The new Maroochydore CBD will showcase homes that double as businesses to meet the region’s growing mobile workforce in a futuristic first for Queensland’s residential market.
Brisbane-based company Habitat Development Group will transform the small business and residential landscape on the Sunshine Coast with an $83 million plan to build two towers in the new Maroochydore City Centre including “Small Office Home Office” (SOHO) townhomes.
Habitat’s managing director Cleighton Clark said the CBD’s contemporary urban design, digital connectivity and coastal lifestyle called for an innovative residential development suited to mobile workers of the future.
“SOHO townhomes are designed to have the efficiency of an office with the comfort of a home,” Mr Clark said.
“They are spread over two or three floors, depending on the size of the SOHO, with light, ventilation, noise and access to telecommunications and internet connectivity all critical design considerations.”
Mayor Mark Jamieson said Habitat’s development would occupy 4158m2 at the northern end of the site.
“The new Maroochydore City Centre aims to be one of the most digitally advanced in the country, making Habitat’s innovative SOHO townhomes a logical and exciting inclusion for this project,” Mayor Jamieson said.
“More than $10 million in underground infrastructure will ensure the latest technology is available in the new city centre, while an international broadband submarine cable landing in Maroochydore will provide Australia’s fastest data and telecommunications connection to Asia and the second fastest to the United States.
“The Maroochydore City Centre has been designed for the jobs and lifestyle of the 21st century and Habitat’s development is an ideal fit for the project vision.”
Mayor Jamieson said Habitat’s SOHO townhomes were likely to be popular with a new generation of Sunshine Coast residents, identified by leading commentator Bernard Salt.
In his report, The Activated City: Imagining the Sunshine Coast in 2040, Mr Salt found 550,000 people will be living in the Sunshine Coast region by 2040, with many new residents attracted by its entrepreneurial spirit, ‘hipster’ culture and connectivity.
He said millennials and baby boomers alike would embrace the new city centre as a desirable location to live and work.
“Footloose businesses that can operate from any location would be attracted by the technology, lifestyle, cost and connectivity, while university-educated millennials would team up with Second Generation CEOs – baby boomers who retired to the Sunshine Coast and kicked off new start-up businesses in the fertile grounds of the region,” Mr Salt wrote.
In addition, his report found the Sunshine Coast was already a ‘hotbed of start-up action’ with the number of small businesses growing faster than the national average over the previous two years.
Stage 1 of the Habitat development would involve a 12-storey tower housing 65 apartments with construction proposed to commence in the second half of 2019.
Stage 2 would be a 14-storey tower with a communal rooftop terrace and pool. This tower would house 81 apartments with Stage 2A allowing for six SOHO townhomes.
“We will incorporate common areas including pools and BBQ lounges and there will be a rooftop terrace and dining room on the top floor of the tallest building,” Mr Clark said.
Habitat is the latest company to announce new developments in the new Maroochydore CBD with Sunshine Coast-based company Evans Long unveiling plans in June to create a premium commercial property in the city centre.
Evans Long managing director Matt Evans announced an eight-storey building with approximately 4500m2 of commercial office space would be constructed on a prime lot in the CBD’s core commercial precinct.
SunCentral Maroochydore, the company overseeing design and delivery of the new city centre, has received numerous submissions from parties who recognise the potential of the project and the trajectory of the region.
SunCentral CEO John Knaggs said interest was coming from a diverse range of sectors, including technology, professional services, health, education, hospitality and government.
“Because the new city centre is being built on a greenfield site, and with the recent announcement of an international broadband submarine cable landing adjacent to the site, we have an opportunity to create a city centre with unprecedented communications and technological abilities.
“This is a major drawcard for companies seeking to establish, expand or re-locate, and we look forward to making further announcements about plans for other sites in the new city centre.”
