Land transfer paves way for huge Rockhampton project with homes, training centre

Unused Central Qld university land will transform into a $100m-plus development hub featuring hundreds of homes, Olympic-standard netball courts and more.

CQUniversity Vice-Chancellor Professor Nick Klomp, Keppel MP Nigel Hutton, Rockhampton MP Donna Kirkland and Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie look over a map showing the layout of the 130ha of land.

The release of 130 hectares of Queensland Government-owned land at CQUniversity will allow the delivery of 200 new homes, the new Rockhampton Sports Precinct and TAFE Centre of Excellence.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie made the announcement at the university’s North Rockhampton campus on Friday morning, saying the Governor had approved the land transfer to allow the development of a vibrant mixed-use precinct integrating residential, retail, community and training facilities.

The first homes are expected to start construction next year.

He said the land would be converted to freehold land, subdivided and transferred at no cost to CQUniversity, Economic Development Queensland and the Rockhampton Regional Council to deliver the following Crisafulli Government election commitments.

CQUniversity’s Rockhampton Priority Development Area will be unlocked to allow the development of a vibrant mixed-use precinct integrating residential, retail, community and training facilities.

Mr Bleijie said the land situated within the CQUniversity’s Rockhampton Priority Development Area had been declared by Labor more than a decade ago but had not been developed.

“The Crisafulli Government is changing that by creating more homes, better training opportunities and world-class sporting facilities for Rockhampton and beyond,” he said.

“Rockhampton and Central Queensland are central to our state’s future, and this is another step toward delivering stronger, more liveable regional communities.”

Finance, Trade, Employment and Training Minister Ros Bates said the $61.1m TAFE Excellence Precinct would help address the skills shortage, and deliver modern facilities for trades, IT, hospitality and more, ensuring Central Queenslanders had access to “world-class training close to home”.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie makes the announcement to unlock 130ha of State land at CQUniversity's North Rockhampton campus.

It has been described as a game-changer for local sport by Sport and Racing and Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tim Mander.

He said the $47m investment into stage one of the precinct would provide 16 new netball courts and amenities and would encourage more kids to take up the sport.

Keppel MP MP Nigel Hutton said the transfer heralded a new era of housing opportunity for Central Queensland with the 200 homes “a welcome addition” to the 2,000 social and community homes the government intends to deliver annually in its first term.

Originally published as Land transfer paves way for huge Rockhampton project with homes, training centre