Development plans revealed for Pacific Paradise Bowls Club site

Plans have been unveiled for a mega-unit development with six storey buildings at a sleepy Sunshine Coast suburb’s former bowls club.

The development proposal at Pacific Paradise will include three buildings on the former lawn bowls site.

A mega-sized unit proposal has been unveiled for a Sunshine Coast suburb, with the developers justifying exceeding height limits in the name of boosting housing supply.

Owners of the former Pacific Paradise bowls club and the North Shore Tavern John Goulter and David William Whelan are behind the plans to build a total of 192 units, as well as a cafe and shop spaces.

If approved the development will be located next to the North Shore Tavern at Pacific Paradise on 698-706 David Low Way.

The tavern and adjacent petrol station will remain, while the former bowls club will be demolished to make way for the 192 proposed units, pool and cafe.

Pacific Paradise development application reveals plans for former lawn bowls site.

The development would feature 127 units – with a mix of two and three-bedroom options – spread across three buildings ranging in size from three storeys to five and six.

Another six-storey building is also proposed for 65 motel rooms behind the tavern.

According to the application the tallest of the proposed buildings stands at 19.75m, exceeding current height limits of 12m.

Aerial shots of the proposed development at Pacific Paradise.

The application submitted to the Sunshine Coast Council stated the site had been rezoned in 2014, when it was owned by the Pacific Paradise Bowls Club. which prevented the area from being developed to “meet the growing needs of residents, employees and visitors”.

The companies Sherringham Holdings Pty Ltd and Padstow Holdings Pty Ltd – directed by Mr Goulter and Mr Whelan respectively, according to Australian Securities and Investments Commission documents – purchased the land from the club in 2018.

The bowls club had initially bought the block from the current developers in the 1990s, operating for more than 20 years before becoming financially unviable.

In the town planning report the developers say the proximity to the Sunshine Coast Airport and high-demand for housing in the area justifies the development exceeding the height limits.

Artist impressions show the building heights of the proposed Pacific Paradise development.

“The proposal assists with and contributes to the Sunshine Coast meeting the Dwelling supply benchmarks identified by the SEQ Regional Plan, and recently released Draft SEQ Regional Plan, which intends to assist with SEQ’s projected population growth,” the report states.

“The delivery of the proposal provides additional housing choice and supply in a location with an access to an array of infrastructure and other services.”

The application is impact assessable, and will be open to community consultation.

Originally published as Development plans revealed for Pacific Paradise Bowls Club site