How every Gold Coast suburb will be transformed by 2032
The Gold Coast Hinterland will be dramatically reshaped, with several multi-billion dollar developments set to transform the quiet region. SEE THE CHANGES
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WHAT will the Gold Coast look like leading into the 2032 Olympics?
The Bulletin as part of the Futures series takes a deep dive into development, infrastructure and community projects that will change the Gold Coast in the next decade.
Using council city placemaking plans, development data, and input from councillors, the state government and industry leaders, here is the future for your suburb or precinct.
Today we focus on the city’s western suburbs, sitting each side of the M1, where there is a mix of huge development pressure at Robina and Worongary, and attempt to preserve the flood plain and green valleys further south.
Worongary
* Demand for one of the Coast’s last major greenfield sites is greater than expected. More than 15,000 have registered to secure one of 3500 houses planned for Worongary’s SkyRidge subdivision. The entire development will be home to 10,000 people, but the completion date of 2036 could be earlier. The land has already been cleared ahead of work beginning.
Merrimac
* The state government this week unveiled its plans for a railway station on Gooding Drive, about 750m east of the Pacific Motorway and Gooding Drive interchange. Critics say it should be further north near the Elysium Road interchange and the planned SkyRidge estate.
* Councillors are protective of the Guragunbah flood plain which acts as a basin to stop floodwaters impacting on the coastal properties from Southport to Burleigh. In recent years council received up to nine applications, including plans for at least 3105 dwellings on elevated engineered platforms extending out to the flood plain. New tougher planning amendments have prevented this.
Mudgeeraba
* Upgrade of Firth Park’s sporting fields is on the agenda. Potentially, there could be funding to advance the growth and expansion from state, council and federal – junior Aussie rules and cricket need new homes there. This will be a future major sporting precinct.
Springbrook
* The $170m planned Springbrook cableway appears to have stalled. Council led by Mayor Tom Tate has pushed for studies to support the project with $500,000 in funding ticked off for an environmental audit. The state government wrote back in August saying it did not have enough information to sign off on a Memorandum of Understanding.
Robina
* Robina’s role as a premier location for medical and educational services will continue to expand in close to the health precinct based around the Robina Hospital. The stadium, home to the Titans, provides a focus for a mini-precinct covering sports science and management. This is enshrined in the City Plan.
* The game changer will be the Olympic Village. It will provide long-term accommodation options. But first council, trying to upgrade congested nearby roads, must find a traffic solution that is likely to include an expensive overhead bridge replacing roundabouts. It is planned for a site opposite Robina Town Centre.
* The extension of heavy rail from Varsity Lakes remains on the agenda, with a business case study being completed. Light rail spur lines cannot be completed by 2032. Expect to see a rapid bus network running from the coastal tram line to Robina.
*The big-ticket item here is the Green Heart. Six times the size of the Southport Broadwater parklands, two-thirds as large as New York’s Central Park and home to up to 15 sporting fields, the $15m Robina Parklands have been fast-tracked. Work will begin in two years. It will take 10 years to construct. It’s the city’s most significant open-space project.
Tallebudgera and Currumbin valleys
* After a sustained community protest, the council’s powerful planning committee in 2020 canned a bid by a Chinese developer to build a mega tourism project in the Tallebudgera Valley. Ridong proved unsuccessful in delaying the decision with councillors citing flooding, traffic and the density of the project impacting on the city’s “green frame”. Smaller projects like wedding venues have been approved in the valleys since but elected representatives seem sensitive about a resident backlash and retaining rural zonings. City leaders are reluctant to approve future major projects for these rural areas.
How light rail will utterly transform Coast’s south
THE southern part of the Gold Coast is undergoing great change.
High-rises are going up, parking is a concern, the M1 is being upgraded and a light rail is about to go down the middle of Gold Coast Highway.
Nobby Beach
* Plans have been lodged for The Oxley and The Frederick – two 12-storey mixed-use retail and residential towers – in the heart of the low-rise beachfront suburb. It is four times higher than the zoning. But with light rail passing by, a trade off of more carparking is created than currently exists, might see the project approved. It will change the suburb forever. With increasingly high-density development, Nobby Beach is an area that is expected to significantly change in the next decade.
* Long-term residents are complaining about late-night bar trading. A consensus has to be reached about the total upgrade of the retail centre.
* Crime is dogging the area’s retail precincts. Light rail has the potential to make it worse. Solutions must be found because many residents do not feel safe going to shops at night.
Burleigh
* Carparking will be removed at Burleigh Headland. Council says vehicles will still be able to make drop-offs near the top. More spaces will be arranged at Rudd Park. Residents need to be convinced the changes will work.
* The future of James Street precinct remains uncertain. There is a mix of owners. Council intends to provide wider crossing access for pedestrians.
* The suburb is undergoing $5bn worth of redevelopment. The most controversial site involves the Old Burleigh Theatre Arcade. Sydney-based developer Wei Wang has told the Bulletin he would move quickly to build De-Luxe, a 13-storey “ultra luxury” residential tower, despite community objections to the project. There are upward of 10 new towers proposed for sites along The Esplanade and Goodwin Terrace that will reshape the suburb, dubbed by real estate figures as “Queensland’s own Bondi Beach”. The largest is the two-tower Mondrian hotel, which is already under construction.
* The biggest environmental challenge for light rail Stage 4 will be the connection between Burleigh and Tallebudgera. The proposal includes an overhead wildlife crossing. The government and council has a major public relations challenge in convincing residents, but the proposal could provide a much better outcome for koalas.
Palm Beach
* A council master plan found the Gold Coast Highway divides the centre from the beach. It was almost impossible to see the beach from the highway. The aim is to make better pathways. Street lanes needed to “activated” and the area upgraded to make people feel safe.
* Council has allocated $7.3m for the Palm Beach Aquatic Centre – for progress design, development and tendering for redevelopment.
* Palm Beach is already in the midst of a transformation as a new generation of towers rise. This will only intensify with a raft of projects either approved or under construction. The arrival of the light rail extension in the late 2020s can be expected to fire up the property market even further.
Kirra-Coolangatta
* Gold Coast Airport is in the midst of a $500m upgrade, with planning about to begin on its next 20-year masterplan. That will involve a further expansion of the terminal and its facilities on to the nearby Border Park site.
* Development at Rainbow Bay causing controversy includes three towers put forward by S & S projects, led by Paul Gedoun. The company is redeveloping the Cafe Dbar at Point Danger to create the Awaken Residences.
* Kirra is also undergoing dramatic change, with its historic Kirra Beach Hotel making way for a $380m, two-tower redevelopment. More projects are expected to be built on the famous surf break’s foreshore.
* The area has never had a master plan. Council acknowledge the suburbs are known for their relaxed beachside vibe. Residents have complained in surveys about a lack of parking, shade and street trees. There is an oversupply of retail space. Parks have a substance-abuse problem. But the view is Coolangatta and Kirra can become a world-class business, commercial, recreational and event destination for locals and visitors.
* Light rail is aimed to connect to the airport. But the real question is whether the right route has been chosen from Tugun south. Some critics believe it should be down the middle of the Gold Coast Highway. Negotiations between state and council continue.
* The upgrade of the M1 to Tugun will be completed in the next few years. The pain of that work being completed will then see more frustration for commuters with the Gold Coast Highway to be the route for the trams heading south.
‘Total transformation’: Coast’s centre will be unrecognisable
As part of its Future Gold Coast series, the Bulletin is this week investigating the big plays in suburbia and how they will reshape communities.
Yesterday, we put the spotlight on the city’s north.
Today, we focus on the city’s central heart, home to the CBD and hospital, where to the north and south there are huge development pressure points.
Paradise Point, Biggera Waters and Labrador
* Cranes will be in the Paradise Point skyline. All these Broadwater suburbs will be more protected by amendments to the City Plan, which reduces high-growth targets. But those changes are yet to be approved by the state government, allowing developers some latitude and possibly a year to amalgamate and build high on housing blocks. In some cases it could be five storeys in a suburban street. Labrador will have more higher high-rise south of Charis Seafoods. Among the most prominent is already under construction: Homecorp’s $150m Eve Residences on the old KFC site. A range of others are already approved but yet to begin construction, including the $65m Arleen tower on the former site of Cav’s Steakhouse.
Parkwood
* The big question is whether the Health and Knowledge Precinct around the hospital will be a success. An estimated $1bn was promised in economic impact but three years after the Commonwealth Games, critics describe it as the city’s biggest white elephant. The state government is outlaying more than $33m on a priority development area plan for the 9.5ha site. Council is continuing to provide support.
* The favoured site for a boutique stadium is Southport Sharks. In the longer term, the light rail spur to Harbour Town will pass by. The start of the line is built.
* More than $300m will be spent redeveloping Parkwood Village into an integrated resort featuring a giant surf park and upgraded golf course. It would also feature a series of towers, including a hotel and 225 residential units, and a health, sports and recreation precinct. The timeline is two years, the project changing the suburb forever.
Southport
* Southport is the city’s only central business district (CBD), a priority development area allowing super towers to be constructed around the light rail route. The CBD provides for more than 50,000 jobs, and will be the base for the greatest proportion of the city’s job growth over the next 20 years, covering retail, commercial/financial, service, medical and research facilities, tertiary and vocational education institutions.
* The CBD is no longer the future site for a hotel-casino with the state’s plans for a global tourism hub, which considered Carey Park, abandoned. The project most-sought after now is a “tower of power” building which would include a legal precinct, council headquarters and retail on its ground levels. It is earmarked for a site opposite the existing courthouse, replacing the council-owned Mal Burke carpark which will be demolished. Negotiations between council and the Commonwealth are continuing in the lead-up to the federal election. The odds favour this more than a gambling house.
* The Southport Croquet Club, fronting the tennis club, will stay. Owen Park will be upgraded after public consultation.
* Stage 4 of the Broadwater Parklands will include a major children’s playground, south of the swimming pool.
* Council has just approved planning changes that will allow parts of the CBD to become the grunge live-music capital of the Coast with open-air bars and craft breweries. This means on Friday and Saturday nights a live entertainment zone will emerge from shopfronts built on the template of Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley and James Street precinct.
* Council and civic leaders are desperately working to rid Southport of “bombsites” left over from demolished buildings and failed development problems. Expect to see a significant push to invest money in luring business and realistic projects back into the suburb.
Benowa
* The botanical gardens, a hidden gem, will get a new Biodiversity Visitor Centre. It will cost $10m, design will take two years, but it will put this wonderful hidden asset on the tourism map.
Carrara
* The city will boast a new elite training field by late this year as a revised master plan is launched for the Gold Coast Sports Precinct at Carrara. The turf war about access to fields between the precinct’s major tenant the Gold Coast Suns and the Brisbane Roar, which wants to move its training and administration base here, sparked the push for upgraded facilities. Council ticked off on it in January, and there are also plans to upgrade other fields.
* The Gooding Drive roundabout, possibly the most notorious on the Coast, remains a problem for traffic and likely to again be investigated to determine an upgrade. Some say the only solution is a flyover.
Epic new developments planned for high-density north
WHAT will the Gold Coast look like leading into the 2032 Olympics?
The Bulletin as part of the Futures series takes a deep dive into development, infrastructure and community projects that will change the Gold Coast in the next decade.
Using council city placemaking plans, development data, and input from councillors, the state government and industry leaders, here is the future for your suburb or precinct.
Today we focus on the city’s fast-growing north.
Yatala
* The M1 remains a crawl with lower speed limits due to exit works. Work began in July on upgrading Exit 41 (Yatala South). This includes changes to off ramps and a new bridge. It will take 18 months – the 80km/h speed limit will remain until work is complete. Major upgrades are planned for Exit 38 (Yatala North) and Exit 45 (Ormeau) subject to community consultation.
* The council was warned in February to “plan ahead” and ensure there was enough land and proper infrastructure to support the Coast’s industrial base in the north. Logan and Ipswich were poaching industries as sites ran out. The existing 3000-hectare industrial powerhouse employs around 35,000 residents and generates billions – there is huge potential.
* Council is finally addressing the challenge. The search is on to the east of the highway, both for industrial sites and residential. The aim is getting enough greenfield space for 50 years. Steiglitz is destined to change from a sleepy fishing village.
Key planning player: The Coomera Connector. The state government is under pressure to make public the exact route of the next stage. It is likely to cross over the M1 to the west near the industrial precinct.
Pimpama
* The council is finalising development at the Pimpama Sports Hub at Heritage Park. It includes a new aquatic centre, community centre and tennis courts. The overall cost is $80m. This is a community game-changer.
* Work on the long-promised Pimpama railway station is set to start by Christmas. One of three on the Coast as part of a $5.4bn Cross River Rail investment, it may not open until 2025 when the upgraded services to inner Brisbane start.
* Construction of a $6m police station on the corner of Cox and Yawalpah roads began in June and is expected to be operational by February next year. The state government surprised the Opposition with this commitment. It is needed to reduce street crime.
Key planning player: The extraordinary population growth, and whether infrastructure can catch-up. The train station needs more car parks, while the suburb must get a community centre and heart.
Coomera
* Work is continuing on the Coomera Civic Hub, finalising design. It includes a library, community centre, auditorium, customer service and councillor office. A spend this year of $1.9m. This will be the largest-ever community project undertaken in the city. Funding will be across four budgets.
* Westfield hold approval for the giant second stage of the Coomera Town Centre precinct. It is expected to be dramatically expanded and even include an inland beach. The project is tipped to occur in the late 2020s.
* The state government is planning a massive health precinct on George Alexander Way near the Coomera Town Centre. Planning details show an “ambulatory care centre” on a 14,000sq m site and larger hospital on a 225,000sq m showing several multistorey buildings. Work could start in 2022. It will take six years to build and ease demand on the Gold Coast University Hospital.
* The government is also spending $12m on a new two-storey learning centre at Picnic State School, and more than $50m on a special school.
* The Coomera Marine Precinct off the M1 is a boomer – new cafes, large residential homes nearby on new waterfront blocks. The Boat Works is increasing capacity on its 22-hectare (55-acre) facility as it builds Stage 4 as part of a $100m development.
* Dreamworld is building its $32m Steel Taipan rollercoaster, and the Jules Verne blockbuster will be filmed at Village Roadshow along with the new George Clooney and Julia Roberts film Two Tickets to Paradise. Wet’n’Wild is to build the world’s longest water slide (130m). The theme park car parks threaten to be full again.
Key planning player: Enough school class rooms and green parks. Can the suburb, its roads and schools handle being the fastest growing in Queensland?
Helensvale-Oxenford
* The Coomera Connector will double traffic feeding into congested Helensvale Road. Council alone does not have the budget to fix it. This is the major link east to the Broadwater after the state rejected using Hope Island Road. An agreement must be reached to avoid gridlock.
* Results from council’s Oxenford investigation area survey showed 57 per cent of owners support two to three-storey buildings or subdivisions of rural lots. This is the first real green light from the so-called investigation areas. It could lead to 1447 dwellings, covering 300sq m, essentially changing the town centre forever, giving it a much-needed makeover.
* The Gold Coast Titans rugby league franchise has approval from council to build its club headquarters just south of the Oxenford shopping precinct. This is currently a cricket oval. A community club will be welcomed.
* Helensvale is growing up, will go high-rise in its business and retail precinct and see more subdivisions on the large home blocks. A 12-storey tower will be built on the Red Rooster drive-through site at the Helensvale Plaza shopping centre.
* Council will work to reduce the shocking congestion at Bunnings and Kmart Oxenford.
Key planning player: The Oxenford quarry, in which a majority of councillors have just refused its expansion. Next step is likely to be the planning courts. This could take two years to sort out.
Pacific Pines-Nerang
* The state government is spending $28.6m on a junior precinct for the Pacific Pines State High School. While the estate is fully built out, there is still work to be done to accommodate school kids.
* There continues to be extraordinary pressure on the real estate market. Land prices have blown out at nearby Maudsland with a 400sq m block starting at $525,000.
* Bushland has been cleared for the Nerang town centre shopping centre expansion. But there is doubt about a major store like K-mart being located there, and likelihood that there will be more accommodation. Residents wanted quality shopping.
* The state government and council are working to protect the environmental value of the state forest – but there is also room to support mountain-biking opportunities.
Hope Island
* Expect more high-rise developments. When approving new unit developments, council’s planning committee recently admitted the suburb was underdeveloped according to the City Plan.
* Several major developers, including Anniko Group, have approval for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects which are expected to be unfurled during the coming decade.
Residential towers as well as those aimed at retirees.
Key planning player: The Coomera Connector. The state has spent $74m on acquiring land adjoining The Surrounds at Helensvale. The second M1 will be a tight squeeze here along the light rail route, and there will be opposition to construction further north through Helensvale.
What Gold Coast tourism heart will look like by the Olympics
DIVE sites, bomb sites, Spit masterplans, Oceanways, asset sales and mega developments.
In the final chapter of its deep dive into what is happening in our neighbourhoods, the Bulletin shines the torch on Main Beach to Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach and Nobby Beach.
The Spit and Main Beach
* Work began in August to install the $5m Wonder Reef offshore dive site. This will be the city’s newest tourist attraction. Engineers and safety experts will spend eight months checking on it before opening in 2022. Council is already looking ahead to build a second stage of the project.
* Planning consultants say the population of Main Beach is tipped to quadruple in 20 years, creating a future traffic nightmare after an audit of 122 buildings east of Tedder Ave. The data was prepared as part of a presentation for the Main Beach Association. If council keeps approving current densities, the population will increase by 420 per cent by 2040.
* The recent super tower approvals which caused so much uproar in the community are starting to take effect on the ground. The Monaco is using the nearby park next to the Southport Surf Life saving Club to install temporary offices. Similarly, Cable Park is full of machinery. The reality is the suburb will be a construction zone for at least three years.
* The Spit is getting more of a makeover at the northern end. Part of this includes controversial plans for a jetty and a pontoon. Stakeholders say it is much bigger than first discussed during the master planning process. Work will begin in the new year.
* The other major fight on The Spit will be the extension of the Oceanway. Will a hard surface continue through Federation Walk, or will the plans include a switch west across the road near Sea World linking north on the new footpath to the Seaway? Debate is continuing.
* In September, the state government announced the area’s last beachfront development site is up for grabs. Deputy Premier Steven Miles announced expressions of interest open on a site with 52 metres of prime beach frontage. Aerial photographs show it is south of Sheraton Mirage in The Spit’s commercial zone.
Surfers Paradise
* Researchers have told council that for Surfers Paradise to be economically sustainable, it must keep visitors longer in the precinct. The mall was upgraded, foreshore-esplanade expanded and light rail built through the centre – but many locals have told council they cannot find the suburb’s soul. Council aims for the mall to be refreshed, the Esplanade expanded and plans to develop a youth precinct.
* The biggest boost will be the extension of the Oceanway south to Broadbeach. The roadblock to council plans at present is a legal dispute with foreshore residents.
* The council is to sell Bruce Bishop carpark. The Surfers Paradise bowls club site across the road is also on the market. These are huge central sites, left to decay for decades. While residents are protesting about the future lack of carparking, new hotels and apartments can be built here fronting the river.
* Given the predicted huge increase in population, the tourism heart will need to identify new green space. Money from the carpark sale could be used to create parklands.
* The derelict beachfront eyesore section of the Paradise Centre has been demolished, but residents remain divided about the $30m shopping replacement. Every 10 years for the next 50 the area will get a facelift.
BROADBEACH
* The Star is engaged in a $2bn masterplan of Broadbeach Island, which will ultimately allow for up to seven towers. The Dorsett hotel and Star Residences will open in early 2022, while construction is underway on its next tower, the $400m Epsilon. A decision on the remaining approved towers will be made next year.
* The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre is the big unknown development. Under new plans it would be doubled in size to give promoters a 12,000-seat stadium to bring the biggest entertainers in the world to the city.
Brisbane entertainment boss Harvey Lister also wants to double the floor space to attract the world’s biggest conventions and conferences.
* The council has approved for a “bomb site” to be demolished to make way for the suburb’s biggest tower. This is despite protests from residents. Sydney-based developer Macquarie Development Group is to build the 52-storey high-rise on the corner of Gold Coast Highway and Rosewood Ave on the former site of Oriental Garden Restaurant. The tower, Assana, will feature 146 units and be two storeys taller than the Oracle towers.
* The council has plans to give the family-friendly beachfront suburb a facelift. Planning investigations found some of the streetscaping was dated, and public open spaces such as Victoria Park, Kurrawa Park and Federation Park need greater activation. Victoria Mall does not visually connect to the beach and the cycle network has missing links, is not safe and does not enter the precinct area. Some shop fronts are looking dated and need a boost, and safety measures and lighting need to be introduced to reduce street crime.
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Originally published as How every Gold Coast suburb will be transformed by 2032
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