Brisbane sees biggest crane jump since 2014

Brisbane's construction activity appears to be coming out of the doldrums, with 48 cranes added across the city over the past six months.

It bucked the trend of Queensland's 2020 drop-off in construction activity, with building work trending below the decade average for most key indicators.

The Rider Levett Bucknall's Q1 2021 Crane Index paints a much more promising picture for Brisbane's construction activity, with the number of cranes added the largest increase in Brisbane's crane numbers since the inception of the index just over seven years ago.

The index jumped from 68 to 97, with 27 cranes also removed from the city. There are now 71 cranes active across the Brisbane area.

Residential cranes remain the largest sector in Brisbane, accounting for almost 50 per cent of the cranes across Brisbane. Over the last six month, residential cranes have increased to 34 per cent, up by 12 previously.

This includes new developments starting in Ascot, Brisbane, Cannon Hill, Coorparoo, east Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Hawthorne, Norman Park, South Brisbane, St Lucia and Yeronga. There have been two projects commence in Indooroopilly, New Farm, Newstead and Seven Hills, with three in Woolloongabba.

The mixed-use sector is the next largest sector, dominated by the nine cranes assisting the Queen's Wharf development. They account for 12 per cent of all the cranes in Brisbane.

Waterfront Newstead, the Mirvac community, is one of few mixed-use projects which include two or more cranes.

The latest tower, known as Quay Waterfront Newstead, located alongside the Brisbane River, joins previously completed stages Pier, Park and Unison as part of the grander Waterfront Newstead community.

The east of Brisbane saw the largest increase, with six more cranes added over the last six months. Previously there had just been one crane.

The new residential cranes were erected in Cannon Hill, Hawthorne, Norman Park and two in Seven Hills.

Brisbane's best off the plan developments

The Coterie, Fortitude Valley

Just 1.5km away from Brisbane’s CBD in the culturally rich and vibrant Fortitude Valley are The Coterie. The two residential towers comprise of one, two and three bedroom selections and two penthouses across 27 floors. A collaboration from award winning design teams at Rothelowman and Bruce Henderson Architects introduces an elegant building silhouette wrapped in a flowing, monochromatic motif, a graphic representation of the connectivity between the two towers, the streetscape and the skyscrapers that border the suburb in the CBD.

Monterey Kangaroo Point - 9 Lambert Street, Kangaroo Point

Monterey Kangaroo Point is Australia's tallest timber tower. South of the Storey Bridge, Monterey Kangaroo Point is the second Urban Development Institute of Australia accredited EnviroDevelopment for the Gardner Vaughan Group. The Lambert Street development comprises 42 apartments.

Venusto, Yeronga

Another from the Gardner Vaughan Group, and their other project to win the Urban Development Institute of Australia accredited EnviroDevelopment, Venusto is the latest announced building in Yeronga's luxury Renovaré development. Venusto is the third stage of the wider project and comprises 33 apartments made up of one, two, three and four bedroom units.