Mermaid Beach: Gold Coast developers plea for larger towers on light rail Stage 3 route to Miami
Developers and landowners are pleading for the green light to allow them to build larger towers on the light rail route, warning the next generation will be forced out. FIND OUT MORE
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A group of developers and landowners are pleading with the state government to allow them to build larger towers on the Mermaid Beach and Miami stretch of the light rail.
With the Gold Coast falling further and further behind on its housing targets, they argue political leaders are “using traffic, carpark and infrastructure challenges as an excuse to stymie development”, and warn the Gold Coast will “become more unaffordable than Sydney within a decade unless they change policy.”
With the city’s population set to hit one million people within 15 years and the completion of light rail Stage 3 only a year away, they are calling for action and an uplift of the seven-storey height limit on the highway.
Tony Wilson, who owns Nobby Beach Caravan Park, is the spokesman for the developers and said “new residents to the Gold Coast will not have housing options, as well as locals who want to downsize or young people wanting to get into the market”.
“Our children will have to leave town to get into the market,’’ he said.
“This does not build strong and enduring communities.’’
“Most of these developers have been patient and have jumped through all the planning hoops but now we have this attitude at state level, in particular, where all they are worried about is voter backlash.”
Mr Wilson said it was “short-term thinking”.
“This is about meeting the demands of the fastest growing city in the country and ensuring that we meet the housing targets which are very specific to the city,” he said.
“(Development) on the cane fields is a great option but it is not the single answer.
“We need to look at infill sites, as well as lift height limits along the tramline.
“The eastern side of the Gold Coast Highway has undergone renewal but the western side has some great opportunities for urban renewal on significant sites.’’
The group of developers is now seeking a meeting with Deputy Premier and State Development Minister Jarrod Bleijie to push the issue.
There are 12 key land owners involved in the push, several of whom own significant parcels of land and are experienced developers.
Most did not want to be named.
Among the group is long-time real estate figure Larry Malan, who favours an uplift to towers of around nine storeys and said it was critical to use the available space to its best potential.
“We have a problem in that there is too little accommodation for everyone and we have obvious space for this to increase without significant cost and yet (politicians) seem to be very slow moving to make this happen,” he said.
“The red tape which you currently have to go through is huge and this would be an obvious fix.
“There is no argument against it and right now light rail is a year away from beginning to operate, so why not increase the density.”
Among those who support increased uplifts along the light rail route at Mermaid Beach and Nobby Beach is leading developer Soheil Abedian.
The Sunland co-founder, who now operates his own private company Abedian and Co, does not own any property on the highway but, like his colleagues, said towers of up to 30 storeys would be appropriate.
“This is the most important non-capital city and by 2040, if the population is to be more than one million people, I think we need a 20-30 storey height limit in this area,” he said.
“I have no land holdings there and no conflict of interest but for the future of this city, it must have a much higher density.”
Homecorp boss Ron Bakir said uplift laws should “absolutely” be looked at.
“Given the shortage of products we have, we need to make projects more viable and more affordable,” he said.
“Increasing density is always helpful to get projects off the ground and while this probably won’t mean the corridor in question will be full of affordable housing, it will mean that the property there is more affordable than it currently is.”
Mr Bleijie would not say whether the government would consider any move to increase uplifts in the area but insisted he was working closely with council’s to determine the future of development.
“The Crisafulli Government is resetting the planning partnership with councils and communities to fix Labor’s housing crisis, by ensuring new housing opportunities are locally informed and deliver more Queenslanders with a place to call home,” he said
“Unlike Labor, who failed to plan for growth and ignored councils and communities, the Crisafulli Government is delivering a fresh start with local governments in updating all regional plans across Queensland to support more housing for Queenslanders.”
Both Mayor Tom Tate and Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel have previously highlighted the Mermaid Beach light rail corridor as an ideal location for more housing.
Mr Tate last year called for the state government to consider intervening and introducing Temporary Local Planning Instruments (TLPI) along the light rail route to unlock high-density developments.
He argued at the time it could create more than 30,000 new dwellings.
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Originally published as Mermaid Beach: Gold Coast developers plea for larger towers on light rail Stage 3 route to Miami
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