Kings Forest: Billionaire Bob Ell’s Leda Holdings puts northern NSW housing estate lots on market
A billionaire developer will put the first lots of his decades-in-the-making mini-city on the market in a move he says will solve the region’s housing crisis.
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Billionaire developer Bob Ell will put the first lots of his decades-in-the-making border mini-city on the market in a move he says will solve the region’s housing crisis.
The first 150 lots of the Kings Forest estate on the Tweed Coast will go up for sale in early 2024, more than 20 years after they were first proposed.
With a new $723m hospital opening nearby at Cudgen in the coming months and available land at a premium, Mr Ell said the time was right to move on the project.
The boss of Leda Holdings said the site would “deliver new housing supply in a region where there was very little stock, but high demand for affordable residential product”.
“Housing supply has been at an all-time low, and the cost of living is putting a strain on people, not only in the Tweed but nationwide,” he said.
“This significant stride towards addressing housing needs in Tweed is exciting (and) by working hand-in-hand with the Tweed Shire Council, we are not only on the brink of providing more housing options but also poised to create thousands of local jobs.
“This milestone marks just the beginning, we remain dedicated to the ongoing collaboration that will bring the entire estate to fruition.”
Mr Ell has been planning Kings Forest and his neighbouring Cobakai Lakes developments since the 1990s but has faced years of delays in securing approvals from the NSW Government.
The estate, which straddles the Queensland/NSW border, will have 4500 lots covering 869ha and, once completed, will become home to more than 11,000 people. Real estate agency Colliers has been appointed to sell the lots.
Colliers residential director David Higgins said the project was “a huge step forward for supply of much needed housing and actual land opportunities to the northern New South Wales and Southern Gold Coast regions” from “a developer with a proven track record of delivery”.
Beyond housing, the estate will also have a school, sporting fields and a central park, as well as a retail complex.
Tweed Mayor Chris Cherry said new housing was critical.
“Release of the first residential blocks is important to address the substantial demand for housing, particularly in light of the increasing demand for healthcare workers expected from the opening of the new Tweed Valley Hospital at Kingscliff in May 2024,” she said.
“We look forward to many more homes becoming available here in the near future.”
Real Estate Institute of Queensland Gold Coast boss Andrew Henderson said northern NSW and the Coast Hinterland were prime for a property boom to house people unable to buy on Glitter Strip.
“Those areas are benefiting significantly from the Gold Coast’s population growth, with their price points often cheaper than the city and that means there is a lot more opportunity for people moving there,” he said.
“There’s a new hospital there, there’s great access to the Pacific Highway and it is been a great site for a long time so it is good that Bob is finally unlocking it and allowing people to build their dream homes.”
Tweed Shire councillor James Owen said housing in the region was one of the biggest priorities for council.
While he said Kings Forest would be a “welcome reprieve” for the droves of people looking to move to the Tweed, he hoped there would be more clarity on the project in the coming months.
“It’s no secret that we need housing in the shire as soon as possible. We’ve known for years that the project is coming but there are still no firm dates as to when people can start purchasing,” he said.
“Council is working with Leda on the project so hopefully the community can continue to be informed as the project progresses.
“The developer has often talked about putting ‘locals first’ but I am curious as to what this means for the people in the Tweed.
“With the new Tweed hospital opening in May, local construction workers will be looking to find employment as works ease off. So it would be great to see if Kings Forest can take them on.”
Cr Owen said he wanted to see the project offer a variety of housing options for people with varying budgets.
“There will be buyers flocking from the Gold Coast and further afield in Queensland and people from the southern markets in Sydney and Melbourne so I hope there is a variety of options for buyers,” he said.
“The new hospital will employ workers from cleaners, to retail staff, nurses and surgeons. There’s a whole range of people with different budgets so it would be great to see affordable options on offer.”
He said Tweed Shire Council last week released a comprehensive paper on growth management and housing within the region, which asked the community what they thought about the housing options being put forward.
He said he acknowledged the project was a “key part of the future” for the council’s housing strategy and said “there’s real excitement in the community for it”.
Cr Owen, who is also president of Business Kingscliff, the local chamber of commerce, said regular meetings will be held early next year to discuss the Kings Forest project with the local community.
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