Gold Coast housing: Tower developments set to become more common in northern suburbs

Residential towers are coming to the city’s north and the Gold Coast’s planning boss and new deputy mayor Mark Hammel reveals residents will need to get used to it. FIND OUT WHY

Residential towers are coming to the city’s north and the Gold Coast’s planning boss and new deputy mayor Mark Hammel reveals residents will need to get used to it.

Plans have been lodged with the Gold Coast City Council for a nine-storey tower in Pimpama, east of the M1.

The 851 sqm Pimpama Jacobs Well Road site is occupied by a single-storey house, as are all of the surrounding streets.

A proposed residential tower which is planned for a single-storey house at Pimpama.

But with the city’s population growing by 15,000 people annually and housing at a premium, newly minted Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel said the Pimpama project was one of an emerging wave of “diverse” housing which would continue to include towers going forward.

“These proposed sites sit within the centre zone, are close to heavy rail and major shopping centres and these are exactly the kinds of locations where we as a city envisage greater residential density — close to public transport, schools, shops and essential services,” he said.

“These aren’t random proposals. That’s just smart city planning.

“I fully support this kind of smart development when it’s in the right location and we want to see more of it - not just in the northern Gold Coast, but wherever zoning, infrastructure, and community needs align across the city.”

New Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel. Picture Glenn Hampson

Mr Hammel said he wanted to see more projects of a similar nature which would supply lower-cost housing that the increasingly luxury-focused market on the coastal strip

“It’s also important to remember not all new unit developments on the Gold Coast are luxury apartments on the coastal strip because developments like these ones on the northern Gold Coast can offer well-located homes at more affordable prices when compared to central and coastal areas and that’s a crucial part of the housing mix we need - especially in a city growing as quickly as ours that is going through a cost of living and housing crisis.

The top levels of the tower.

“Looking ahead, I’d like to see more zoning across the city that supports a greater diversity of housing types - beyond just apartments in towers and that includes terrace homes, townhouses, duplexes and low- to medium-rise buildings that incorporate a mix of dwellings.

“ It’s not just about height — it’s about variety, affordability, and delivering homes that suit the needs of our community.”

The site of the proposed tower.

The new Pimpama tower, put forward by Jim Gallanos, would have 26 two-bedroom units which would be aimed at the affordable market.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland Gold Coast boss Andrew Henderson said he expected to see more low and medium-rise towers appearing in suburbs which had never previously been considered for such projects.

“This may be the first of many medium-rise projects which are not on the beachfront because there is so much additional housing that we need,” he said.

Andrew Henderson. Picture, Portia Large.

“It needs to be in the right location with transport nearby so we are not just congesting local streets.

“Developments like this must be in locations which can accommodate people but not significantly impact the lifestyle of the current residents.”

The Coast market is struggling with unit sales slowing and fewer projects launched to the market in the past year, according to new data to be released in March by property consulting firm Urbis.