Woolworths Group’s development arm has won approval for a $191-million rebuild of its Neutral Bay supermarket site after years of council resistance and a shift into the state’s housing fast-track.

The approval for Fabcot clears demolition of the existing Woolworths at 1-7 Rangers Road and an adjoining six-storey commercial building at 50 Yeo Street.

A Koichi Takada Architects-designed scheme will replace both with a part eight and part 12-storey project anchored by an underground supermarket, shops, medical space and 97 apartments.

Consent was granted this month three days after a Housing Delivery Authority rezoning lifted height controls for the 4207sq m Lower North Shore holding.

Woolworths Group national general manager mixed-use development Pierre Abrahamse said the approval was a milestone.

“We have achieved the first concurrent Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) rezoning and State Significant Development approval in the North Sydney LGA,” Abrahamse said in a LinkedIn post.

The approval caps a six-year push and delivers a bigger outcome than a scheme previously advanced through the local planning system.

The earlier proposal had been shaped around a part-six and part-eight storeys scheme of about 62 apartments, a 1.8:1 minimum non-residential floor-space ratio and about 372 basement car spaces.

A Koichi Takada Architects rendering of Fabcot’s approved 12-storey Neutral Bay mixed-use project, with the Woolworths supermarket to move below ground.

▲ A Koichi Takada Architects rendering of Fabcot’s approved 12-storey Neutral Bay project. The Woolworths supermarket will be sited below ground.

Under the HDA rezoning, height controls increased from 26m and 31m to 31m and 44m, while the minimum non-residential floor-space ratio fell to 1.5:1.

The approved scheme includes 87 market apartments plus 10 affordable apartments for 15 years, in a mix of one, two, three and four bedrooms.

Plans include 6575sq m of commercial floor space, 10 ground-floor retail tenancies, a medical centre across levels one to three, and a 1100sq m plaza linking Rangers Road, Yeo Street and Military Lane.

A new supermarket would be below ground, opening the street level for retail, outdoor dining and public space.

Fabcot first engaged the North Sydney Council in 2020 over the Military Road corridor and Neutral Bay town centre.

The council refused its first planning proposal in 2022 and a revised proposal in May of 2023, sending Fabcot to a rezoning review.

The state later allowed the planning proposal to proceed to gateway, contrary to the council’s position.

Last year, the project moved into the HDA pipeline. The authority recommended the latest scheme in February, 2025, before it was declared State Significant Development in April.

▲ The approved scheme includes a 1100sq m public plaza linking Rangers Road, Yeo Street and Military Lane.

The North Sydney Council maintained its opposition during exhibition, while 30 of 46 public submissions also objected.

Concerns centred on traffic, height, overshadowing, affordable housing, parking, infrastructure, Yeo Street bulk, the covered link, public domain encroachments and local planning alignment.

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure backed the project, finding the site sat within Neutral Bay town centre, where greater height and mixed-use renewal were expected.

It said similar nine to 14-storey buildings already existed within 250m, and accepted the built-form strategy, with the tallest element pushed towards Rangers Road and Yeo Street stepping down to eight storeys.

The council wanted an open-to-sky break from Yeo Street, but the department accepted a covered link, finding the 8m-wide and 6m-high opening still provided visual relief and weather protection.

Fabcot amended the Military Lane edge, replacing a 4.85m blank wall with a 6.2m semi-enclosed break linking the lane and plaza.

▲ A covered through-site link from Yeo Street was accepted by the department despite North Sydney Council seeking an open-to-sky break.

Traffic impacts were acceptable, while Sydney Water and Ausgrid advised the site could connect to existing infrastructure.

The department said the project would generate 263 construction jobs, 143 operational jobs and $1.12 million in housing and productivity contributions.

Consent conditions include further groundwater testing before a construction certificate, plus wind, traffic, landscaping, site stability and construction management measures.

Assessment material said construction was planned to begin in 2026 and finish by 2029.

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