FOR SALE: New push to get $100m Buderim resort off ground
A 4ha Buderim property earmarked for a $100m eco resort has hit the market in a bold bid to get the project off the ground.
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A 4ha Buderim property earmarked for a $100m eco resort has hit the market in a bold bid to get the project off the ground.
Coast couple Heidi Meyer and Kim Carroll have launched a sales campaign for their hillside property approved for the Badderam resort project and the site of holiday home Malumba Estate.
After working on the project for six years, Ms Meyer said she was now looking for an experienced developer to buy the property for the resort to go ahead.
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"We want this to be super successful … and that means being prepared to step out of the way," she said.
The Box St site has Sunshine Coast Council approval for 111 hotel suites, restaurants, conference facilities, a wellness spa and a rail car to access cabins down the escarpment.
But it has a controversial past, and some residents still question if it should be built on a Buderim escarpment at the end of a quiet residential street.
Ms Meyer said that last month the couple gained finance from a Canadian firm, subject to due diligence, and were in discussions with several luxury resort operators.
She said all that was missing was a person or company with experience developing projects of this scale.
But if it sells Ms Meyer is hopeful she can still be involved in some form.
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For two years the couple has searched for an investor or developer but been overlooked to projects in Melbourne, Sydney and Asia, Ms Meyer said.
"I'd like to keep it positive though, because now after COVID-19 we have a great opportunity," the mother-of-one said.
"We're not competing as heavily with Melbourne, Sydney and Asia because of what's happened in the past 12 months.
"People have started to look to regional Australia, some for the first time.
"We now have finance and several luxury operators knocking on the door, three of which have sent MOUs."
Sunshine Coast Council approved the proposal in April 2018 and gave Ms Meyer and Mr Carroll a two-year deadline to have an investor and a signed hotel management agreement.
In March 2020, councillors voted to extend the development approval by four years, against the advice of its own planning team and an independent hotel expert.
Former deputy mayor Tim Dwyer voted against the development both times due to its location and being "so far outside the planning scheme".
Mr Dwyer said the resort should not be built on a block in the limited development, rural zone.
Concerns had also been raised on issues including landslip risks, vegetation clearing, cuts in the escarpment and building heights.
"I met with residents before it came to council and they were adamant it was inappropriate for the area," Mr Dwyer, who did not run for re-election in March, said.
Divisional councillor Ted Hungerford also voted against the project on both occasions.
Mr Dwyer believed the council should not have given Ms Meyer and Mr Carroll the time extension.
"It was to make them get on with it and show what they were putting forward wasn't just a pipe dream, that it was viable both financially and engineering wise and that other people could see value in it," he said.
Box St resident Jessie Harris was one of the dozens of opponents who wrote to the council.
The 83-year-old retiree purchased a unit on the same street destined for the resort eight years ago with husband Stan.
She said current construction on new apartments had put pressure on the small residential street.
"It's a narrow road," she said.
"Units are going ahead in Box St … the big cars and trucks are having trouble finding parks and getting down there.
"So something of that size is way out of the question.
"I don't think it's suitable for this part of Buderim."
Ms Meyer said she did not believe the project would have a negative impact on traffic.
She said guests were likely to fly to the Coast and not have cars, or would not need to use them often because of a walking track from the site to Buderim Village.
There would also be 170 carparks.
The 4556 Chamber of Commerce president Donna Niazov said the organisation was supportive of the project because of its benefits to local businesses.
It would be the first resort built on the Coast in almost four decades, with the last being the former Hyatt Regency, and the biggest development in Buderim's history.
"Buderim has some of the most incredible sights and locations … and we get a lot of the local market, but we do feel that Buderim in general needs things to attract people from that drive and interstate market," Ms Niazov said.
The chamber president of three months and owner of a cleaning company said Buderim lacked holiday accommodation.
Ms Meyer said the zero waste eco resort was the most supported in the Sunshine Coast's history - adding 292 of the 337 submissions were in support of it due to tourism and economic benefits.
"When I came into the space as a developer it's like you have 'evil' written across your forehead," she said.
"That's because of what has gone before, no community engagement or underhanded dealings and no asking the community what it is they would like."
During consultation they put a coffee cart at King St every Sunday morning to speak to residents about what they wanted.
They also invited residents to Malumba Estate every Wednesday night to speak with consultants.
Resident Graeme Rickards said the high level of support was the result of an "unprecedented" level of lobbying and promotion.
The Buderim resident of 26 years and former designer of sustainable homes and buildings said the location and topography was unsuitable for the project.
Mr Rickards wrote to council ahead of their decision to give Ms Meyer and Mr Carroll more time to find a developer, urging them to throw the project out.
Ms Meyer said they proved there was a low risk of landslide in $500,000 worth of geotechnical work and reports completed by Core Geotechnical.
She said the 158 conditions would ensure its future development was as a five-star eco hotel.
Those conditions included managing the risk of landslips on the escarpment site while cuts and retaining walls ranging in size from 5.5m to nearly 9m were built.
Ms Meyer said if the property did not sell they would continue to work on the project.
"I think this community gets disappointed every time they see a failed project," she said.
"This is about relinquishing our egos and bringing people in, as we always have done, who have the experience."
Tenders are being called until January 28.
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