‘A Privilege to be Entrusted’: Mosaic’s Once-in-a-Generation Riverfront Play

When it comes to playing the long game in property, Brook Monahan might be one of the best. Mosaic has recently begun work on its latest project, The Riversdale at South Brisbane. But it’s been a slow burn for the builder-developer, which has been circling the property for close to eight years. It originally had the site under contract in 2018. Mosaic founder Monahan says it “wasn’t opportunistic”; instead, the deal reflects the relationship he and his team built with the site’s long-term owner. “It was the result of a long-held conviction around the special location of this unique riverfront site at the epicentre of such amazing lifestyle amenity,” Monahan says. He says the South Brisbane precinct where the The Riversdale will rise is a “once-in-a-generation” riverfront site. ▲ Mosaic founder Brook Monahan has high conviction in the future of the South Brisbane peninsula where the The Riversdale development will take shape. He believes the locale is becoming a benchmark for inner-city living. Other notable developers, including Aria and Traders in Purple, are also doubling down on the peninsula, where the arts precinct, river and parklands converge across South Brisbane and West End. “South Brisbane is the centre of gravity,” Monahan says—the area where the riverfront, South Bank and major cultural institutions have already delivered scale and certainty. West End, by contrast, “contributes character and authenticity” to the wider precinct’s identity, Monahan says. The Queensland Government’s planned riverfront precinct, next to The Riversdale site, would add new parkland and public realm to this section of Montague Road. Monahan says that only sharpens the positioning. “It’s not just how the precinct lives today,” Monahan says, “it’s the certainty around how it will continue to evolve … [that’s] very difficult to replicate. “There are very few sites like it and even fewer that come to market.” Monahan says it is “a privilege to be entrusted with shaping something of that significance”. Who’s buying—and why The Riversdale’s target market is squarely owner-occupier. “At the core, we’re targeting a discerning owner-occupier, predominantly downsizers and established professionals,” Monahan says. While Mosaic has a strong repeat-buyer profile, the builder-developer will target buyers who prize the riverfront location and cultural amenities but also expect design integrity. ▲ Monahan says there is strong interest in the tower from interstate owner-occupiers who see comparative value in the prized riverfront location. Monahan says he’s also seeing solid interstate interest “particularly from Sydney and Melbourne”. While investor appetite exists, Monahan is adamant the project isn’t being designed for investors. “This is a project being shaped first and foremost around owner-occupiers—people who intend to live here.” A maturing market, raising the bar According to Monahan, buyer expectations have shifted fundamentally in recent times. The market may appear more cautious but, he says, it is far from inactive. “Buyer expectations have shifted quite materially over the past few years—from price and location alone to a much more holistic view of how an apartment actually inspires and promotes lifestyle,” he says. That means larger, more functional floorplans, and amenities that are “no longer about volume; it’s about quality and relevance”. Above all, he says, buyers are thinking long-term: “Owner-occupiers are asking whether a product will still feel right in five or 10 years”. “We’re certainly seeing a more measured buyer, rather than a simple return to confidence,” he says, buyers who are “more deliberate, more informed... and far less willing to compromise.” That, he argues, is reshaping what wins. “It’s not a market lacking confidence—it’s a market demanding a higher level of it, particularly at the top end.” Feasibility as a filter Elevated costs and tighter financing have changed which projects make it to delivery. “There is a clear gap emerging between projects that proceed and those that don’t,” Monahan says. He believes that dynamic will naturally constrain supply in well-located inner-city precincts. And it’s a dynamic he says will naturally constrain supply in well-located inner-city precincts. ▲ Monahan believes the site will be enhanced by the state’s parkland vision for the neighbouring block. He credits Mosaic’s builder-developer integrated model as critical to navigating that environment. “As a fully integrated developer and builder, we maintain control over the entire process—from design through to delivery,” he says. It’s a model that he says the group has refined across more than two decades. Policy tailwinds, fundamentals first Monahan takes a measured view of the Federal Government’s negative gearing and capital gains tax changes. While the settings should help direct capital toward new housing over time, he doesn’t see them as decisive. “Buyers—whether owner-occupiers or investors—still prioritise quality, location and confidence in delivery,” he says. He also points to the strength of an owner-occupier-led market as a structural advantage. “Our market is predominantly owner-occupier led, and that carries through into the secondary market as well,” he says, underpinning long-term value and resilience. Apartments a destination, not a stepping stone Monahan’s broader thesis is that Brisbane has crossed a threshold. “Apartment living is no longer a stepping stone. For a growing cohort of buyers, particularly downsizers and established professionals, it’s a considered, long-term choice about how they want to live,” he says. He points to Cotality data showing that apartment values have outpaced house values since the pandemic. He also points to a precinct that, in his view, now sets the standard. “Precincts like South Brisbane now offer a level of lifestyle, connectivity and amenity that genuinely competes with, and in many cases exceeds, traditional housing.” For Mosaic, The Riversdale is the test case for that thesis—a project Monahan says is ultimately “about delivering homes.”

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