Inside Coast2Bay Housing’s plans for social units at Gympie

A Sunshine Coast charity has unveiled its plans to build a two-storey social unit complex at Gympie to help ease an ongoing housing crisis for the region’s most vulnerable.

The Coast2Bay Housing Group has lodged plans for the development with Gympie Regional Council, asking for permission to build 12 unit social housing complex at Leonard St, near its intersection with Exhibition Rd.

A Sunshine Coast charity has unveiled its plans to build a two-storey social unit complex at the Southside to help ease an ongoing housing crisis for the region’s most vulnerable.

The Coast2Bay Housing Group has lodged plans for the development with Gympie Regional Council, asking for permission to build 12 unit social housing complex at Leonard St, near its intersection with Exhibition Rd.

The company bought the block, not far from the Southside Shopping Centre, for $680,000 in January 2024, CoreLogic RP Data records show.

The land is currently occupied by a shed.

Each ground floor unit would have its own outdoor patio or courtyard, and those on the top floor would have balconies.

Units would be either one or two-bedrooms in size, and range from 55sq m to 77sq m in size.

The Coast2Bay Housing Group has lodged plans for the development with Gympie Regional Council, asking for permission to build 12 unit social housing complex at Leonard St, near its intersection with Exhibition Rd.

The complex would include two recreational spaces, with barbecues and shade.

The existing driveway onto the block would be demolished and replaced.

The company bought the block, not far from the Southside Shopping Centre, for $680,000 in January 2024, CoreLogic RP Data records show.

The group said the housing would offer “accessible and affordable housing” for “a diverse range of people in need including those experiencing or at risk of homelessness, women and children escaping domestic violence, First Nations people, older single women, families, youth, seniors, and individuals with disabilities”.

Affordable housing has been an ongoing problem across the Gympie region for years, with claims there have been waiting lists up to two years’ in length for those seeking emergency housing.