THE construction industry is celebrating after a major housing development at Palmview was announced.
The area opposite Aussie World will be home to another 16,000 residents and have three new schools.
“It’s fantastic news,” local builder Courtney Burns, of PJ Burns Builder, said.
“It’s busy already but this is only going to make things busier.”
She said the company currently built between 100 and 150 homes every year, employed 30 full-time staff and hired hundreds of tradespeople.
However, she said the business would likely hire a few extra full-time staff and support an extra 100 tradespeople as subcontractors.
Ms Burns said she believed the Coast was already on the way to another construction boom, with the new hospital in Kawana and other projects.
“It’s busy at the moment but it all starts with that building dollar and that development dollar,” she said.
“When building picks up, the Coast picks up because then we’re buying products, the trades are building our jobs, and it has a flow-on effect right throughout the Coast.”
SEQ Property Planners principal Wes Stephen said the master-planned community had come at a timely moment.
Mr Stephen’s business helps residential property investors find land suited to investment.
“I’m very excited about it because of its location,” he said.
“It’s going to be a great location for access to both the Sunshine Coast university and hospital, and easy access to the Bruce Hwy.”
Investa Land Queensland general manager Bruce Harper said the Palmview master-planned community would be one of the largest residential development projects to occur on the Sunshine Coast.
“It’s smaller than Caloundra South but together with that it will make up a significant proportion of residential development on the Sunshine Caost for the next two decades,” he said.
The total value of the completed Palmview community is expected to exceed $4 billion.
“We’re going to create a community that’s an authentic Sunshine Coast community,” Mr Harper said.
He said he was excited that the project, which had been in planning stages for several years, had the green light.
“We’re able to build on the community at Sippy Downs and create stronger linkages with the university,” he said.
He said the estate would have its own shopping centre, both private and public primary and secondary schools, and a “mixed-use” area to encourage employment activities.
“We’re also providing for much-needed sporting facilities,” he said.
“The current area surrounding Sippy Downs and Chancellor Park is poorly supplied with sporting facilities.
“We’ll be building sporting fields early on in the project.”
The project would take between 15 and 20 years to complete, he said, with construction starting next year.
Infrastructure such as sewerage and water pipes would be installed first, he said.
Sunshine Coast Council economic development portfolio spokesman Councillor Steve Robinson said there was “definitely a focus on affordable living” by Investa Land.
“There’s going to be a wide variety of housing choices, from quarter-acre blocks to small lots, to high density living,” he said.
“This will create a more certain future and an economic driver for the area and for the future.
“Builders are wanting to build, but there’s not enough land for them to meet the market.”
Investa Land had hired local consultants to assist with the planning and delivery phases, and intended to engage with local builders when the project was active, Mr Harper said.
Nicky Moffat | 12th May 2015 11:12 AM via sunshinecoastdaily.com.au