A large former industrial site beside a suburban park is the subject of a new apartment proposal that will be decided by the state rather than the local council.
The plan would replace an earlier approval that has expired. It asks for a taller building with many more homes than that earlier scheme allowed, and it has drawn objections from people who live nearby.
Image: Sydney Road, Brunswick, by Orderinchaos via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
What is proposed at 429 Albert Street
Stockland has applied directly to the Victorian Planning Minister for a new permit for an 11-storey building at 429 Albert Street in Brunswick, backing onto Clifton Park. The application was lodged in June 2026, as reported by Brunswick Voice.
The scheme proposes 223 apartments, 185 car parking spaces and 275 bicycle parking spaces. It would reach a maximum height of 33.5 metres, with a street frontage height of 14.5 metres.
The apartment mix is 61 one-bedroom, 133 two-bedroom and 29 three-bedroom homes. The building would be delivered as a single structure rather than the two-building form approved earlier.
The application also covers an all-electric building, water harvesting and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Stockland has offered a contribution equal to 3 per cent of the estimated construction cost to the Social Housing Growth Fund.
The site is a former timber yard of about 4,000 square metres. Stockland bought it for $15 million in 2020.
Why the state decides this application
The proposal is being assessed through the Victorian Government's Development Facilitation Program. Under that pathway the planning minister determines the application, so the decision does not sit with the local council.
The site is in the Moreland local government area, now known as Merri-bek. The council there has no approval role in this case, which is a central point of dispute.
The new permit would replace one that has lapsed. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the state body that reviews planning disputes and can grant permits on appeal, issued that permit in May 2022 for eight and nine-storey buildings containing 129 dwellings. Construction never began, which the developer has linked to market conditions and rising costs after the pandemic.
Submissions on the new application closed on Wednesday 16 September 2026.
A third tall building in one street
The development would be the third high-rise within a 270 metre stretch of Albert Street that backs onto Clifton Park.
Mirvac's LIV Albert at 395-411 Albert Street rises up to 11 storeys and holds 501 build to rent apartments. Build to rent describes housing held and operated by an owner for rental rather than sold to individual buyers. Hip v Hype's Parklife at 427 Albert Street is a nine-storey building with 61 dwellings.
The Urban Developer reported further detail from the formal application. Its account says the scheme would increase the previously approved apartment count by 94 homes and lift the height by two storeys at the highest point.
The application also asks for an exemption from building two pedestrian walkways through the site. One would run north to south and the other east to west, linking surrounding streets to Clifton Park.
What residents and the council say
The Scale It Down residents group formed in 2021 to campaign against what it described as over-development near Clifton and Gilpin parks. The group has since disbanded.
Former co-convenor Rodney Spark said he was not surprised by the new proposal. "They have held back the development for when the time was right for them to go back to the Minister," he said. He said a taller scheme had always been likely once a nearby project was allowed to reach 11 storeys.
Cr Jay Iwasaki, of Merri-bek Council's Bulleke-bek ward, said it was disappointing that the developer had chosen to apply directly to the minister, although there was little the council could do about it.
A resident who owns one of about 10 cottages immediately west of the proposed building, quoted under the name Bernadette because she asked that her real name not be used, said the building would sit just eight metres from the nearest house. "The visual bulk is immense, it's monstrous and creates this massive continual wall along Clifton [Park] and is just as high for more than 200 metres along Albert," she said.
A Stockland spokesman said the proposal seeks to deliver additional housing in a well-connected location close to public transport, services and community infrastructure. "As the application is currently being assessed, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time," he said.
What happens next in Brunswick
The architect on the revised scheme is Jackson Clements Burrows. With submissions now closed, the application rests with the state for assessment, and no decision date has been published.
The process differs from the previous round in one important way. The earlier permit was decided after a council refusal and a tribunal appeal, which gave objectors a defined path to be heard. This time the minister determines the outcome directly, and the scope for community challenge is narrower.
Residents who want to follow the result can watch for updates from the state planning department, or ask the council about any future application on the site. The permit history shows how long a large site in this location can sit unresolved.
Anyone weighing the project should also look at what already exists on the street. Two tall buildings are complete or under construction within the same short stretch, so the practical questions now centre on shadow, traffic and how the new residents will reach transport.
For people considering a move to the area, the Brunswick suburb profile sets out population, housing and income data. Comparing this part of Greater Melbourne with other Victorian areas is also easier with the Victoria local guide, which covers how localities across the state are profiled.
Works Cited
Phillips, Mark. "Developer Seeks to Raise Height of Albert Street Apartment Building." Brunswick Voice, 18 Sept. 2026, https://brunswickvoice.com.au/developer-seeks-to-raise-height-of-albert-street-apartment-building/.
Saunders, Lindsay. "Walkways Face Axe as Stockland Reworks Brunswick Scheme." The Urban Developer, 16 Sept. 2026, https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/stockland-brunswick-melbourne-apartment-scheme-reworked.
Orderinchaos. "Sydney Rd 03 N Brunswick near Brunswick Hotel with Traffic." Wikimedia Commons, n.d., https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Rd_03_N_Brunswick_near_Brunswick_Hotel_with_traffic.jpg.