This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
BUILDER and developer Sekisui House Australia is offloading its contentious 18.5-hectare Sunshine Coast development site on the Yaroomba beachfront, after losing its court appeal in February.
The last beachfront master-planned site of this scale, which adjoins the developers existing Coolum Beachside Estate, includes more than 465 of direct beach frontage and sitting just four kilometres south of Coolum is less than 10 minutes out from the Sunshine Coast Airport and 30 minutes out from Maroochydore and Noosa.
“The highly sought-after beachfront site at Yaroomba presents an exciting opportunity to bring to market quickly house lots and apartments under a current approval for a master-planned residential development,” said Atshuhide Seguchi, group CEO for Sekisui House Australia.
The site is being sold with an approval in place for a gated residential apartment and housing estate, with a height limit of up to four stories.
The height limit for the estate became a major point of contention and ultimately the undoing of Sekisui’s plans, with the Supreme Court overruling the $900 million masterplan’s approval for buildings of seven storeys, after already amending the height from 10-storeys in 2015.
At four-storeys, the development still exceeds the area’s structure overlay code, which limits heights to two-storeys at a maximum of 8.5 metres.
After receiving approvals for the amended plans from the Sunshine Coast Council in 2018, the Sunshine Coast Environmental Council and the Development Watch group challenged the results at the Planning and Environmental Court, who upheld the council’s decision in 2020.
With the Supreme Court’s Court of Appeal rescinding this ruling in February this year, citing the development’s failure to fully consider the impact of the estate on the broader community and the content of 11,666 submissions.
Under the current DA approval, the estate would become an extension of Coolum Beachside estate and would have as many as 291 dwellings, with 112 housing lots, 41 terrace dwellings as tall as three-storeys and 138 apartment residences.
“The sea change trend continues to see Australians seek out homes and residential communities in coastal regions along the Eastern Seaboard, with the Sunshine Coast residential property market performing extremely well into 2022,” said Seguchi.
With interest expected from local, national and international groups, the site will also benefit from the uplift to the rising Yaroomba median house price, with the suburb and those surrounding reaching $1.5 million, for a 39% boost over the year.
“We anticipate that the site’s prime location coupled with secured development approval will drive strong interest in the sale,” concluded Seguchi.
The sale process for the Yaroomba beachfront development site will be jointly managed by Ray White Special Projects and Colliers.
