Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a business breakfast event hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland and featuring leading demographer, KPMG Partner, columnist at the Australian Newspaper and infamous questioner of the right of millennials to eat smashed avocado – Bernard Salt.
Bernard was there to present a report he had prepared looking at the likely demographic changes that will shape the Coast in the next 20 years. Bernard was very excited about these changes, including a near doubling of the population to 550,000 with people attracted to the region by its entrepreneurial spirit, ‘hipster’ culture and connectivity. I must admit that whilst Bernard’s enthusiasm was infectious (I commend you to read his report) as a construction professional I was just as interested to hear Sunshine Coast Mayor, Mark Jamieson’s vision that, in no small part, is helping drive the predicted changes.the Sunshine Coast over the next 20 years.
Major Projects
There are an array of projects underway or in the pipeline that many people just a short crawl down the Bruce Highway appear blissfully unaware of.
These projects include:
15 MW Solar Farm at Valdora
Construction is underway and when complete later this year it will offset 100% of the Council’s electricity requirements.
Airport Expansion
Approval has been given and funding is in place for a new 2,450 m runway and terminal expansion allowing a significant increase in domestic / international traffic. Bernard Salt predicted that by 2040 the number of international cities served by the airport will increase from the current one (Auckland) to potentially 15 cities (many of these in China).
Palmview
A $3 billion master planned community, spanning 378 Ha with 4,800 homes which will be home to Queensland’s first grand linear park and no doubt many of the expected increase in Sunshine Coast population.
Sunshine Plaza
Located in Maroochydore, Sunshine Plaza the largest retail centre north of Brisbane, will expand from 73,000 square metres to over 107,000 square metres by the end of 2018 in a $400M redevelopment.
Maroochydore City
On the 53ha site of a formal golf course, Sun Central (established by Sunshine Coast Council) is developing a whole new modern city centre in the heart of Maroochydore including 150,000m2 of commercial space, 65,000m2 of retail space and 2,000 residential apartments. The development will include a range of ‘smart city’ innovations such as technology that assists parking and Australia’s first CBD-wide automated underground waste collection system. It is expected that the development will create15,000 jobs by 2025 and more than 30,000 jobs by 2040.
Aura
Even bigger than Palmview, Aura will be Australia’s largest master planned community. Located on 2,360 hectares of coastal land to the south of Caloundra the Stockland development plans to provide 20,000 homes over the next 30 years and will eventually be home to an estimated 50,000 people.
Light Rail
The Sunshine Coast Council is undertaking a feasibility study for a light rail system between Maroochydore and Caloundra. Eventually the system could link most major destinations and attractions along the coast and connect with buses and trains via a heavy rail link to Beerwah.
So, you don’t need to be a demographer or futurologist to see that see that in the future the Sunshine Coast will become just as famous for its business opportunities and relaxed lifestyle as it currently is for a large replica spiky sweet fruit and khaki dressed zoo keepers.
Jon Davies
Principal of Brackenway Consulting
QS, Commercial Manager & Contract Facilitator