ISPT Elizabeth Tower.jpg

<p>Fifteen years after putting together its significant 11,569sq m consolidated site, property fund ISPT has finally unveiled its ambitious plans to build a 42-storey commercial tower at Elizabeth Street in Brisbane.</p><p><a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/ispt-unveils-aud135m-tech-central-office-revamp" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/ispt-unveils-aud135m-tech-central-office-revamp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The superannuation-backed property investor</a> is describing it as the “final piece” of the puzzle in the significant site, which also comprises the Regent Theatre Building, Zara, Wintergarden and the Hilton Hotel.&nbsp;</p><p>An eight-storey podium will knit together the hotel, carpark, and retail components with the heritage fabric of the former Regent Theatre, and a premium grade mixed-use office tower on the vacant site behind the theatre.&nbsp;</p><p>It cements the property investor’s positive outlook for Brisbane’s CBD, following news its jointly owned <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/myer-centre-uptown-new-details-brisbane" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/myer-centre-uptown-new-details-brisbane" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uptown shopping centre would undergo a $500-million upgrade</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>The 42-storey tower will be partially elevated above the existing Wintergarden carpark with commercial floor plates ranging from 1344sq m to 2077sq m incorporating pocket gardens, sky terraces and balconies.&nbsp;</p><div id="77yDMBO93oUPXAnRmCSuuo"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4URdezqDMkK4cXQETN5H89/1bdf783c60b11933f8280a6dbf4f4bf5/150_Elizabeth_MID1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4URdezqDMkK4cXQETN5H89/1bdf783c60b11933f8280a6dbf4f4bf5/150_Elizabeth_MID1.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The view from Elizabeth Street, which shows part of the new building would rise above the existing carpark. The plan retains the heritage elements of the Regent Theatre.<br><br></span></div></div><p>The Wardle-designed building would comprise a gross floor area of 59,224sq m with three auditoriums and the incorporation of the grand marble staircase and foyer of the Regent Theatre.&nbsp;</p><p>Place Design Group’s town planning report describes the project as “the catalyst to commence the revitalisation and urban regeneration within the city block limits of Albert, Elizabeth, Edward and Queen streets”.</p><p>“The development is a precinct-wide approach that integrates existing uses with the proposed development to enable a cohesive and unified precinct outcome for the site,” Place Design Group said.</p><p>“It is part of a broader precinct-wide integration and renewal of Brisbane’s Regent, Wintergarden, Zara and Hilton buildings incorporating a new commercial office tower reaching 42 storeys on a portion of the site that is currently vacant.&nbsp;</p><p>“The tower sits above an 8-storey podium that incorporates accommodation of carparking and ground-level connections through to the existing Regent Theatre heritage building.”</p><p>Level 9 above the harmonised podium will form a multi-functional and connected level floorplate that integrates existing rooftop spaces of 155 Queen Street, the Wintergarden and Hilton with activated and landscaped spaces with views to the City and Mt Coot-tha.&nbsp;</p><p>According to Wardle’s design vision, the project at 150 Elizabeth Street would represent a “striking design complemented by greenery creating a strong urban presence within the Brisbane skyline through its unique facades”.</p><div id="3ameytqJiJ6MC0AiQPywo6"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/56O5gp4SaoszAIIKsr67gM/716363d8c832720cbeca3aad14e2b5b8/150_Elizabeth_MID2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/56O5gp4SaoszAIIKsr67gM/716363d8c832720cbeca3aad14e2b5b8/150_Elizabeth_MID2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Renders of the planned tower on Brisbane’s Elizabeth Street.</span></div><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;"><br></span></div></div><p>“The new tower entry foyer is designed around a high, open-air lane that leads to the front door flanked to one side by a green landscaped wall that acts as a backdrop to this new public space and an immersive landscape experience,” design documents said.</p><p>“The prominence of the facade is made to aesthetically dominate with the backdrop of high-performing charcoal-tinted glazing, used to reduce the internal heat loads and glare.”</p><p>The development has been designed to reinforce and create a meaningful identity on Elizabeth Street, with pedestrian connectivity and greater permeability of the site to create urban vibrancy on the ground plane and lower levels.&nbsp;</p><p>The plan retains and incorporates the heritage elements of the former Regent Theatre. Building works are proposed to 155 Queen Street and the existing Hilton Hotel.&nbsp;</p><p>There will be no change to the number of rooms in the Hilton Hotel.&nbsp;</p><p>ISPT had previously approved plans for a 40-storey commercial tower on the site, which was to be called The Regent.&nbsp;</p><p><em>The Urban Developer </em>understands the property investor is hoping to get 150 Elizabeth under way next year, subject to planning approvals and strong pre-commitments.&nbsp;</p><p>ISPT has a strong history of adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, including the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/ispt-preserving-rich-heritage-for-a-bold-future" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/ispt-preserving-rich-heritage-for-a-bold-future" target="_blank" rel="noopener">H&amp;M flagship store in Melbourne’s GPO building</a>. It has 140 properties in its portfolio and $22.2 billion in funds under management.&nbsp;</p>

Fifteen years after putting together its significant 11,569sq m consolidated site, property fund ISPT has finally unveiled its ambitious plans to build a 42-storey commercial tower on Elizabeth Street in Brisbane...

Gabba PDA HERO.jpg

<p>As any long distance runner will tell you, good things come slow.</p><p>Just shy of nine years before it becomes the epicentre of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, inner-city Woolloongabba on the city’s southside is yet to hit its stride.</p><p>But as the clock keeps ticking the race plan is finally coming together—and a growing field of towering development proposals awaits the starter’s gun.</p><p>The trigger, however, won’t be pulled for at least another 12 months.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Meanwhile, the Queensland Government has declared the official parameters of its expanded Woolloongabba Priority Development Area.</p><p>Spanning 106ha—an area more than 40 times the size of the famed Gabba sporting field— it encompasses a wider chunk of Woolloongabba as well as surrounding Kangaroo Point, East Brisbane, South Bank and the Stanley Street precinct.</p><p>The expanded urban renewal zone—superseding the Woolloongabba Cross River Rail PDA—is aimed at providing “a more integrated and co-ordinated planning approach for the whole suburb”.</p><p>It is also touted as the catalyst for the delivery of “thousands of new homes”—with a 20 per cent requirement of new stock being “high quality social or affordable housing” to accommodate frontline or key workers.</p><p>As well, the state government is maintaining its commitment to set aside 50 per cent of the Cross River Rail and Stadium precinct as green space.</p><p>“We have a unique opportunity to capitalise on Queensland’s growth and 2032 to create a thriving inner-city suburb,” Deputy Premier and State Development Minister Steven Miles said.</p><p>“The larger Woolloongabba PDA will transform the area as the southern gateway to Brisbane’s city centre.</p><p>“Major projects like the Gabba [stadium] redevelopment, Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro will bring investment to the area, and we’ll see more jobs and more housing.</p><div id="55vAo0HmTrcj03XSCXZtBu"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4H8bhpGfQt79STSwWLB6va/9e086edc47404522df819ecd35a8ecc4/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T175455.187.jpg" alt="Render of the Brisbane Olympics precinct with the planned $2.7-billion redeveloped, 50,000-seat Gabba Stadium." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4H8bhpGfQt79STSwWLB6va/9e086edc47404522df819ecd35a8ecc4/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T175455.187.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of the Brisbane Olympics precinct with the planned $2.7-billion&nbsp; 50,000-seat Gabba Stadium.<br><br></span></div></div><p>“It will also allow for better connections into the CBD and beyond and more active transport options, including a walkable spine from The Gabba to Roma Street [in the CBD] through South Bank.”</p><p>But, and somewhat ironically, developers looking to accelerate projects though the PDA’s streamlined planning and assessment processes will have to wait.</p><p>The detailed planning and community engagement necessary to complete the development scheme is not due to be finalised until “around September 2024”.</p><p>In the meantime, an interim land use plan (ILUP) will be in effect for the next 12 months.</p><p>Defining the boundaries of the PDA was a “step in the right direction”&nbsp; by the state government, says developer Sarazin’s managing director Darren Dougan.</p><p>“It’s a positive step and we’re delighted it has finally happened,” he says.</p><p>But Dougan adds: “We still don’t know all the details and it’s going to take 12 months until all that is resolved … there’s a whole heap of things they’re looking at and, from our point of view, we like the fact that there’s going to be additional infrastructure and green space coming into the Gabba.</p><p>“But the sooner they come up with a plan, the better for everyone.”</p><p>Sydney-based Sarazin is among the major stakeholders within the newly-declared Woolloongabba PDA, with six newly upscaled apartment towers planned across three sites totalling almost 1.4ha.</p><p>It has recently filed amended plans for the trio of holdings with the Brisbane City Council, increasing their yield by 63 per cent—from 986 to 1609 apartments.</p><div id="carousel-root" data-reactroot=""><image-carousel-remove-button><div class="rm-carousel-wrapper"><button id="rm-carousel" class="rm-carousel-btn">Delete</button></div></image-carousel-remove-button><div class="slider-wrap"><image-carousel><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-25T180108.646.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7vxqT76GTcG8YYmWZ0uhrK/d6cfc02365d1e578d6f480eade624390/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180108.646.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7vxqT76GTcG8YYmWZ0uhrK/d6cfc02365d1e578d6f480eade624390/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180108.646.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-25T180440.457.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2CvzhHFQQPoktvQnaLzvXt/618d830c574fd734708dcce0496e4d8a/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180440.457.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2CvzhHFQQPoktvQnaLzvXt/618d830c574fd734708dcce0496e4d8a/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180440.457.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-25T180354.601.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5b1Frh1o09le1IVNfeZ8Jz/e3b876a203e08b03a1fbe27d37b90edb/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180354.601.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5b1Frh1o09le1IVNfeZ8Jz/e3b876a203e08b03a1fbe27d37b90edb/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180354.601.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-25T181353.536.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6FbdqfNQZ7PDK5IDTl6vV3/461cb1ddd7154e2e9a27cfb54ae4cd55/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T181353.536.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6FbdqfNQZ7PDK5IDTl6vV3/461cb1ddd7154e2e9a27cfb54ae4cd55/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T181353.536.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-25T181731.288.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/75NstvI1ucbgzWzgG14fYB/bcd285abfdb65c1a9d46a84e204523df/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T181731.288.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/75NstvI1ucbgzWzgG14fYB/bcd285abfdb65c1a9d46a84e204523df/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T181731.288.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-25T182116.724.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4QYbJi17KsVUohPItyk8Cy/02cfe58086cef2462bb86ddba34da8c9/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T182116.724.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4QYbJi17KsVUohPItyk8Cy/02cfe58086cef2462bb86ddba34da8c9/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T182116.724.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div></image-carousel></div></div><p><br>They include its planned Nuage dual towers rising 27 and 37 storeys with 582 apartments on a 4057sq m site at 6-18 Wellington Rd and 25 Nile Street; the triple tower Hampton Yards proposal of 18, 30 and 40 storeys with 787 apartments on a 7148sq m site at 15-21 Wellington Road; and the 27-storey Murcia with 240 apartments on a 2671 sq m site at 9 Overend Street and 31-33 Wellington Road.</p><p>“Overall, it's an exciting time to be developing in this area,” says Sarazin’s Queensland director Adam Rainbird. “But there's obviously still a lot of information to be discussed and to come from the state government.</p><p>“And [the Brisbane Olympics] is just under nine years away, so the faster we can gain more clarity the better it is, not only for us but the private sector that’s looking to develop, because then we can understand the playing field and what can and can’t be done.”</p><p>Sarazin made its move into the Woolloongabba market before Brisbane was confirmed as the host of the 2032 Olympics and has already completed Silk One, a 20-storey tower with 172 apartments overlooking the Gabba Stadium. It is part of its three-tower Silk Lane project on Stanley Street.&nbsp;</p><p>“Constraints around construction are still the big issue,” Sarazin’s Darren Dougan says. “But, generally speaking, with the new train station coming in we’re pretty confident that the Gabba is going to become a more desired place to live.&nbsp;</p><p>“And so we’re looking at growing additional density across the precinct, which I think aligns with what the state government wants to do anyway.”</p><p>Speaking at an Urban Land Institute event recently, head of Economic Development Queensland, Debbie McNamara said Queensland had “growth at its front door, but it’s a good problem to have”.</p><div id="1YlbOlwY2tg5pZmYoIhwRX"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3rPfXxnLArM3HQqxbeyXxc/c520e1132b547774c26b88f636d0226d/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180151.577.jpg" alt="Render of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics at the redeveloped Gabba Stadium." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3rPfXxnLArM3HQqxbeyXxc/c520e1132b547774c26b88f636d0226d/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180151.577.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics at the redeveloped Gabba Stadium.<br><br></span></div></div><p>She said the expanded Woolloongabba PDA represented an opportunity to reshape the suburb from its industrial past to a mixed-use high density future.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Gabba is an enormous opportunity but it's pretty complex, we will have the Olympics overlay (to contend with).</p><p>“I know we're not going to make everyone happy but I think we can get some great outcomes.”</p><p>There is a slew of gamechanging projects in the blocks for the newly-expanded Woolloongabba PDA.</p><p>Among them is a recently-lodged <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/gabba-four-tower-precinct-olympic-games" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/gabba-four-tower-precinct-olympic-games">four-tower scheme spanning 9361sq m site at 79 Logan Road</a>. One tower is slated for a 230-room hotel and serviced apartments while the other three would comprise more than 1380 build-to-rent apartments.</p><p>Todd Brown’s Brisbane-based Belmonde Property Group is behind the $1.5-billion development proposal—dubbed the Gabba Heart Precinct—in a joint venture with Sun Luxe Group.</p><p>Earlier this year, Trenert Group lodged plans for <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/brisbane-gabba-olympic-games-precinct-five-towers" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/brisbane-gabba-olympic-games-precinct-five-towers">a $1.2-billion, five-tower mixed-use development</a> that would span almost an entire Woollangabba block with the heritage-listed Railway Hotel—previously also known as the Chalk Hotel—as its centrepiece.</p><div id="4hv0ehQfBj0UkJwIC6YAdE"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/TskN3fgXYHOkmVBd0YyUn/076970ba63ef9d7cad6fc615899f33f8/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180611.450.jpg" alt=" A render of Trenert Group’s multi-tower mixed-use development proposal. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/TskN3fgXYHOkmVBd0YyUn/076970ba63ef9d7cad6fc615899f33f8/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-25T180611.450.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A render of Trenert Group’s multi-tower mixed-use development proposal.<br><br></span></div></div><p>It followed the Queensland and federal governments reaching a <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/gabba-brisbane-olympic-games-2032-redevelopment-confirmed" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/gabba-brisbane-olympic-games-2032-redevelopment-confirmed">$7-billion-plus funding agreement to supercharge preparations for the Brisbane Games</a> along with a decision to expand the Gabba Olympic Priority Development Area.</p><p>Trenert plans to deliver 200,000sq m of gross building area by 2030—including a 40-storey-plus five-star international hotel with 320 suites, 36-level residential tower with 165 apartments, 18-level short-term accommodation tower and 16-level tower with 114 social and affordable housing units in partnership with community housing provider BlueCHP.</p><p>It also includes a 22-level commercial tower with 50,000sq m of office space, retail plaza and food and beverage outlets totalling 6000sq m and 7000sq m of open and green space.</p><p>Nearby, developer Aria Property Group has recently seized the development opportunity of the emerging Olympic hub and filed <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-upscales-as-brisbane-olympic-precinct-goes-big" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-upscales-as-brisbane-olympic-precinct-goes-big">upscaled plans for its Canopy House apartment tower</a> already under construction on a 1500sq m site at the corner of Leopard and Vulture streets, Kangaroo Point.</p><p>Under the revised proposal, Aria is seeking to increase the building height from its approved 22 storeys to 30 storeys and residential density from 105 to 136 apartments.</p><p>No doubt there will be more projects taking their marks on the newly-declared Woolloongabba PDA’s development starting line.</p><p>And 12 months from now, the race will be on.<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><br>You are currently experiencing&nbsp;<em>The Urban Developer</em>&nbsp;Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals.&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans"><strong>Click here to learn more.</strong></a></p><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

The starter’s gun is at least 12 months away on a slew of projects in the blocks for the newly expanded Woolloongabba priority development area…

greenfield settlement data pexa research story edm hero.jpg

<p>All three eastern states have been unable to keep up with the demand for new housing according to PEXA and Informed Decision’s (.id) latest research into new land releases.</p><p>The inaugural Residential Land Report looked at the settlement of vacant greenfield land for low-density dwellings across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria over the three-year period from July 2020 to June 2023.&nbsp;</p><p>Volume and time from sale to settlement were also noted to find how efficiently land was being delivered to market to meet demand.</p><p>PEXA’s partner, .id (also part of the PEXA Group) provided demographic and population forecast data for the report.</p><p>About $37-billion worth of new land has been released in all three states this financial year, but Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria’s demand is outstripping supply.&nbsp;</p><p>Settlements on new residential land have dipped 13.6 per cent to 73,901 this financial year.&nbsp;</p><p>The research also shows that it takes more than a year to settle on a vacant site in Victoria with New South Wales and Queensland unable to release enough land.&nbsp;</p><div id="2g2oKHfRNp5qRo4AXjRUbm"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2S0MtHAM4GRnPyP3RZRZUq/4d9f6657fe3d477045b7330566e79544/greenfields_vsumm_regions_hero.jpg" alt="Greenfield market will continue to grow as people continue to want to work remotely." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2S0MtHAM4GRnPyP3RZRZUq/4d9f6657fe3d477045b7330566e79544/greenfields_vsumm_regions_hero.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Only Victoria has managed to keep up or close to the housing demand with its release of greenfield land.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Releasing greenfield land for new housing is an important part of addressing the housing affordability crisis. House and land continues to appeal to buyers in the market according to PEXA head of research Mike Gill.</p><p>“Building a new home in a greenfield housing estate remains the preferred option for many Australians, particularly families and first homebuyers,” Gill said.</p><p>“They are drawn to the lower prices compared to established suburbs and the ability to build a large, new, freestanding home to their own specifications.”</p><p>Rising demand has increased the cost of vacant land with the median price hitting $500,000 for the first time in Greater Sydney.&nbsp;</p><p>The research also found that local government areas in both New South Wales and Queensland would need to build thousands of units in order to meet housing demand forecast for the next five years.&nbsp;</p><p>Only Victoria is currently releasing enough new land to meet the rise in forecasted demand with 33,847 settlements in the 2023 financial year.</p><p>That is still a decline of 10.1 per cent on the figures for the 2022 financial year.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>But New South Wales and Queensland were faster to release land with buyers waiting only 275 and 156 days respectively on average while Victoria took 385 days.&nbsp;</p><p>Queensland had 24,226 vacant land settlements, 16.2 per cent down on the previous year.&nbsp;</p><p>New South Wales had the weakest new land supply with only 15.828 vacant land settlements in 2023, down 16.4 per cent from 2022.</p><p>Both states were well below the predicted housing growth required.&nbsp;</p><p>“This is important for determining whether we are releasing enough land, if we’re releasing it in the right areas and if we’re releasing it fast enough,” Gill said.</p><div id="2vu3y4FiYrz0PjjJs7sHt4"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Dua8TT9AVlXyu7SedbZ6z/b9659b189c3bc29cc23b4458773401af/homebuyers_scheme_story_hero.jpg" alt="Expansions to the Homebuyers Guarantee Scheme may not be enough to ensure access to housing." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Dua8TT9AVlXyu7SedbZ6z/b9659b189c3bc29cc23b4458773401af/homebuyers_scheme_story_hero.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Settlement values have increased in all three eastern states.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Settlement values increased in all eastern states with new blocks in Greater Sydney up by 13.5 per cent to an average of $489,764.</p><p>New blocks in Greater Melbourne increased by 6.3 per cent to $288,607 and in Greater Brisbane by 9.4 per cent to $248,295.&nbsp;</p><p>“The clear conclusion we can draw from the latest data is that there is a lot of room for improvement if we are going to meet the demands of a growing population – either by releasing more greenfield land or accepting that we will need to build more apartments in our urban centres,” Gill said.</p><p>The greenfield areas that will have the highest need for more medium to high density housing in the next five years are Brisbane with 5035 units needed, Blacktown with 1527 units needed, Liverpool with 1135 units needed and Camden with 1614 units needed.</p><p>Most greenfield areas in Victoria are meeting forecasted demand or are close to doing so.&nbsp;</p>

New research on the release of land for residential use has found that the three main east coast states cannot keep up with the current demand…


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<p>Sydney-based property fund manager Haben has splashed $115 million to acquire Dexus’s 50 per cent stake in a Townsville shopping centre <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/brisbane-olympic-games-colliers-regions-benefit" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/brisbane-olympic-games-colliers-regions-benefit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in north Queensland</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Dexus offloaded its recently acquired non-management stake in Stockland Townsville, which it acquired as part of its AMP Capital Shopping Centre Fund deal.&nbsp;</p><p>It’s reportedly the first regional shopping centre deal in almost 12 months, according to JLL agents Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher who sold the stake in the property.&nbsp;</p><p>The 45,021sq m shopping centre underwent a $180-million redevelopment and expansion in 2012, and sits on a 9.4ha site with two additional development sites.</p><p>Haben adds the asset to its portfolio of 12 assets on the eastern seaboard and about $2 billion under management.&nbsp;</p><p>Haben managing director Ben Finger told <em>The Urban Developer</em> that the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/counter-cyclical-private-equity-playing-hardball-wentworth-haben-marquette-ulc" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/counter-cyclical-private-equity-playing-hardball-wentworth-haben-marquette-ulc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">property fund focused solely on retail with food and service-based shopping centres and development upside</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>He said it was the group’s first partial acquisition of an asset.&nbsp;</p><p>“Haben is pleased to add Stockland Townsville to our growing portfolio,” Finger said. &nbsp;</p><p>“The opportunity is on strategy with our business to provide stable and higher returns for our investors in this higher interest rate environment.&nbsp;</p><p>“Our portfolio is very focused on robust retail assets with strong underlying land that provide mixed-use development opportunities.</p><p>“We continue to see our centres trade with exceptionally strong sales growth, low vacancy and positive rental spreads.”</p><div id="6rXYHiIphobQXUQcMB10fm"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6J0Q0DpQrJUmeMrRqVpNZc/a43e0e5dd2d713d9f82b1b0656d543f2/marquette_property_seminar_122.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6J0Q0DpQrJUmeMrRqVpNZc/a43e0e5dd2d713d9f82b1b0656d543f2/marquette_property_seminar_122.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Haben managing director Ben Finger speaking at a property event this year.&nbsp;<br><br></span></div></div><p>Earlier this year Finger told <em>The Urban Developer</em> that Haben was working on a 700-apartment development on the site of one of its assets.&nbsp;</p><p>JLL’s Nick Willis said Stockland Townsville had 99.5 per cent occupancy and more than $278 million in total centre sales.</p><p>“The transaction reaffirms liquidity for the regional sub-sector, in addition, the continuing trend of new capital emerging for interest in institutional-grade retail assets,” Willis said.</p><p>“In the last three years we have seen 16 partial interests trades, totalling more than $3.75 billion of capital, of which 60 per cent was maiden.&nbsp;</p><p>“This has included a mix of super funds, syndicators and private investors, such as Nikos Property, which acquired 50 per cent of Colonnades Shopping Centre in South Australia; this was their first foray into shopping centres.</p><p>“Globally we are seeing capital re-emerge for retail assets, due to the growing evidence of assets’ forecast performance, relative value and underlying land and multifaceted nature, compared to other sectors.”</p>

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<p>Developer-builder Mayd Group has filed plans for a $350-million five-star hotel and residential development at North Kirra on the southern end of the Gold Coast.</p><p>The beachfront proposal is earmarked for a 4742sq m site across eight amalgamated lots fronting Pacific Parade, Golden Four Drive and Musgrave Street.</p><p>It would comprise a 10-level tower with 60 apartments, including two penthouses, as well as five double-storey beach houses and a 160-key hotel.</p><p>The scheme designed by architecture firm MAS Studio features two, three and four-bedroom residences, many with multipurpose rooms.</p><p>Resort-style amenities include a private pool area with sunken lounge, sauna, spa, yoga lawn, barbecue as well as a lounge, bar and cinema.</p><p>Targeting the high-end owner-occupier market, the apartments also will have access to the hotel’s five-star facilities including a valet, room and laundry services as well as the hotel pool, lounges and restaurant.</p><p>Gold Coast-based Mayd Group director Todd Mould said given the site’s position only 1km from the Gold Coast Airport, which has been undergoing an expansion to cater for additional international and domestic flight connections, there was a recognised need in the area for a five-star hotel.</p><p>As well, he said the apartments had been designed to meet demand from global travellers and people who worked remotely.</p><p>“We were fortunate to have been able to acquire eight adjoining sites to create one large beachfront site for our signature masterplan at North Kirra,” Mould said.</p><p>&nbsp;“The opportunity to develop such a large beachfront site in North Kirra is a rare one … [and] we have been working with Gold Coast City Council on lodging the development application to deliver a landmark building of high distinction for such a prominent site.”</p><p>The site has a 90m beach frontage and is a short walk to restaurants, cafes and shops.</p><div id="carousel-root" data-reactroot=""><image-carousel-remove-button><div class="rm-carousel-wrapper"><button id="rm-carousel" class="rm-carousel-btn">Delete</button></div></image-carousel-remove-button><div class="slider-wrap"><image-carousel><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="3 (3).jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/27GpkELYSqrNXnBXSEj5b6/f21f04338b25302b01bc677a967894f6/3__3_.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/27GpkELYSqrNXnBXSEj5b6/f21f04338b25302b01bc677a967894f6/3__3_.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="1 (5).jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/16wnqS6Jn1Rx7KtxURaqp6/28a9919ecb34bd793e6c97d3c21194af/1__5_.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/16wnqS6Jn1Rx7KtxURaqp6/28a9919ecb34bd793e6c97d3c21194af/1__5_.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="2 (4).jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5CKpPOa8wicOqhPF3amEBw/124bd8ce98d2915e6ac723fa913eb712/2__4_.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5CKpPOa8wicOqhPF3amEBw/124bd8ce98d2915e6ac723fa913eb712/2__4_.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div></image-carousel></div></div><p><br>MAS Studio director Nick Symonds said the prominent position at the gateway to Kirra—one of the Gold Coast’s famed surfing destinations—had inspired the masterplan design.</p><p>“From the outset of our design process, we have been aware of the importance of this highly visible site and the obligation to create a statement entrance to Kirra, while at the same time blending in with the surrounding built forms,” he said.</p><p>“The design is strongly influenced by local context, reflecting the unique beauty of North Kirra beach and relaxed beachside lifestyle, elevating it with luxury dwellings for those who share the passion of this unique lifestyle and location.</p><p>“Abundant greenery on the podium will cool the street where a row of beach houses, complete with their own private green courtyards, will provide a residential scaled address to the street.”</p><p>The Gold Coast Airport strip—including Tugun, Bilinga and North Kirra— has emerged as a development hostpot in recent times with a string of medium-sized residential towers going up and planned for the area.</p><p>It is also along the proposed final stage of the Gold Coast light rail section, which is progressing from Broadbeach South to Burleigh.</p>

Developer Mayd Group wants to build the southern Gold Coast’s first five-star hotel plus 60 units on its eight-lot amalgamated site…


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<p>It’s no secret that the industrial sector has been booming but problems with supply and planning constraints are stunting the growth of Covid’s real estate “golden child”.&nbsp;</p><p>Ethos Urban planning director and national industrial sector specialist Angus Halligan, who will present at <em>The Urban Developer </em><a data-mce-href="https://web.cvent.com/event/4bba1b94-b195-48e2-8a51-12b51636639b/summary?RefId=General%20Admission%20%7C%20Editorial&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" href="https://web.cvent.com/event/4bba1b94-b195-48e2-8a51-12b51636639b/summary?RefId=General%20Admission%20%7C%20Editorial&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Industrial Property vSummit on September 28</a>, said that industrial land supply issues were being compounded by state-specific complexities.&nbsp;</p><p>“Sydney has unlocked a lot of industrial land such as that at Aerotropolis and Mamre Road Precinct (main images),” he.&nbsp;</p><p>“But the headaches are in having to develop infrastructure in those areas which means that while there is land identified for release, we can’t unlock it and applications are not moving through fast enough.”&nbsp;</p><p>Correctly zoned land might be available, he said, but that was only half the story when answering the supply question.&nbsp;</p><p>“There is a burden on being the first developer in these newer precincts due to the associated costs with road and water infrastructure. You have a laundry list of development application inputs.&nbsp;</p><p>“Oftentimes in Sydney you’re effectively developing State Significant Developments, so the requirements on the applicant to build a warehouse in Western Sydney are not much different from if they were building a tower in Sydney CBD.</p><p>“You’re put through the ringer in terms of how to document it.</p><p>“The answer to that which is coming through is working with adjoining land owners. This has been critical to unlocking these sites; collectively trying to understand and work together to prepare the necessary documentation.</p><p>“Collectively you have greater power to work with Transport NSW and other stakeholders, so those landowner groups are becoming essential.”&nbsp;</p><div id="6AJIYWLGRSGpa1OEyXATJc"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2YtptUcbTVWllhHa1Ukx9P/33aa3019d72dc3adc6af4a7e629215f4/Angus_Halligan_Ethos_Urban_mid.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2YtptUcbTVWllhHa1Ukx9P/33aa3019d72dc3adc6af4a7e629215f4/Angus_Halligan_Ethos_Urban_mid.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Ethos Urban’s Angus Halligan will present at <em>The Urban Developer</em> Industrial Property vSummit on September 28.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Industrial sector developers are facing these planning issues in NSW in particular, while in Victoria a lack of earmarked land is causing problems.</p><p>“In Victoria, there is a lack of clear guidance from the state for new tracts of industrial supply. The Dandenong South corridor is largely taken up and in the absence of corridors as identified by the state government, the market is turning to infill,” Halligan said.&nbsp;</p><p>“As a result, while it is a few years behind Sydney when it comes to vertical warehousing, that product is starting to come into the market.”&nbsp;</p><p>With a handful of vertical warehousing projects on the go in Sydney and one in Victoria, Ethos Urban and other planners and developers are facing increasing challenges with design and planning.&nbsp;</p><p>“Everyone is interested in the challenges involved, as they certainly are taking on a new level of complexity, but the vertical model takes a step up in architectural offering compared to previous warehouses,” he said.</p><p>“On the outskirts of the city you could construct a warehouse quickly, but with vertical offerings comes this need for visual impact assessment.</p><p>“We’re seeing a need for early consideration of facade treatments and what is this going to look like, as lots of developments creep into areas that have mixed use rather than just outer periphery locations.”&nbsp;</p><p>These complexities and the length of time it takes to get a development application has led developers to look to other markets.</p><p>“In absence of an immediate answer to Sydney’s planning deadlock, our clients are looking at this issue and some are looking further to South-East Queensland and Victorian markets as being an answer to that problem.&nbsp;</p><p>“Great outcomes can be achieved but they are slow to manifest.”<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><em><br>The Urban Developer&nbsp;</em>Industrial Development vSummit will take place on Thursday, September 28.&nbsp;</strong></p><p><a data-mce-href="https://web.cvent.com/event/4bba1b94-b195-48e2-8a51-12b51636639b/summary?RefId=General%20Admission%20%7C%20Editorial&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" href="https://web.cvent.com/event/4bba1b94-b195-48e2-8a51-12b51636639b/summary?RefId=General%20Admission%20%7C%20Editorial&amp;rt=X_aufiJPxEeHOTaMYZfoiQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Click here to register and learn more.&nbsp;</strong></a></p>

The sector’s evolving needs are creating challenges, says Ethos Urban’s Angus Halligan, ahead of The Urban Developer’s Industrial vSummit…

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<p>The core of Cairns is about to undergo a major overhaul to welcome 70,000 residents and it could start with a new tower above <em>The</em> <em>Cairns Post</em> office.</p><p>Sky Commercial Pty Ltd, led by Alex Seckler, is planning to redevelop four sites including the 1908-built office at 22-34 Abbott Street, in the Cairns CBD.</p><p>Seckler bought the heritage-listed building in 2021 for nearly $4 million, and the adjoining strip of shops soon after, creating a 1.1ha amalgamated site.</p><p>The proposed tower above the existing buildings, by Hunt Design, includes three levels of parking, a residents recreation area with a pool as well as eight levels of short-term accommodation with 75 units.</p><p>“The overarching design concept is to create a poster child for tropical urbanism,” the application said, “to formulate a building that amplifies that Cairns is a city in a tropical garden.”</p><p>Although <em>The</em> <em>Cairns Post</em> newspaper building is more than 100 years old, the council did not support its nomination to the Queensland Heritage Register last year.<br><br>However, councillors confirmed their comittment to keeping its heritage facade and identified it as a Place of Local Significance.&nbsp;</p><div id="5O2QMOyctySX28NZ1iW9wD"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6CsjtFtnqSKsXMNOE6cMDX/2b794f411f281c0bb7eba6df4e973ebf/800_by_600__2_.jpg" alt="A 12 storey hotel above Cairns Post, the tower has a tropical design with palm trees." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6CsjtFtnqSKsXMNOE6cMDX/2b794f411f281c0bb7eba6df4e973ebf/800_by_600__2_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The tropical tower design retains existing buildings that house an opal and liquor store.<br><br></span></div></div><p>The application was submitted to the Cairns Regional Council which is in the process of planning its Towards 2050 Growth Strategy Framework.</p><p>Deputy Mayor Terry James said they were looking at the city’s future needs in tems of infrastructure, services and amenities.</p><p>“Cairns is one of the fastest-growing regions in Queensland with the city’s population expected to grow to more than 241,000 by 2050, according to revised figures released by the state government in June,” James said.</p><p>“That is an increase of nearly 70,000 people, which will create the need for over 32,000 new homes during the next three decades.”</p><div id="14nY4fa6JNLUMMEhUqa0Ip"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3jGaA4TmOzDu2Kzf31Jpgr/463776cfb0a29f0db53b12a4d1b63f9a/Untitled_design__28_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3jGaA4TmOzDu2Kzf31Jpgr/463776cfb0a29f0db53b12a4d1b63f9a/Untitled_design__28_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The Academic Classical style building was designed by Harvey Draper and built in 1908.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Keeping the “Cairns-ness” was a core value of council in the plans adding gentle density options and increased housing diversity.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Great Barrier Reef and resilience of cyclones were also unique considerations for future development in the city, 1700km north of Brisbane.</p>

The core of Cairns is about to undergo a major overhaul starting with the century-old Cairns Post building...

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<p>Tower plans have been toned down for a waterfront former pub site north of Brisbane where chartbusting brotherly trio The Bee Gees played their first paid gig.</p><p>Sydney-based developer Traders In Purple’s revised proposal reduces the height of its approved 15-storey development at Woody Point—about 30km from Brisbane's CBD—by five levels.</p><p>The new scheme designed by Ellivo Architects splits the previous greenlit single tower proposal into two scaled-down buildings of 9 and 10 storeys with a slight increase in yield from 158 to 175 apartments.</p><p>It would be developed in two stages—the first tower comprising 104 two, three and four-bedroom apartments and the second tower 71 one, two and three-bedroom apartments.</p><p>The 6917sq m site spanning three lots at 2 and 8 Gayundah Esplanade was partially occupied by the landmark Filmer’s Palace Hotel until it was demolished in 2014 after a fire caused structural damage to the building.</p><p>Built in 1909, the pub—owned and operated by Harold and Lillian Filmer and later managed by their son Ken and his wife Mavis—earned a place in musical history as the venue where three young local lads performed their first paid gig in 1959 before becoming recording superstars as The Bee Gees.</p><p>The brothers Gibb—Barry, Robin and Maurice—reputedly each received a bottle of Coca-Cola for their singing efforts and their parents, Hugh and Barbara, were poured a beer.</p><div id="VlfUIb8brjKE8mQmfUO5m"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5XWCjjBxCBEPe2dc9SmIV6/fb381112357f18e24a47f93e95a70ca0/Mid_article_resizes__75_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5XWCjjBxCBEPe2dc9SmIV6/fb381112357f18e24a47f93e95a70ca0/Mid_article_resizes__75_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The Bee Gees in the 1950s.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Traders In Purple’s original plans for the Woody Point site were given the nod in 2020 after the Planning and Environment Court upheld the council’s decision to approve its tower proposal despite community backlash and receiving more than 100 objections.</p><p>The change application filed with the Moreton Bay Regional Council is aimed at delivering a project with improved housing diversity that is more in harmony with community expectations and post pandemic lifestyle changes</p><p>“Everywhere we work, we always try to do the right thing by the community,” Traders In Purple director Charlie Daoud told <em>The Urban Developer</em>.</p><div id="unG9HdYiy7xHXw0JY2e1H"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3hG9kLhdHtGHjy7N3jB0Tn/b017d75f961a1fce31fd2add8b220788/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T161838.752.jpg" alt="Renders of the revised plans (left) for the Woody Point site and the previously approved proposal." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3hG9kLhdHtGHjy7N3jB0Tn/b017d75f961a1fce31fd2add8b220788/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T161838.752.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Renders of the revised plans (left) for the Woody Point site and the previously approved proposal.<br><br></span></div></div><p>“Even though it didn’t impact them from a privacy and overshadowing point of view, the problem the community had by and large was the quantum of storeys or the overall height.</p><p>“And they were afraid what it would do was set a precedent in the precinct.”</p><p>Daoud said the redesign was initially prompted by Covid construction cost escalations and the desire to introduce more product diversity into the project due to lifestyle changes.</p><p>“It was kind of responding to accommodate for people who are now working from home as well as the need for diversity—not everybody wants or can afford a three-bedroom apartment,” he said.</p><p>“And as part of that process, we’ve also taken on board the community commentary and used that to inform the design … the height, bulk, density and scale of the project moving forward.</p><p>“We believe the revised design will not only produce a superior outcome for our future residents but also the broader community.”</p><div id="carousel-root" data-reactroot=""><image-carousel-remove-button><div class="rm-carousel-wrapper"><button id="rm-carousel" class="rm-carousel-btn">Delete</button></div></image-carousel-remove-button><div class="slider-wrap"><image-carousel><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-20T161930.440.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/ovdJNzzGABahmg8Wi88gU/2240ab6fbd9e872db0e52c36a80cbd54/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T161930.440.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/ovdJNzzGABahmg8Wi88gU/2240ab6fbd9e872db0e52c36a80cbd54/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T161930.440.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-20T162102.158.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Uo5nNF2DE3ZvOBmtYeuVI/19a1257549fbaea14285871032b9c2e8/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T162102.158.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/Uo5nNF2DE3ZvOBmtYeuVI/19a1257549fbaea14285871032b9c2e8/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T162102.158.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-20T163200.296.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3Zy4ZUk6z6xNTGt3rJvnrc/efdd3fbdc657450e7a290c2df5f4a4b4/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T163200.296.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3Zy4ZUk6z6xNTGt3rJvnrc/efdd3fbdc657450e7a290c2df5f4a4b4/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T163200.296.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-20T163227.836.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5nXXGgkJv0yIWpxxyom5zz/e5f164d4770fdddb39d793fbf5ebdacc/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T163227.836.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5nXXGgkJv0yIWpxxyom5zz/e5f164d4770fdddb39d793fbf5ebdacc/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T163227.836.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-20T163257.186.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2b5NRbg4YSqLOCowPrJERm/ef7a0b9317b228db05c0728f166a4172/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T163257.186.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2b5NRbg4YSqLOCowPrJERm/ef7a0b9317b228db05c0728f166a4172/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-20T163257.186.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div></image-carousel></div></div><p><br>The new two-tower plan includes a 20m separation between the two buildings to provide a view corridor through the site as well as allowing improved natural light into both the apartments and ground-level communal recreation space featuring swimming pools and landscaped gardens.</p><p>Each of the buildings would have two basement levels accommodating a combined 325 carparking spaces.</p><p>“The development is architecturally designed to respond to the high scenic amenity values associated with the local coastal setting … [providing] housing that meets the market demands for a wide group of buyers/tenants, to help improve the housing supply shortfalls currently experienced in south-east Queensland,” a planning report said.</p><p>“The built form at the proposed height of nine and 10 storeys contributes positively to the unique coastal landscape character of Woody Point, at a scale which is generally consistent with the established character of the locality.”</p><p>Development activity has ramped up in the waterside precinct in recent years.&nbsp;</p><p>Traders In Purple has undertaken several other developments on the Redcliffe Peninsula and, if its revised plans are approved, the Gayundah Esplanade proposal would be its third at Woody Point.</p><p>Meanwhile, Lewis Land Group has poured millions of dollars into the renovation and expansion of the century-old Belvedere Hotel—affectionately known locally as “The Bel”—as well as Redcliffe's Mon Komo Hotel.</p>

A 15-storey project approved for the former site of a Queensland hotel where The Bee Gees played their first paid gig has been reworked…

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<p>Another boutique residential tower proposal has landed in the booming Gold Coast Airport strip of Bilinga.</p><p>Byron Bay-based developer Molti Group is behind the latest plans, which comprises an 11-storey beachfront tower with 19 apartments—including two double-storey penthouses.</p><p>The proposal is earmarked for a 1124sq m site at 307 and 307A Golden Four Drive.</p><p>If approved by the Gold Coast City Council it would replace a block of four units and a two-storey house.</p><p>The scheme designed by BDA Architects features a slender tower with cascading planters and a “floating” roof form.</p><p>“The tower’s form when viewed from the beach is simple and minamalistic, with large cantilevered balconies and high-quality materials that help to promote connectivity to the beach and ocean beyond,” a design statement said.</p><p>One the ground level, the plans include a main lobby, a four-bedroom apartment and communal recreation facilities including a pool, barbecue and dining area and sauna.</p><p>Two three-bedroom apartments per floor are proposed from levels 1 to 8.</p><p>The double-storey, four-bedroom penthouses would feature private rooftop terraces each with a plunge pool, lounge seating area and tables.</p><p>According to a planning report, the proposed 34.5m tower would exceed the site’s building height limit of 23m but was “achievable” under the strategic framework with a 50 per cent building height uplift applied.</p><div id="carousel-root" data-reactroot=""><image-carousel-remove-button><div class="rm-carousel-wrapper"><button id="rm-carousel" class="rm-carousel-btn">Delete</button></div></image-carousel-remove-button><div class="slider-wrap"><image-carousel><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-19T153605.264.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2OIUrTwXfG2xObe68Pu1IG/aa65d45a2fe9bf585c5db8956717365a/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153605.264.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2OIUrTwXfG2xObe68Pu1IG/aa65d45a2fe9bf585c5db8956717365a/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153605.264.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-19T153847.925.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/54icpNgrtsXmbguHzD39uI/457c027ad9ae2d0c28d1115213c9166a/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153847.925.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/54icpNgrtsXmbguHzD39uI/457c027ad9ae2d0c28d1115213c9166a/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153847.925.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-19T153918.361.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jNsTtIVtnDvkTOJt3fRYU/a70b939cde37373fdb746af4693c54c8/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153918.361.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jNsTtIVtnDvkTOJt3fRYU/a70b939cde37373fdb746af4693c54c8/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153918.361.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-19T153652.031.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/515u5KwTYyJqwfQ21tdcL6/1cc8e79cc659464d57a91940da3ff91f/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153652.031.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/515u5KwTYyJqwfQ21tdcL6/1cc8e79cc659464d57a91940da3ff91f/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153652.031.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design - 2023-09-19T153809.045.jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5LeuzoP7IpEBNIBN7X33Rl/0c765f495501ba40db74b969bc901991/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153809.045.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5LeuzoP7IpEBNIBN7X33Rl/0c765f495501ba40db74b969bc901991/Untitled_design_-_2023-09-19T153809.045.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div></image-carousel></div></div><p><br>A total of 41 resident carparking spaces would be provided within two basement levels.</p><p>Molti Group’s proposal is among a rising number of development applications filed for the beachside precinct at the southern end of the Gold Coast.</p><p>Nearby, plans were recently filed by Cielo Group for <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/cielo-airport-bilinga-light-rail-gold-coast-queensland" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/cielo-airport-bilinga-light-rail-gold-coast-queensland" target="_blank">a 10-storey tower with 20 apartments</a> and rooftop pool to replace two beach-shacks on a 1012sq m site at 90-92 Pacific Parade.</p><p>Other developments include seven-storey plans by a former Socceroo player and nine-storey plans by a strip club baron, which have both been approved.</p><p>Bilinga will be along the final Gold Coast light rail section, which is currently progressing from Broadbeach South to Burleigh.</p><p>The Queensland government also has identified the suburb as a potential site for an aerotropolis as well as expanded retail and commercial opportunities near its light rail station.</p>

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<p>The Southport CBD still may be—as one local property pundit puts it—the “sleeping giant of the Gold Coast market”.</p><p>But if all had gone to plan during the past decade it would already be wide awake.</p><p>In October, it will be 10 years since the Queensland government declared the Southport CBD and its surrounds a Priority Development Area.</p><p>Covering almost 200ha, the PDA was meant to establish Southport as the city’s “definitive centre for commerce” and be the catalyst for billions of dollars in projects through the cutting of red tape and fast-tracking of development approvals.</p><p>“This will be the ‘decade of Southport’,” a local politician enthused at the time.</p><p>And for a while it was a prophecy that seemed like it just may unfold.</p><p>CBRE Gold Coast senior director Tania Moore concedes even she had high hopes to start with.</p><p>“Significant delays through the town planning process were an obstacle for new business to come here,” she says. “And people were excited the PDA was going to be the catalyst for things to happen, whether that was residential or commercial development.”</p><div id="5h1OYzax8cduupU46IMTmu"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7zF3rL3jLzkvmgJLz8CQ7r/8b6565c14a88d87b086a18b6f22a0971/2.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7zF3rL3jLzkvmgJLz8CQ7r/8b6565c14a88d87b086a18b6f22a0971/2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ A decade on, the Southport PDA has delivered precious little.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Within 12 months of the PDA’s introduction, 29 development applications with a combined end value of at least $2 billion were filed with the Gold Coast City Council.</p><p>But few of the projects have been realised—and many of them likely never will be.</p><p>Instead of being a driving force for development, the PDA created the means for an opportunistic play to use the new planning instrument—and its unlimited building height—to gain maximised approvals for large-scale mixed-use developments and then capitalise on the uplift in property values by on-selling the sites.</p><p>“Some sites have traded, some haven’t … but realistically, no one has actually delivered on any of those DAs,” Moore says. “You can put like a gazillion apartments on some of them but no one’s ever probably going to build them.</p><p>“It was all about flicking them to someone else to deliver.”</p><p>Meanwhile, she says, land values have been pushed up so high—from $1000 or less per square metre pre-PDA to more than $2500 per square metre— that “it is no longer feasible to build an office building on land in Southport”.</p><p>The only major commercial addition has been Queen Street Village with some retail and medical space on the former Gold Coast Hospital site.</p><p>“Highest and best use is for residential at current land values … it’s not creating a commercial hub. It just doesn’t work,” Moore says.</p><p>In fact, the Southport CBD office market—now second in overall space to Robina-Varsity Lakes—has reduced in size by 12,352sq m since the PDA was declared, as older-style buildings have been removed from its stock.</p><p>Moore says, however, with most of its office assets more than 30 years old, Southport is the only precinct on the Gold Coast—one of the nation’s tightest office markets with 6.3 per cent vacancy—where there is potential for growth.</p><p>“But currently it just doesn’t make sense financially ... and a lot of&nbsp; those owners are not spending much money on their buildings because they see them as future development sites ”</p><p>As well, with a number of landowners sitting on large empty undeveloped sites throughout Southport, history is repeating itself on the Gold Coast. Down the road about 4km, abandoned so-called development “bomb sites” have been a blight on the Surfers Paradise landscape since the mid-1980s.</p><p>Rider Levett Bucknall Gold Coast director Jim Krebs says the other challenge with Southport is “trying to define exactly what that CBD looks like”.</p><p>“The Gold Coast has evolved from a more village-based scheme and it has continued to have fragmented areas of mixed use, commercial and residential.</p><p>“So, it's really about trying to find what that identity is and leveraging that combination of uses to help create a vibrancy,” Krebs says.</p><p>“The intent of creating a CBD is a challenge when you've got competing land interests. On the Gold Coast, residential generally still wins out as the highest and best use and it makes commercial harder to stack up.</p><div id="6PwMoxFVL04684DVqANmjd"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2Dh1zhdzMFNHYtCu7Cbq0a/53f8237546453b55992d4f40ec5be662/1.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/2Dh1zhdzMFNHYtCu7Cbq0a/53f8237546453b55992d4f40ec5be662/1.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The PDA may have had the opposite effect of its aims, says councillor Brooke Patterson.<br><br></span></div></div><p>“The Gold Coast has evolved from a more village-based scheme and it has continued to have fragmented areas of mixed use, commercial and residential.</p><p>“So, it's really about trying to find what that identity is and leveraging that combination of uses to help create a vibrancy,” Krebs says.</p><p>“The intent of creating a CBD is a challenge when you've got competing land interests. On the Gold Coast, residential generally still wins out as the highest and best use and it makes commercial harder to stack up.</p><p>“Certainly, Southport is a much stronger and more vibrant place than it was a decade ago. The PDA has probably enabled some projects to happen in a more streamlined way than would have otherwise been possible.</p><p>“But whether it has achieved the original intent that's probably questionable.”</p><p>Southport councillor Brooke Patterson says the PDA so far has failed to deliver on its promise.</p><p>“It’s devastating what has not happened in Southport during the past 10 years,” she says. “It’s a really extraordinary opportunity lost.</p><p>“In fact, [the PDA] has actually possibly done the opposite of what was intended … it incentivised landbanking.</p><p>“And government can take the blame for that as much as anyone. There was good intent but they hadn’t actually just worked through what needed to happen to incentivise the right kind of [development] behaviour.”</p><p>Patterson says her focus is now on the next 10 years with a review of the Southport PDA under way that will sharpen its ability to deliver on the original intent of creating “a dynamic and unique CBD with a high-quality urban environment”.</p><p>The revised PDA will be “much more rigorous and much tighter”, she says, with height limits potentially being reduced in some of its four precincts “so that it incentivises [development] behviour where we want it”.</p><p>Crucial to its success will be “gamechanger commitments” to key landholdings such as the long-dormant 1.5ha former Star of the Sea College site on Marine Parade. It was acquired in 2014 by Garuda GC—the Australian arm of China’s Huixin Real Estate Group—which had plans for a multi-tower residential and retail project.</p><p>“Those sites need to change hands and for someone to come and make a real commitment to do something quite spectacular,” Patterson says.</p><p>Emerging as a beacon of hope for the rise of the Southport CBD is the ambitious $400-million Park Lane “vertical neighbourhood” comprising two slender supertowers—a 100-storey apartment building and a 60-storey office building.</p><p>It is earmarked for a vacant 1245sq m site next to the Southport bowls and tennis clubs, and would deliver 193 apartments to be home to 580 people and 12,693sq m of office space to accommodate 500 workers.</p><div id="7eTVa9hkbr9bRs71tfovmO"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1SAKYcu0Q0EVWRqyDQoYLk/99cfada6938c876bd44f20156a5fb537/7.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1SAKYcu0Q0EVWRqyDQoYLk/99cfada6938c876bd44f20156a5fb537/7.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Renders of the proposed Park Lane development that includes a 100-storey super-tower.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Last week, the developers behind the proposal—a Melbourne consortium, including property group Baracon and funds manager Payton Group—were on the Gold Coast indicating they are pushing ahead with their plans after an access issue relating to adjoining state-owned land was resolved.</p><p>“They are committed,”&nbsp; Patterson says. “They’ve got the money and they are serious.</p><p>“And because it’s a very sensitive build—it’ll be a huge tower on a tiny block and something the Gold Coast really hasn’t seen before—they’ve just had so many issues to get to the starting line.</p><p>“The biggest hurdle for them now is will they get the tick from the council.</p><p>“But once people see a group like that come in and commit, it just shifts the way everybody sees the Southport CBD ... one or two of those and it’s going to be an a-ha moment.”</p><p>As well, Patterson says, the touted future relocation and centralisation of the Gold Coast City Council Chambers from Bundall to the Southport CBD is also still on the table.</p><p>By the end of 2024, a recommendation on the long-term strategic plan for staff accommodation will be brought before the council. The redevelopment of the Mal Burke Carpark, opposite the Southport Courthouse, into a local “tower of power” is one of the favoured options.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’ve got 4000 staff, so that will be another gamechanger for Southport,” she says.<br></p><div id="4XqWkVYvZgZA0Mo7d7xge"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1fATfCU2eWZnyOTwo50Ytu/3b42c0dfe5c3bc4f8f9d58d98c877796/6.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1fATfCU2eWZnyOTwo50Ytu/3b42c0dfe5c3bc4f8f9d58d98c877796/6.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Meriton Sundale at Southport—one of the few major projects during the time of the PDA.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Southport development and business identity John Howe agrees.</p><p>And he adds despite the challenge of “swathes” of land in Southport being under private ownership and controlled by overseas interests, there are also “massive amounts of government and council land, which could be utilised for the big flavours of the month—build-to-rent and student accommodation”.</p><p>“What it needs is for the council and the state government to get together, consolidate their sites and put together a big masterplan for the area,” says Howe, who heads up engineering advisory and project delivery firm iEDM.</p><p>&nbsp;“And the bones of that have started now with the review of the PDA.</p><p>“But we just need to focus on putting some economic drivers into the area.</p><p>“The Southport PDA was a great idea ... but the PDA we got wasn’t the PDA we wanted. It morphed into a planning instrument, which wasn’t required for Southport as you can basically build whatever density you want to and you always have been able to.</p><p>“So the PDA that’s required needs more of an economic development impetus to spur development on … not just getting approvals through quickly. Developers want surety and they want to know the proper economic outcomes to develop a property.”</p><p>Nonetheless, Howe says even with its faults, the original PDA declared back on October 4, 2013 was “not a negative”.</p><p>“Yeah, people have got some pretty wild plans going for big buildings and things like that …</p><p>“But, I mean, you’ve got unlimited height, unlimited density, you’ve got a light rail system, you’re next to hospitals, next to major schools and next to the water. Come on, it’s not hard really when you think about it.”<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><br>You are currently experiencing <em>The Urban Developer</em> Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. </strong><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans"><strong>Click here to learn more.</strong></a></p><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

A decade after it was identified as a Priority Development Area, Southport hasn’t hit the heights predicted. That may be about to change…

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<p>South-east Queensland developer Graya has won approval for its debut Gold Coast apartment project, Kloud.&nbsp;</p><p>The 20-apartment tower at <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/graya-kloud-palm-beach-gold-coast-queensland-development-application" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/graya-kloud-palm-beach-gold-coast-queensland-development-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener">152 Jefferson Lane, Palm Beach marks the developer’s successful move into the Gold Coast market.</a></p><p>It filed plans for the project with the Gold Coast City Council in December last year, its second planned for the beachside suburb but the first to win approval.&nbsp;</p><p>Graya director Andrew Gray said construction on the 827sq m site was imminent with onsite works slated to start in November.&nbsp;</p><p>The nine-storey tower’s design drew inspiration from the coastal landscape through its curved forms and colour palette.&nbsp;</p><p>The building will comprise two, three and four-bedroom apartments, a pool, wet deck, day beds and poolside social space.&nbsp;</p><p>Gray said expanding to the Gold Coast was a natural progression for the Brisbane-based company he founded with brother Rob more than a decade ago.</p><p>“We have a strong connection with the Gold Coast as we spent a lot of time here growing up,” he said.</p><p>“We were always drawn to the beaches and lifestyle and on the business front the opportunity for growth and further development is unrivalled as more and more interstate buyers look to the lifestyle the Gold Coast offers.”</p><div id="4FqJET5splekMtsjEu1z0v"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/HkKsJ2Wd4j6BwbiJlvZgz/29a019e53563fa0a663cf9631ff0f1c9/Graya_Kloud_MID.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/HkKsJ2Wd4j6BwbiJlvZgz/29a019e53563fa0a663cf9631ff0f1c9/Graya_Kloud_MID.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Brothers Rob and Andrew Gray are pulling the trigger on their first Gold Coast apartment project, Kloud, with early ground works slated for November.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Gray said he believed Palm Beach was a relatively untapped market. The developer also filed plans last year for Ripple, but Kloud would be the first project to break ground on the coast.&nbsp;</p><p>“Palm Beach, in our opinion, has the most potential—it’s one of the most beautiful stretches of beach and has a thriving restaurant and bar scene while still maintaining that local community feel,” he said.</p><p>“Over the past few years it’s transformed into the lifestyle capital of the Gold Coast so when this opportunity presented itself, it made sense for Graya to expand.”</p><p>Kloud’s unveiling follows a successful few months for Graya, collecting several Master Builders awards in July and <em>The Urban Developer’s</em> small-scale residential Development of the Year for Maison at New Farm. Gray said a laser focus on design was pivotal to the developer’s success.&nbsp;</p><p>“Design excellence is at the forefront of all our projects but with Kloud specifically we wanted a design that fitted in with the natural surrounds,” he said.</p><p>“The name and design of Kloud is reflective of our vision to deliver sky homes that float above the horizon.”</p><p><a data-mce-href="https://kloudpalmbeach.com.au/" href="https://kloudpalmbeach.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kloud is in pre-sales</a> ahead of its official launch.&nbsp;</p>

South-east Queensland developer Graya has received a ringing endorsement of its debut Gold Coast apartment project, Kloud...

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<p>The first step towards Queensland’s transformation of a coal-fired power station to clean energy has been revealed.</p><p>The state government has announced the publicly owned energy company, Stanwell Corporation, will build the Future Energy and Innovation Training Hub (FEITH), valued at up to $100 million, at the site of the Stanwell Power Station, 23km south-west of Rockhampton.</p><p>The size of a shopping centre, the hub will provide the facilites to test new energy technology including wind, solar, hydrogen and battery storage.</p><p>It would also provide a real-life, hands-on training environment for Queensland energy employees to develop the skills needed to work on renewable energy technologies, the government said.</p><p>The project is proposed to be delivered in phases, starting with the establishment of common infrastructure and civil works this year.</p><p>Future phases include a skills academy and demonstration centre where the community can come to learn about new energy technologies. In its entirety, the project will cost more than $100 million and be deployed over five years.</p><p>The Stanwell Power Station, with a capacity of 1460MW, is located between the potential future Capricorn and Calliope Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) as outlined in Queensland’s Draft REZ Roadmap.</p><p>Those two zones alone are expected to connect 1900-3800MW of installed generation, creating up to 650 construction jobs, supported by the Jobs Security Guarantee for the existing workforce.</p><p>Central Queensland’s REZ covers 10 local government areas and supports the region’s key industries of agriculture, construction, minerals processing and manufacturing to meet their clean-energy goals and demand from international markets.</p><p>Stanwell chief executive Michael O’Rourke said the project would be “the visible bright spark of Stanwell’s transformation to clean energy and our vision is for FEITH to be a catalyst for advancing the energy transformation, not just at Stanwell, but for the entire state”.</p><div id="1z0rfjIfZly0HpZlXdrMIj"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7oPh4WYPQ04CHkxXd5cPkF/c0fdced6c6aade627d02b206331a267d/stanwell.jpeg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7oPh4WYPQ04CHkxXd5cPkF/c0fdced6c6aade627d02b206331a267d/stanwell.jpeg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Inside the Stanwell power station.<br><br></span></div></div><p>“It will increase our understanding of new energy technologies and their application in building Stanwell’s renewable-energy portfolio and driving the development of Queensland hydrogen industry.</p><p>“And just as importantly, it will help us create the energy workforce Queensland needs for the future through hands-on skills development and training.”</p><p>The government said Queensland’s coal-fired power stations provided critical dispatchable power and system services, keeping the state’s energy system reliable and secure.</p><p>“In the future, renewable energy generators, PHES, batteries and low emissions gas-fuelled plant will collectively provide the dispatchable capacity currently provided by coal,” a FEITH spokesperson said.</p><p>“The Queensland government will invest to repurpose publicly owned coal-fired power stations into clean energy hubs, capitalising on their skilled workforces, strong network connections and existing infrastructure.</p><p>“This reinvestment and repurposing of coal-fired power stations will occur in a co-ordinated manner, ensuring energy security for all Queenslanders.”</p>

A $100m training and innovation hub to guide Queensland’s move to renewable energy has been revealed…

QUEENSLAND