456 apartments in two towers: Pitch to transform Lane Cove River site

Land bordering the Lane Cove River, once used for industrial warehouses isolated among the bushland, may one day be known for high-rise accommodation and data centres.

What happened: Under a State Significant Development lodged by developer Epic Doncaster, two high rise towers — one of 23 storeys and the other of 16 — would sit along the river near Epping Road. 

The DA seeks rezoning of land along the river from general industrial to mixed use residential, and to increase height limits from 18 metres to 100 metres. 

The 9,128-square-metre site was bought by Epic Doncaster for $27.8 million in 2015. 

Back again: The same proponent sought to redevelop the area in 2019, but was rejected by Lane Cove Council, which wanted to keep the land for industrial use. This time, however, the decision sits with the state government. 

The project, with an estimated cost of nearly $500 million, would build 456 apartments in the Lane Cove area. Fifteen percent of these would be run as affordable housing for 15 years.

The site backs directly onto Lane Cove National Park and is on bushfire prone land.