New Sunshine Coast Regional Gallery

Our Sunshine Coast is a step closer to having a much-needed new regional gallery as part of an overarching creative arts and cultural precinct to be delivered in Caloundra.

At the August 2023 Ordinary Meeting, Council endorsed the detailed business case for a new Sunshine Coast Regional Gallery in Caloundra.

The business case will now be used as the foundation document to develop a funding strategy and advance conceptual designs this financial year.

The new Regional Gallery is a key component of the vision for the Caloundra Community and Creative Hub precinct and will be an important cultural facility for the whole Sunshine Coast region.

A comparative and integrated analysis of the shortlisted options considered throughout the business case determined that the preferred location for the new regional gallery is the existing library site.

This option uses part of that site, enabling us to preserve Felicity Park with the potential to create a significant town square and expanded open and public space.

It provides optimum pedestrian and visual connections throughout the precinct, protects existing vegetation and focuses back-of-house and loading functions away from open spaces, minimising impacts on the public realm and proposed new town square.

The business case will guide future planning and design of the new gallery and acknowledges the potential sources of future funding support the project will need from other levels of government or through philanthropists.

With Council funding secured only to progress further planning and conceptual design, other significant external funding will be essential to deliver the facility in the future.

The development of the new Regional Gallery occurs within the context of the Caloundra Centre Master Plan, Caloundra Centre Activation Project and the Community and Creative Hub Precinct and is a deliverable of the Sunshine Coast Creative Arts Plan 2023 – 2038 and Regional Arts Infrastructure Framework 2019-2041.

Business case for the new Sunshine Coast Regional Gallery

Council adopted the new business case for the new Sunshine Coast Regional Gallery at its Ordinary Meeting on 24 August 2023.

Project news and update