Urban Digest

$63M Edgecliff Apartment Proposal Moves to Exhibition

March 4, 2026

An architectural drawing from the project's appendix.

Edgecliff is the latest Sydney suburb to face a major infill redevelopment proposal. Plans for a 10-storey residential building at 8–10 New McLean Street are now on public exhibition as State Significant Development (SSD-80626208).

The 7,224-square-metre site sits less than 50 metres from Edgecliff Railway Station and the adjoining bus interchange. As a result, the location is one of the most accessible transport nodes in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The proposal would replace two ageing residential flat buildings with a significantly denser apartment development overlooking Trumper Park.

However, the application will test how far density uplift can extend into a heritage-sensitive pocket of Woollahra. Planners must therefore balance housing supply pressures with environmental impacts and neighbourhood character.

Redevelopment proposal

The proposal seeks approval to demolish the existing residential buildings and subdivide the site into two Torrens title lots. The current application covers the western lot. There, the developer proposes a residential flat building containing 65 apartments.

The scheme includes 24 two-bedroom and 41 three-bedroom dwellings. In addition, five basement levels would provide 134 resident parking spaces and 16 visitor spaces. These levels would also contain bicycle storage, building services and waste management areas.

Meanwhile, the design includes communal open space at ground level and on Level 5. These areas would feature landscaped spaces and a swimming pool. The building would present a 10-storey form to New McLean Street. However, the design steps upper levels back from level six to reduce bulk and visual impact.

Importantly, the redevelopment would retain the public path and steps linking New McLean Street to Trumper Park.

This proposal represents the first stage of redevelopment. Meanwhile, the larger eastern portion of the site would require a separate development application in the future.

An architectural drawing from the project documentation. — A technical drawing from the architectural set details the proposed Edgecliff redevelopment.

Planning history

Redevelopment of the site has been under discussion for several years. The process began through planning proposal PP-2023-1648, which seeks site-specific amendments to the Woollahra Local Environmental Plan 2014.

Initially, Woollahra Council did not support the rezoning within the statutory timeframe. As a result, the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel assumed responsibility for progressing the proposal. The panel later commissioned an independent urban design study. It then endorsed the proponent’s recommendations.

The NSW Government declared the site State Significant Development in February 2025. The Planning Secretary issued environmental assessment requirements the following month. Gateway determination for the planning proposal followed in April 2025. Meanwhile, authorities publicly exhibited the proposal between May and June that year.

The current SSD application represents the first stage of redevelopment on the site. It proposes a residential building on the western portion. The proponent intends to develop the eastern portion separately through a future development application.

Heritage context

Heritage considerations will play a key role in the assessment. The site sits within the Paddington Heritage Conservation Area and near several heritage items and conservation areas.

However, heritage specialists found that the existing buildings on the site do not have heritage significance. Even so, the redevelopment must still respond to the surrounding heritage context.

The design attempts to create a transition in built form. It sits between the higher-density buildings near Edgecliff Station and the lower-rise residential areas to the east and west. However, planners will likely examine the scale and visual presence of the building closely during the assessment.

Density and urban transition

The proposal relies on increased development capacity through the site-specific planning proposal.

Woollahra Council’s Edgecliff Commercial Centre Planning and Urban Design Strategy supports density uplift around the station precinct. However, the subject site sits outside the strategy’s core redevelopment area.

Therefore, the project positions itself as a transitional development. It aims to bridge the commercial centre around Edgecliff Station and the open landscape of Trumper Park.

Planning authorities must now decide whether the building’s scale and massing suit that context. At the same time, they must consider the need for additional housing in well-connected locations.

Exhibition and next steps

The State Significant Development application is currently on public exhibition. Authorities have invited public submissions during the exhibition period.

After the exhibition closes, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure will assess the proposal. The department will then decide whether to approve the development.