anchored the design in the indigenous name Meeanjin, often translated as “the place of the blue water lilies”, with podium and rooftop planting reinterpreting the waterhole ecology that historically ran through this part of the Valley before being diverted underground.
The Warry Street frontage is where the vehicle access enters, but the applicant has dressed the driveway with a 158 square metre commercial space sitting over the entry to maintain street level activation. The application also folds in the existing two storey building at 141 Warry Street, currently occupied by a healthcare service (the Hip Clinic), so that an informal arrangement under which the clinic parks across 290 Water Street can be properly formalised. The clinic and its tenancy are retained, and the new building dedicates nine dedicated car spaces at level 1 to it.
Inside the tower, the upper levels 7 to 14 carry the formally classified multiple dwelling component of 76 apartments (6 one bedroom, 54 two bedroom and 16 three bedroom). Levels 3 to 6 carry a further 56 units that are formally classified as short term accommodation in the planning application, but are designed to flexibly and interchangeably switch to multiple dwelling use. Taken together, the building can be marketed and operated as a 132 apartment residential project.
Project Rundown
| Development Parameter | Proposed Development |
|---|---|
| Project Name | Lotus on Water Street |
| Address | 290 Water Street and 137-141 Warry Street, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 |
| Application Number | A007032914 |
| Development Type | Mixed Use (Residential, Short-term Accommodation, Retail, Office, Healthcare) |
| Site Area | 2,869 m² (development area 2,483 m²) |
| Zone | Mixed Use (Inner City) |
| Neighbourhood Plan | Spring Hill Neighbourhood Plan, Spring Hill East Precinct (NPP-004) |
| Height | 15 storeys (12 storey tower plus communal rooftop terrace over 3 storey street building) |
| Apartments | 132 in total (one, two and three bedroom). Formal classification: 76 multiple dwellings (6 x 1-bed, 54 x 2-bed, 16 x 3-bed) at levels 7-14, plus 56 units formally classified as short-term accommodation at levels 3-6 that are documented to flexibly and interchangeably switch to multiple dwelling use. |
| Retail / Commercial | 518.3 m² GFA across the retained heritage buildings on Water Street and a standalone Warry Street commercial space |
| Heritage | Retains the locally listed Brunswick Home Furnishers Showroom along Water Street and the existing 2 storey Hip Clinic at 141 Warry Street; heritage exemption certificate for non-significant buildings already issued (BCC Ref A006900076) |
| Rooftop Amenity | 1,221 m² resident-only rooftop (42.5% of the site) on Level 15, including pool, spa, gym, sauna, infrared sauna, yoga area, outdoor BBQ and entertainment space, private dining area and library. 262 m² of soft landscaping covering 18.55% of the roof footprint. |
| Deep Planting | 129.7 m² at ground level plus on-site landscaping totalling 585 m² |
| Car Parking | 117 spaces (110 resident + 7 visitor) across four levels, plus 9 spaces for the retained healthcare service |
| Bicycle Parking | 100 spaces (80 resident + 20 visitor) |
| Status | Lodged 25 May 2026 |
| Assessment Level | Code Assessable |
| Public Notification | Not required (code assessable) |
| Referral Agency | Not applicable |
| Developer | Keylin Land Holdings No. 18 Pty Ltd |
| Architect | Jackson Teece |
| Heritage Architect | Ivan McDonald Architects |
| Town Planner | Mewing Planning Consultants |
| Date Submitted | 25 May 2026 |
| Sustainability | Framework: Targets the Buildings that Breathe principles and the CP2014 Subtropical Building Design Planning Scheme Policy. Envelope: Permeable ground plane drawing daylight and ventilation into the residential lobby; balconies and well-proportioned living areas designed to maximise natural light and cross ventilation; heritage podium recessed to retain street-scale character. Living Greenery: 129.7 m² of ground-level deep planting plus 585 m² total on-site landscaping across podium, façade and rooftop; cascading podium planting reinterprets the historic native lotus and waterlily ecology of Meeanjin. Waste & Recycling: Standard refuse chute servicing bin rooms at lower levels; serviced on site by collection contractor. |
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Keylin is a long-term owner of the site, and it has always been our intention to deliver a mixed-use project that builds on the success of our nearby Oria development and contributes to sustainable growth in Brisbane.
Louis Cheung, Managing Director, Keylin
Rooftop amenity is the single largest communal element in the project. The applicant has set aside 1,221 square metres of communal open space at roof level, which equates to about 42.5% of the site area, configured as a Rooftop Garden under the City Plan definition.
Keylin has confirmed the rooftop amenity package as a resident-only level including a pool, spa, gym, sauna, infrared sauna, yoga area, outdoor BBQ and entertainment space, private dining area and library. The roof also accommodates 262 square metres of soft landscaping covering 18.55% of the roof footprint. Total on site landscaping including the rooftop, ground level deep planting and facade greenery sits at 585 square metres.
Parking is provided across four levels, with 117 spaces serving the new development (110 residential and 7 visitor) and an additional nine spaces dedicated to the retained healthcare tenancy. Bicycle parking is set at 80 residential and 20 visitor spaces. Vehicle access is split between Water Street and Warry Street to share load and isolate servicing from the heritage frontage.
About the developer
Keylin Group is a privately owned South East Queensland development company. Its portfolio includes Serenity 4212, a 65 hectare master planned community on the Gold Coast adjacent to the Coombabah Lakelands Conservation Reserve, delivered in joint venture with Kinstone Group. Completed Serenity stages include Serenity Waters (premium land release), the award winning Serenity Green (premium townhomes) and Serenity Reserve (premium townhomes).
In Fortitude Valley, Keylin’s existing Oria project is the immediate antecedent for the proposed Lotus on Water Street. The group has been the long term owner of the 290 Water Street site, and frames the application as the culmination of a planned mixed use outcome rather than an opportunistic acquisition.
Bordering Spring Hill and its excellent schools, this once overlooked pocket of Fortitude Valley enjoys exceptional transport connectivity and has become the focus of significant investment and renewal in recent years. Its proximity to the Brisbane CBD, the upgraded Exhibition train station and key precincts for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics will continue to drive investment and demand.
Louis Cheung, Managing Director, Keylin
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