Coffs Harbour riding a wave of development | photos
Coffs Harbour is in the midst of a development boom anchored by mega builds. Use an interactive tool to see before and after images showing how much has changed in a decade.
Regional News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Regional News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A dozen years back it was oft said Coffs Harbour was largely stuck in the ’70s.
Critics pointed to tired fibro homes, dated restaurants and uninspired shopping centres.
The shiny new resorts on the city’s northern beaches had come and in some cases already gone.
Not that Coffs hadn’t grown – the sprawl to the north and particularly into former banana hills to the west were evident.
But unlike other some regional cities, for example, Port Macquarie, the built environment was considered a bit ho-hum.
So much has changed in the past few years on the back of urban renewal in the CBD, and at Park Beach and The Jetty in particular, where modern, visually appealing high rises have been sprouting.
City of Coffs Harbour general manager Natalia Cowley hasn’t been in town long, but she is across the fast-shifting landscape.
“We’ve seen some exciting changes in our local government area over the last few years,” Ms Cowley said.
“Since mid-2020 we have approved 3439 developments – both small and large scale – as more people are not only moving here from metro areas, but bedding down long-term and choosing Coffs as a place to live and invest.”
The change has been dramatic and driven by a mix of public and private investment.
Headline builds have been the fast evolving M1 Bypass of the city, The Shoreline residential towers at Park Beach and the controversial civic space Yarrila Place (remember, even the Sydney Opera House once had its haters).
As the cranes, excavators and concrete trucks do their thing, a big focus has been on projects aimed at re-establishing the CBD as a place to live, rather than just in the burbs.
It’s meant a balancing act for the council and the state government, including pinch points at The Jetty over how much development should be allowed.
“Our team at the city do a great job of working through these DAs and also making sure that our unique natural environment is protected,” Ms Cowley said.
“With each new development that gets the green light, we are not only expanding and modernising our physical landscape but also creating opportunities for local businesses and residents.”
Any public division on projects can be seen most easily on social media – where the crows and cries are surfaced – sometimes by keyboard warriors who will never lodge a submission.
While Yarrila Place kicked up a royal storm, most new builds have been greeted by acknowledgment things can’t stand still given the housing shortage in Coffs.
It’s a reality taken on-board by the new GM.
“The changing face of our city is a reflection of our commitment to progress and innovation,” Ms Cowley said.
“I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride and optimism as more people choose Coffs as a place to live, work and play.”
Coffs on the grow – 11 massive projects
1. Coffs Harbour Bypass
Some said it would never happen, but the earthworks indicate otherwise, particularly at the northern and southern interchanges for what will be a new stretch of the M1.
This $2.2 billion bypass is due to open to traffic in 2026, with full completion in late 2027.
After some political shoving and pushing, the bypass will include tunnels, and once in play it will divert trucks from the heart of Coffs, and its traffic lights.
Greg Nash, Coffs Bypass project director, said the build would require a workforce of more than 700 “at its peak”.
The bypass aims to remove the final Pacific Highway bottleneck between Hexham and the Queensland border and is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and state governments.
2. Yarrila Place
Like Port Macquarie’s Glasshouse, Coffs Harbour’s vision of a new, grand civic space has been mired in opinion.
Some have likened it to a big green monster on Gordon St, while others have praised its flowing lines and soft colour scheme.
No one speaks negatively about Port’s Glasshouse anymore and the same may be said of Yarrila Place in a few short years.
The building will house council staff, a gallery, a state of the art library split over three levels, and a museum.
The price tag is hefty at $80m-plus.
Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh has blamed the cost of the development for the pause on a number of other projects slated for the city.
Lipman Pty Ltd is expected to give a final handover of Yarrila Place to council by mid-year to enable the transition of the new space ahead of a grand opening.
3. Coffs Harbour Film Studios
This is a project pushed by arguably the Coffs Coast’s most famous resident – Hollywood megastar Russell Crowe.
The Oscar-winning actor announced in 2021 he would bankroll the estimated $438m vision for a former banana plantation site in Coffs Harbour, which is currently home to Pacific Bay Resort.
The Pacific Bay Resort Studios and Village project will come in three parts – a studio cluster, a community and culture cluster and a living cluster.
The studio section will include sound stages, production offices and workshops as well as sheds, suites and tenancies for high tech industry.
Ironically the new Coffs Bypass has thrown a hair in the ointment – with the film studio backers pressing the state government to build a concrete wall to abate noise from the M1.
Coastal & Golf Resorts Group general manager Brad Daymond said the wall would allow neighbouring developments – the highway bypass and village and film studios project – to coexist.
4. C.ex residential and commercial tower
It’s a crowning glory for the CBD and a flag-bearer for encouraging people to live in the heart of town.
The build is well underway and a sky-piercing crane has taken up residence as the 13-storey $44m high rise starts to ‘come out of the ground’.
The landmark building will provide a substantial boost to inner city housing stock, while the ground floor will provide retail space.
“It’s the biggest (private) project in the CBD,” C.ex Group chief executive officer John Rafferty said.
Mr Rafferty said the C.ex project was “on track” for a November-December 2024 opening.
5. The Shoreline at Park Beach
The Shoreline is a luxury senior’s retirement village and aged care centre, set to accommodate Coffs’ anticipated rise in the older demographic.
The project is headed by Bachrach Naumburger Group, which is also the developer behind Park Beach Plaza and Seashells apartments.
With an eye-watering price tag of $150m, the project is being built and delivered in stages.
An official opening of Shoreline Luxury Retirement Living was held in October and when complete it will boast a 120-bed residential aged care home and 185 independent living apartments.
In the company’s latest building update, it reported that its builders FM Glenn had been making solid progress on the Headland Terraces, despite rainfall of more than 200mm.
“On a positive note, our gardens, landscaping and putting green are loving the extra rain,” the company noted.
6. Wavelength residential tower
Ocean Pde at Park Beach has long been the privy for those with a head for heights – a mini-Gold Coast where high rises sit by the sea.
The private 13-storey Wavelength development was marketed differently, as a select number of well-heeled Coffs Harbour people were invited to a ‘take a look’ meeting at the Hoey Moey hotel.
All 10 of the apartments were sold within a week, fetching between $1.4m and $2.3m.
Seven of the units broke the previous sales record for an apartment at Park Beach – $1.65m at the Seashells complex.
“We just spoke to the people who we thought would be interested,” Wavelength sales agent Shane Hessenberger of Hess Property said.
There is just one apartment per floor – and each is wall-to-wall luxe.
Developer George Dowd from Urbancom said Wavelength was designed to cater to people who “want to downsize, but also want space”.
7. Wiigulga Sports Complex
Nestled on the outskirts of Woolgoolga, this $28m centre is a place for all pursuits – from sport and culture through to education.
Outside there’s a professional standard bike pump track and grass fields which can cater for cricket, touch football and AFL.
Inside there’s two multisport courts picture perfect for basketball, netball, futsal, and pickleball.
Rounding out the offering is a mega event space able to cater for up to 700 people seated, smaller rooms for community activities, a performance stage and a pro kitchen.
Wiigulga (Wee-gill-gah) is the original name for Woolgoolga and refers to the black apple tree which is found locally and on the site.
“The project’s come in on time and on budget. We’re stoked,” council’s City Prosperity group leader Dan Heather said.
8. The Promenade
Despite being three storeys above height controls in some sections, the $25.4m redevelopment of The Promenade on Coffs Creek got the green light.
Plans involve the demolition of existing buildings and the construction of three mixed-use buildings on the banks of Coffs Creek.
The Promenade 2.0 will include commercial/retail and community facilities on the ground floor and 39 residential apartments above and basement carparking.
“Coffs Harbour has not seen commercial architecture to this standard. We can now use this as a benchmark – we have set the bar far too low, for too long,” resident Adam Doyle said.
The coming apartments have been likened to tree-houses by Walknorth Architects’ husband-and-wife team Sacha Zehnder and Jaya Param, as they will be set within the canopy of the creek-side vegetation.
9. Sable at the Jetty
Like Wavelength to the north, apartments at this $35.5m development slated for a key Coffs location were snapped up in days.
The block on the corner of Collingwood and Edgar streets will see a six-storey build of one, two and three-bedroom luxe apartments.
Third.i co-founder Luke Berry said the firm’s debut Coffs Harbour project will help fill a gap in the market for quality coastal homes.
“Sable at the Jetty is our first project here at Coffs Harbour, so we’ve ensured it exceeds expectations and lives up to the legacy I know it will leave for the region,” Mr Berry said.
10. Coffs Harbour Sports Hub
Coffs sports bodies have been climbing over themselves to get a guernsey at the south Coffs precinct since the opening of the $14 million Stage 2 facility last year.
The value of two synthetic playing fields has already been seen after big wets saw many sports grounds closed in 2022.
As well as the all-weather artificial fields which have been built to the standard of football’s world governing body in FIFA, Stage 2 of the project includes a turf playing ground, a general purpose headquarters with canteen and admin rooms, carparking, access roads, and sub-surface drainage and irrigation networks.
“It’s a runaway success,” mayor Paul Amos said.
Part of the infrastructure of Stage 2 includes connected pedestrian/cycle paths linking the precinct with the nearby education and health campuses.
Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh feted the sports complex as the finest on the coast between Newcastle and the Queensland border.
“We’re giving our children and the next generation opportunity,” Mr Singh said.
11. 99 West High St
Plans for a striking 10-storey building that would dwarf its neighbouring structures on the fringe of the Coffs Harbour CBD remain “in progress”.
The proposed $10.7 million build would include commercial and residential spaces, a rooftop terrace and three underground levels of carparking for 62 vehicles.
The residential apartments would be designed to accommodate high dependency disabled tenants.
According to LJM Architecture, the visual impact of the building would be softened by using rounded edges and with vegetation, including planter boxes.
The building on the corner of West High and Murdock streets would include four storeys for commercial business and two for residential.
Levels 4 and 5 of the seven above-ground storeys will be residential – comprising eight ‘Specialist Disability Accommodation’ units.
Do you know about a significant Coffs Coast project we haven’t mentioned? Get in touch by emailing christian.knight@news.com.au
More Coverage
Originally published as Coffs Harbour riding a wave of development | photos
Join the conversation
‘No welcome to country’: Elders take stand amid Jetty poll results
As Coffs council prepares for to be presented with its Jetty Foreshore poll results, Indigenous elders say they will refuse for the first time ever to provide a welcome to country if state plans go ahead.
Read more
Major road closed after serious crash
A major thoroughfare near the Qld-NSW border has been closed after a serious two-vehicle crash, leaving motorists stuck in heavy afternoon traffic. Here’s the latest.
Read more