Currumbin Waters trotting track over-50s resort development appeal dismissed
The Planning and Environment Court has rejected an appeal to allow an over-50s resort be built at an environmentally sensitive site, forcing developers back to the drawing board.
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SINGAPORE’S Thakral group and the Gold Coast’s Puljich family are reassessing their plans for an over-50s lifestyle resort on Currumbin Waters trotting track land after a new setback.
Their GTH Resorts joint venture has failed in an appeal to the Planning and Environment Court over a city council rejection of its planned 350-apartment GemLife project.
Adrian Puljich, the GemLife CEO, said the project was not being aborted.
“We will go back to the council and see if we can work out something that is mutually agreeable.
“The opportunity is still there for us to do something.
“We owe it to ourselves and the landowners to pursue the matter and see if we can work out something that is commercially viable.”
Mr Puljich’s comments come on the heels of GTH Resorts on Friday settling the $29.7 million purchase of a Pimpama site from the Sunland Group at its the Heights estate.
The 46.4ha site is earmarked for a GemLife flagship resort with more than 400 titles.
The city council’s rejection of the GTH plans for the Currumbin Waters GemLife resort was handed down in late 2018.
The Planning and Environment Court last week backed that rejection.
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The lifestyle resort was to have 16 two and three-level buildings on a near-14ha four-title property in Galleon Way owned by Robert and Roberta Markey.
The trotting track was built in the 80s and covers 75 per cent of the land, which has a Currumbin Creek frontage.
Judge Williamson, in dismissing the GTH appeal, said the development had been designed to maximise yield on the land at the expense of the environment.
He said an overdevelopment appeared to be driven by matters of private economics rather than a planning, or environmental, imperative.
The Thakral family, via the then listed Thakral Holdings, has been a major property player on the Gold Coast since 1993.
It has owned the Oasis shopping centre, The Glades golf course Robina, and a whole city block in Surfers Paradise.
The Thakral tie-up with the Puljich family, headed by patriarch Peter and long-time operator of the Living Gems retirement villages, was set up in 2015 to target the baby boomer market with gated resort-style retirement villages.
It operates under the GemLife brand and has lifestyle resorts in Brisbane, NSW and Victoria.
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