The Brisbane builder developer will deliver around 435 homes, a 50 bed hotel and retail space on the river. The way the deal is structured is as informative as the site itself.
Economic Development Queensland has selected GRAYA to develop an 11,000 square metre riverfront site at Northshore Hamilton, one of the last major development parcels inside Brisbane’s largest urban renewal precinct.
GRAYA’s proposal covers approximately 435 homes, a 50 bed hotel, and retail and commercial space. The company has partnered with Koichi Takada Architects on the design, which responds to the site’s position on the Brisbane River and to the city’s subtropical climate through shaded, walkable spaces and active frontages facing the water.
The selection came through a competitive market process. It also did not happen in isolation.
The site exists because the Athlete Village moved
The parcels became available after the planned Brisbane Athlete Village was relocated to Bowen Hills. EDQ has said that decision allowed it to bring housing delivery at Northshore Hamilton forward ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, rather than holding the land for a Games use and releasing it afterwards.
Northshore Hamilton covers 304 hectares with 2.5 kilometres of Brisbane River frontage, and is the largest waterfront urban renewal project in the state. EDQ acts as landowner, master developer and planning authority, and is guiding delivery of the precinct over the next 15 to 20 years. The transformation is expected to contribute more than $14 billion to the Queensland economy.
EDQ awarded all five riverfront sites at once
On 6 September, Economic Development Queensland confirmed it had selected five Queensland development partners across 6.1 hectares of the Northshore Hamilton Priority Development Area. Between them, the five sites are expected to deliver close to 2,200 homes for around 4,000 residents, more than 21,600 square metres of retail and commercial space, and the 50 bed hotel in GRAYA’s proposal.
Alongside GRAYA, EDQ selected Red & Co for approximately 440 homes across a staged two tower development, Joe Adsett Developments for approximately 430 homes also staged across two towers, Greyburn for approximately 402 homes across four medium rise buildings with ground floor retail, and Lancini for approximately 484 homes alongside a 15,070 square metre shopping and lifestyle hub anchored by a full line supermarket.
The mix across the precinct runs from one bedroom through to four bedroom homes. Two of the four other proponents are delivering through partnerships rather than alone. Greyburn is pairing its construction business with development group Immerse, and Lancini is working with James Group on the retail hub. Alongside the housing and commercial floorspace, the sites are to carry free and open community space on ground that has been fenced off industrial land for decades.
EDQ received 18 submissions across the five sites during an eight week window. That is more than three competing proposals per parcel, which says something about how the opportunity was packaged.
The state is carrying the servicing before anyone settles
What a Priority Development Area is
A Priority Development Area, or PDA, is land declared by the Minister for Economic Development Queensland under the Economic Development Act 2012. Inside a PDA, development applications are assessed and decided under that Act against a PDA Development Scheme, rather than by the local council under the local planning scheme. The Northshore Hamilton PDA was declared on 27 March 2008 and covers 304 hectares.
EDQ is investing $154 million in enabling infrastructure at Northshore Hamilton, covering new roads, sewer and water. Those works are already underway, and they are what turns five parcels of former industrial land into sites a developer can build on.
For GRAYA, settlement is proposed to follow the completion of civil works and the registration of titles. That sequencing is the part worth noting. The developer is not carrying the land while it is being serviced, which strips a long stretch of holding cost out of the front end of the project and moves the capital commitment closer to the point where construction can start.
Anyone who has watched a private infill or greenfield deal stall while interest accrues on unserviced dirt will recognise what that is worth. It is also a reasonable explanation for why 18 proposals arrived inside eight weeks, in a market where plenty of privately held sites are struggling to attract a single credible offer.
GRAYA chief executive Rob Gray said securing the site reflected the company’s confidence in Brisbane’s future. “Our ambition is to deliver a subtropical, architecturally led precinct on the river, designed for the Queensland climate and built to contribute to Northshore for decades to come,” he said.
Our ambition is to deliver a subtropical, architecturally led precinct on the river, designed for the Queensland climate and built to contribute to Northshore for decades to come.
ROB GRAY, CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND CO FOUNDER, GRAYA
Selection now, first residents in 2031
Construction of the first homes across the precinct is expected to begin in 2028, once the catalyst infrastructure is finished. First residents are anticipated from 2031, subject to planning approvals and other factors.
That is roughly five years from selection to occupation, on government owned land where the planning pathway had already been cleared. The amended Northshore Hamilton Development Scheme took effect on 21 November 2025. The sites were taken to market in February 2026, proposals closed on 16 April, and the successful proponents were named in early September.
It is a useful reference point for reading state land release announcements. The distance between an announcement and finished housing supply is measured in years rather than months, even when everything runs to plan and the approval framework has been rewritten specifically to speed it up.
GRAYA’s immediate next step is to progress the design and lodge a development application with EDQ. The project will be staged to support an efficient assessment and delivery program.
The river corridor footprint keeps growing
Over more than a decade GRAYA has moved from luxury residential building into an integrated property business spanning design, development and construction. Its portfolio now covers more than 15 projects across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, a pipeline valued at more than $3.5 billion, and a team of more than 125 people.
The company is currently delivering The Gallery at Hamilton on Racecourse Road and holds a development approval for The Pavilion in the James Street precinct. It also recently acquired 19 Chester Street, where it has lodged a development application for The Silo, a 35 storey mixed use project comprising 170 residences, retail and dining spaces, and a two level sky deck.
Northshore takes that inner north footprint from individual buildings to a precinct scale site.
Director of Development Shaun Mets said the selection was a strong endorsement of GRAYA’s capacity to manage complex projects and deliver at significant scale, and pointed to the team, systems and delivery capability the business has built as it has grown.
Managing Director Andrew Gray said Northshore offered a rare opportunity to influence how an entire precinct meets the river, and that the intent was to push what a subtropical riverfront development can offer.
No affordable housing component in the five site award
The five developments named this month do not include a designated social or affordable housing component. As reported by the ABC, the state removed the previous government’s affordable housing mandate from its state facilitated development program last year, with the Deputy Premier saying mandates had stopped development.
The precinct does already carry a separate social and affordable housing project. Community housing provider BHC was selected in 2024 to deliver 201 social and affordable homes elsewhere in Northshore Hamilton.
Five developers, one infrastructure program
For builders, trades and suppliers across south east Queensland, the practical detail here is the sequencing. Five developers, five separate projects, one shared enabling infrastructure program, and a construction start no earlier than 2028 on a single 6.1 hectare parcel.
That is a long lead time. It is also something that has become rare: forward work with a date attached, on land where the planning authority, the landowner and the infrastructure funder are the same organisation. Most of what gets announced in this market is contingent on approvals nobody has granted yet. This is not.
The Queensland Government has also signalled that Northshore is not the end of it, pointing to further riverfront redevelopment including the former Visy site at South Brisbane. For anyone building a forward book in the inner city, that is the next parcel to watch.
Frequently asked questions
GRAYA has been selected by Economic Development Queensland to develop an 11,000 square metre riverfront site. Its proposal comprises approximately 435 homes, a 50 bed hotel, and retail and commercial space, designed with Koichi Takada Architects. GRAYA will now progress the design and lodge a development application with EDQ.
Five Queensland development partners were selected across 6.1 hectares: GRAYA, Red & Co, Joe Adsett Developments, Greyburn and Lancini. Together the five sites are expected to deliver close to 2,200 homes, more than 21,600 square metres of retail and commercial space, and a 50 bed hotel.
Construction of the first homes is expected to begin in 2028, once EDQ completes the enabling infrastructure works currently underway. The first residents are anticipated from 2031, subject to planning approvals and other factors.
A Priority Development Area is land declared by the Minister for Economic Development Queensland under the Economic Development Act 2012. Development applications inside a PDA are assessed and decided under that Act against a PDA Development Scheme, rather than by the local council under the local planning scheme. Northshore Hamilton was declared a PDA on 27 March 2008.
Northshore Hamilton covers 304 hectares with 2.5 kilometres of Brisbane River frontage, making it the largest waterfront urban renewal project in Queensland. EDQ is guiding its delivery over the next 15 to 20 years, and the transformation is expected to contribute more than $14 billion to the Queensland economy.
Related articles
• Thousands of Homes Proposed for Hamilton Riverfront as Government Moves to Release Key Sites
• GRAYA Buys 19 Chester Street for $40 Million and Lodges The Silo
• GRAYA Buys the Block Next Door at Palm Beach: Inside the Site Assembly Play Behind Coral’s Expansion
Sources: Economic Development Queensland announcement, 6 September 2026 (edq.qld.gov.au); EDQ Northshore Hamilton PDA page (edq.qld.gov.au); Queensland Government announcement, 6 September 2026; ABC News, 6 September 2026; GRAYA media release, 6 September 2026.
Last updated: 7 September 2026.
General information only. This article reports on announcements made by Economic Development Queensland, the Queensland Government and GRAYA, and on related public reporting. It is general information and does not take account of any particular commercial, financial or legal circumstances. Figures and timelines described are as stated by the parties at the date of publication and are subject to planning approvals and other factors.
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