Sunshine Coast Developer Reveals $100m Apartment Project

Henzell Property Group has moved quickly to lodge plans for a $100-million mixed-use project on a prime waterfront site in the heart of Caloundra as the local property market continues to outstrip greater Brisbane and even the Gold Coast.

The proposed development, between 133-143 Bulcock Street and 68-78 Omrah Avenue, would be built on a 6200sq m site bought by the developer in early June.

The residential and office project, known as Verre Caloundra, will combine “high-end” retail and dining at street level with 39 two- and three-bedroom apartments as part of the project’s 10-storey first stage.

A second stage will comprise a mirrored 10-storey building with 28 apartments, and an ancillary five-storey, 2700sq m medical and retail building at the rear of the site, to be known as Omrah Medical.

The site is currently occupied by the Suncourt Motel and is a large tract of vacant land that Henzell Property Group sales director Marcus Muir said would offer a unique opportunity to create a new entry statement for central Caloundra.

“We have had our eye on this property for some time, so what we have planned has been carefully considered,” Muir said.

“We feel this site, with the correct product mix, will be one of the most exciting launches the Sunshine Coast will see in 2021.”

The development will feature a 5m-wide pedestrian laneway from Bulcock Street through to Omrah Avenue.

Preliminary works have begun ahead of Henzell Property Group releasing apartments to the market.

If approved, construction would start in June, 2022 with the first stage expected to be completed towards the end of 2023.

Henzell has been a developer on the Sunshine Coast since the 1930s, pioneering canal estates and developing the Pelican Waters Golf Course, as well as numerous other residential communities within Pelican Waters including the Carlyle Terraces residential development in the marina precinct.

The developer’s latest project has been spurred on by the swelling sea-change trend, low interest rates and the state’s track record of low Covid-19 cases.

Henzell is currently in early works for a 226-apartment project at Pelican Waters to be developed over four stages.

The project builds on the masterplan for the coastal precinct, established by the Henzell and Ford families in 1989 on land that the families have owned since the 1940s.

The developer also recently sold out an exclusive release of luxury residences in the first stage of the $200-million precinct called The Cove.

All 15 homes were purchased, for a total of $12 million, further highlighting the appeal of high-end residences among owner-occupiers flooding the Sunshine Coast.

According to the Regional Australia Institute, the Sunshine Coast is predicted to be one of Australia’s fastest growing cities to 2030.

Current forecasts suggest the region would be home to 580,000 people in 2041, further intensifying land constraints and affordability issues in the booming region.

In order to cater to this growth, a Directive Collective property market update recently stated that the region would need one new suburb every year for the next 20 years to keep up with its surging population growth.

Residential developer Stockland is one of the most active developers currently building in the region.

Stockland is well under way on its $130-million Thrive Nirimba community, located within its $5-billion Aura masterplanned community in Caloundra.

The suburb, named Banya after the Bunya Tree, will compromise 4000 homes and townhouses when completed during the next 10 years, with 50,000 residents anticipated to move in.