A surge in development is washing over a once sleepy NSW Central Coast beachside suburb fronting what has been called “one of the prettiest estuaries” on Australia’s east coast.
Ettalong Beach on the Woy Woy peninsula—only 80km north of Sydney—is being reawakened by a $200-million-plus tide of investment from shoptop, hotel and other development proposals.
Its main retail strip along Ocean View Road, not so long ago lined with numerous empty shops, is currently undergoing a revival and earmarked for a handful of game-changing mixed-use projects.
One of them at 237-245 Ocean View Road—a five-storey proposal with 51 apartments sitting above six retail tenancies—is already under construction and nearing completion on a 3902sq m site previously occupied by a single-storey Centrelink office.
Meanwhile, a number of other shoptop housing development applications lodged with the Central Coast Council are still either under assessment or in court on appeal after being refused—most of them having drawn the ire of locals and a barrage of submissions fearing over-development.
They include two five-storey proposals at 227-233 Ocean View Road and 273-275 Ocean View Road comprising 25 and 23 apartments, respectively, as well as a three-storey development with 12 apartments at 302-306 Ocean View Road.
Longstanding Peninsula Chamber of Commerce president and local urban planner Matthew Wales said the resurgence of activity was being driven by a mix of Central Coast and Sydney developers captalising on an “unmistakable” shift in the area's demographics.
“It has taken some time but fortunately Ettalong is finally starting to hit its straps and it’s producing what we’ve always needed,” he told The Urban Developer.
“Part of the problem with Ettalong is that while it has a fairly large residential catchment around it, it traditionally has been a retirement area.
“So, there hasn’t been an extensive population with a large disposable income to support the sort of town centre that we had envisaged back in the early 2000s when we instigated a program to improve the streetscape and shop facades.
“But that’s now changed. We’ve had this influx of people from the inner city, they’ve moved up to Umina Beach and Ettalong Beach. They’ve chosen a lifestyle up here. These are young cashed-up families and older downsizers that have the money to spend. And that’s now shaping some of these developments.”
Wales said the average house price in nearby Umina was now $1.2 million “which nobody would have thought two years ago but that's what's now happening and it's improving rental returns for investors”.
In neighbouring Booker Bay, waterfront homes are changing hands for $5.5 million to $6 million and townhouses in and around Ettalong Beach are fetching $1.8 million to $2.5 million.
“We’re not talking about cheap eats here, those days are gone,” Wales said.
The Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has estimated the surge in new development in the town centre will inject more than $200 million of investment into Ettalong Beach with the potential to create around 250 new full-time and part-time jobs for its resident population of 6644 people.
“A lot of local residents are objecting to these developments and saying ‘Oh, we’ve lost our little village’,” Wales said. “Well, you know, that little village was about to fall over. It was on its knees before some of these developers took the risk and invested in these projects.
“That’s why these developments are so important for Ettalong because it is rejuvenating the town centre.
“If you think of those town centres that have never changed, they’re economic basket cases. You’ve got to continually renew and refurbish in order to maintain these places as viable commercial and business centres. Otherwise, they just wither on the vine and die.
“And none of us in the business community here want that to happen. That doesn’t create jobs, that doesn’t create investment, and that doesn’t create a lifestyle for the sort of people who are coming up here and paying the big money.”
Besides the pending shoptop housing proposals, Wales cited an approved but yet-to-be built five-storey, 83-room hotel project (main image) as another major development game-changer for Ettalong Beach.
Designed by Squillace Architects for developer Mars Property Group it will occupy a 1467sq m site at 216-220 Memorial Avenue and feature a roof terrace with bar, pool and lounge.
“It’s not something that you probably would have imagined at Ettalong Beach but it reflects the town centre’s changing face and it’ll be quite a unique and iconic building,” Wales said.
“Also, Ettalong has a unique advantage when it comes to marketing itself as a tourism destination and promoting short-term accommodation. Its commercial centre backs onto the beach, so you’ve got instant access to what is probably one of the prettiest estuaries on the eastern seaboard.”
But Wales said while Ettalong Beach was finally finding its feet, the biggest challenge for property developers on the Central Coast at the moment was a direct by-product of the resurgence in activity.
“The council cannot handle the volume of DAs. It is taking anywhere from six to 12 months to get approvals through the council … it has just blown out completely.”
