GRAYA Secures Approval for Silk, St Lucia Apartments

South East Queenslander developer GRAYA has received development approval for Silk, its riverfront project at 16-18 Sandford Street, St Lucia.

The approval clears the way for one of the suburb’s most significant boutique residential addresses in years, on a tightly held bend of the Brisbane River.

Occupying a defining bend of the river, the 810 sqm site holds a northern aspect over Orleigh Park to the Brisbane CBD skyline. The approved scheme delivers 16 split-floor and six full-floor residences across 15 levels, designed and to be built by GRAYA. The breadth of river frontage and dual direction views the bend affords are increasingly difficult to secure across Brisbane’s riverfront, underpinning the long-term significance of the location.

Genuine riverfront development sites in St Lucia are almost exhausted. Silk moves the suburb into its next phase as a boutique apartment enclave, defined by lower density, larger-format residences and long-term owner-occupier demand. The approval allows construction planning to begin without delay.

The approved design places weight on scale, privacy and outlook rather than yield. Residences have been planned as permanent homes, with proportion, separation and river orientation carried through. Buyers in this market are not seeking typical apartment product. They are seeking the scale and privacy of a private home, with the ease of apartment living and far less to maintain.

The approval signals GRAYA’s continued confidence in Brisbane’s premium riverfront market and its focus on rare, irreplaceable sites in established inner-west suburbs.

GRAYA recently completed ARC in Toowong as builder for developer Spyre, delivering the project through challenging site conditions on the banks of the river. Building on a constrained riverside site is the same execution challenge Silk presents, and it is one GRAYA has already met on the same stretch of the river.

Rob Gray, Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer, GRAYA, said St Lucia is a suburb people do not want to leave.

“They know the river, the trees, UQ, the golf course, Toowong and Indooroopilly, and that familiarity is hard to replace. True riverfront opportunities here are exceptionally scarce.

“What we have designed at Silk is a way to stay in the suburb people love, with the scale and privacy of a private home and far less to maintain. This is not typical apartment product. It is a proper home on the river, and that is exactly what this market has been missing.”

Brother and fellow co-founder Andrew Gray, GRAYA’s Managing Director, said genuine riverfront sites of this quality in St Lucia are not something that comes up regularly.

“The approval removes a substantial layer of execution risk, and the location underwrites demand in a way very few innercity sites can. The fundamentals here are as strong as anything we have assessed in Brisbane.”

The approval follows sustained buyer demand across GRAYA’s riverfront and Gold Coast portfolio, reinforcing its position as an emerging authority in Brisbane’s premium riverfront apartment market. GRAYA designs, develops and constructs its projects under a single point of accountability, from first drawing through to aftercare.

Silk further strengthens GRAYA’s portfolio across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. It sits alongside projects such as Enclave, The Gallery, Coral, and Ripple, reflecting a focus on blue-chip locations and design-led residences in tightly held markets. GRAYA has also recently submitted a development application for The Silo, a $700 million mixed-use project in the James Street precinct and the next major development in its pipeline.

While several residential projects are entering the wider St Lucia and Toowong corridor, genuine riverfront opportunities remain tightly held. Positioned directly on the river, Silk is expected to draw strong interest from local homeowners and prestige buyers seeking a permanent address in Brisbane’s inner west.

Registrations of interest are now open. Further detail will be released as the project progresses.

Project summary

Project	Silk
Address	16-18 Sandford Street, St Lucia QLD 4067
Local authority	Brisbane City Council
Approval status	DA Approved
Site area	810sqm
Approved built form	15 levels
Approved yield	16 split-floor & 6 full-floor
Ground-level uses	Lobby, gym, integrated rivers edge and leisure space

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth has joined Archie Rose Distilling Co. as co-owner and strategic business partner as the Sydney spirits company prepares to enter the United States.

The partnership brings Hemsworth together with Archie Rose founder Will Edwards, with the pair aiming to build greater international recognition for Australian whisky.

Founded in Sydney in 2014, Archie Rose has developed a distinctively Australian range of whiskies, gins and other spirits using locally grown grains and native botanicals.

Hemsworth said his involvement grew from a long-standing admiration for the distiller and its use of Australian ingredients.

“I’ve been a fan of Archie Rose for a long time,” Hemsworth said.

“Wherever I am in the world, tasting an Archie Rose whisky immediately transports me right back home, to that feeling of sitting around a campfire in the Australian bush with my mates.

“Their ethos of only using Australian-grown malts to produce flavour-packed whiskies at their Sydney distillery is truly awesome. They’re a brilliant example of what Australia does best, and I can’t wait to share that with the world.”

Three new Australian whiskies

Three whiskies co-created with Hemsworth are scheduled to launch later in 2026.

Made using 100 per cent Australian-grown malts, the whiskies will be released nationally and introduced to the United States as Archie Rose enters that market for the first time.

Further releases are planned for Asia and New Zealand, followed by expansion into the United Kingdom and European Union in 2027.

Archie Rose will continue to oversee distillation and production, while Hemsworth will contribute to storytelling, creative direction, design and content development.

Edwards said the partnership would help introduce Archie Rose—and Australian spirits more broadly—to a larger international audience.

“Our approach has always been about championing local ingredients to create spirits that taste truly Australian,” Edwards said.

“Having Chris join the business as a co-owner allows us to bring that ambition to the world.

“We aren’t just making spirits; we are using Australia’s raw materials and ingenuity as the base for producing the world’s best whisky, gin and other spirits, telling the stories of the growers and the land beneath them.”

A distinctly Australian approach

Archie Rose works with Australian growers to source heirloom and drought-resistant grain varieties for its whiskies, as well as native botanicals for its gins.

Its whiskies are produced exclusively with Australian-grown malts, including rye and barley cultivated specifically for the distiller.

Each malt is milled, mashed, fermented, distilled and matured separately before the components are combined. The process is designed to retain the individual character of each grain.

For its gins, Archie Rose uses cold distillation to help preserve the character of individual botanicals.

The company says it has received more than 450 awards, including World’s Best Rye Whisky twice, Australia’s Best Single Malt Whisky five times and World’s Best Gin.

Archie Rose received B Corp certification in June 2026, recognising its stated commitments to social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

The company operates its distillery in Botany, Sydney, with a public bar and cellar door in nearby Rosebery.

Hemsworth’s arrival as co-owner marks a significant change for the previously family-owned company—and gives one of Australia’s most recognisable actors an active role in the effort to establish Australian whisky as a global category.