Paloma Paloma developers miss council extension

Developers behind a high-end apartment bid in Caloundra have declined to submit details to Sunshine Coast Council before deadline, while the site remains coated in neon paint.

Paloma Paloma was proposed as a world class $250m hotel and residential development that would transform Caloundra and the Sunshine Coast. Picture: Supplied, ,

Mystery continues to shroud a controversial $250m development in Caloundra as a significant deadline for the project proposal passes.

An extension date for Cura Habitats to provide additional information to Sunshine Coast Council on its Paloma Paloma hotel and unit proposal at Bulcock Beach has lapsed.

Initial plans showed Paloma Paloma would feature two high-end towers, one for short term accommodation and another for permanent residents, as well as a dining and shopping precinct.

The developers first stirred controversy in December 2021 when the buildings which were intended to be demolished were painted bright orange.

Paloma Paloma application extension deadline passes as the Sunshine Coast Council waits for a response.

Council records show the development proposal was granted a 60 day extension on February 6, 2023, to provide more details in order for the application to be approved.

The extension deadline was May 5, 2023, however according to a council spokesperson CURA Habitas has not made contact or provided the required information to complete the application.

“The applicant has not sought a further extension,” the council spokesperson said.

“The change application is in the decision-making stage; however, council is still waiting for the applicant to provide additional information.”

Paloma Paloma, a world class $250 million dollar hotel and residential development, is yet to be granted approval.

Caloundra resident Gayle Murphy previously told the Sunshine Coast Daily she was frustrated work hadn’t begun on the development, labelling the site on Caloundra’s main street an “eyesore indefinitely”.

“(They) chose the most nauseating colour for the rest of the development block,” Ms Murphy said.

“That may have been acceptable to the town when the initial feedback was it was all being bulldozed a few months later, supposedly last August, now we are stuck with an orange eyesore indefinitely.

“It’s such a shame having it like that when our rates have paid millions on paving and trees to beautify Bulcock.”

The $250m development has been granted a number of extensions since August 2022, when construction was initially due to start, according to Sunshine Coast Council development documents.

CURA Habitas has been contacted for comment.