Mayor Jamieson - Progress report on our new CBD

In just a few weeks, the site where golfers have enjoyed playing and competing in their favourite sport for decades will begin its remarkable transformation into a 21st century CBD for our Sunshine Coast.

The 53 hectares that have been a much loved home of the Horton Park Golf Club will officially pass into the hands of our Council with the club moving to its new course near Bli Bli.

It will be an historic moment in our region’s history.

I was fortunate to receive a guided tour of the new Maroochy River Golf Club recently and can report that the club members, who have been very patient through this relocation process, will be delighted with their spectacular new course and facilities.

The new club is sure to be well received and will quickly become a major feature of our Coast’s sporting infrastructure, adding a new option for those who come to our region on golf-related holidays.

As the golf club enters an exciting new chapter of its life, so too does our region with the Maroochydore City Centre reaching a pivotal phase – the start of physical work on the ground.

Initially we will see demolition work and site preparation largely on the north-east section of the site followed by bulk earthworks and infrastructure construction for Stage 1.

Recently I announced details on the development management company and its Board of Directors to oversee one of this country’s most exciting projects - Australia’s only greenfield CBD at this time.

This is a “game changer” project for our region and we have the right model and the best people in place to produce a city of which we will all be proud.

Known as SunCentral Maroochydore Pty Ltd, the development management company will oversee detailed design, construction, marketing and sales in the Maroochydore City Centre.

It has been tasked with achieving an appropriate balance between commercial and community building functions, whilst ensuring the development delivers a 21st century CBD and an identifiable city heart for the wider Sunshine Coast.

The company will be responsible for the full range of development management responsibilities including detailed precinct design, oversight of construction of public infrastructure such as roads, pathways, water and sewerage and public areas, as well as the marketing and sale of land.

It will also be charged with attracting capital and business investment into the site..

Council has high expectations of this project and on behalf of our community, we will be expecting quality results.

The SunCentral board directors, led by chairman Doug McTaggart, have impeccable credentials and extensive experience in company management, property and infrastructure development, commercial investment markets and managing stakeholder relationships – skills that we focussed on specifically in the recent recruitment exercise.

Importantly, every one of the board directors has links to the broader Sunshine Coast, while John Knaggs, who has an intimate knowledge of the region and this project as our Council’s CEO, will be the inaugural CEO of SunCentral Maroochydore.

Over time, we will see the city centre develop to provide a wide mix of residential, commercial, retail, civic and community uses within a beautiful, sub-tropical setting, complementing existing business and commercial areas of Maroochydore.

We aim to be Australia’s most sustainable region and our Council is confident that this company will deliver a city that reinforces this goal.

This column first appeared in the May 2015 edition of Business Matters magazine