Exclusive pics show spectacular final plans for $300m wave pool park at Parkwood

The Gold Coast is poised to get its first wave park, with the marathon planning for the city’s latest tourist attraction almost completed. See the new renders

The Gold Coast is poised to get its first wave park, with the marathon planning for the city’s latest $300 million surfing tourist attraction almost completed.

The project aims to include a 300m-long surf park, a $10m refurbished golf course, a hotel, 225 residential units and a food-and-beverage district

The council - in final information requests - want developers to lodge updated renders showing how it will transform northern suburb Parkwood.

The wave pool and surrounding buildings planned at Parkwood on the Gold Coast.

City officers also want flood study details and noise surveying to ensure residents aren’t impacted.

Officer commentary indicates “the extent of short-term accommodation has been appropriately justified” on the site.

They are encouraging the Parkwood Village to apply for “special events’ for a future operational plan.

Officers in late June asked for more flood emergency management information.

.

New designs showing an aerial shot of the $300m wave pool tourism attraction at Parkwood on the Gold Coast.

The developers are confident they have not just met planning requirements but measures in place go beyond what’s requested.

Parkwood Village managing director Luke Altschwager, in an exhaustive three year process, has welcomed input from City officers and residents in finalising plans.

Mapping showing the extension of the development to create a wave pool park at Parkwood on the Gold Coast.

“It’s been two-and-a-half years going on three,” he said, adding all the questions about having enough car parks, flood storage and acoustics were the same ones they asked themselves at the start.

“We knew if we can’t achieve them, you will not get an approval.”

New latest renders were part of an information request sought by an independent visual amenity expert, to show architectural merit and external vantage positions.

Part of the investigations involved appointing an independent acoustics expert to monitor wave noise from the rock wall at Duranbah.

The modelling looked at the “slap of a wave” considering different sizes and times of the day.

The built form around the sunken wave pool help create a “360 buffer”.

New designs for the $300m wave pool tourist attraction at Parkwood on the Gold Coast.

Community consultation with neighbouring residents led to villas being moved 10 metres closer to the pool, improving views and decreasing potential noise for nearby property owners.

“Flood evacuation has been improved significantly. We have got flood immunity of the public carparking up above Napper Road. So Napper Road, the public carparking on the site, all the parks around the footy field, are under Napper Road,” Mr Altschwager said.

“They are now above the crest of Napper Road. It won’t get wet until Napper Road is completely closed off. From a commonsense point of view, if you can’t get in you are not at risk.

“And if you are in, you know Napper Road is going under, and your evacuation process you have external access from the property. There’s a metre difference, it buys you hours.”

City planning chair Mark Hammel said a report on the application would be presented to councillors next month.

The operators have approval for a hotel servicing up to 350 guests.

New designs showing the $300m wave pool planned for Parkwood on the Gold Coast.

Parkwood Village is the training base for the Gold Coast Titans and home for health industry and sporting businesses.

Mr Altschwager said the key element was maintaining the primary use on the site.

“If you were not maintaining the primary use of sport of recreation, in my opinion it wouldn’t comply. We believe we are enhancing sport and recreation on the site,” he said.

“If you go back to the early days of 60,000 rounds of golf, by the time we are done we think this will have more than half a million people doing sport and recreation on this site annually.”

Follow @PaulWestonGC