Sunshine Coast Council has approved a development application to divide a large block into multiple land parcels, paving the way for an expected 1200-home community.
Council gave the green light to local company RM Developments to split a 4.19-hectare property at 15 Sippy Downs Drive into 12 lots, representing a key step in progressing an estate that could help address the region’s housing shortfall.
The development application for the built form is still going through the approvals process but there could be apartments or townhouses, while residential care and student accommodation options could also be constructed.
The site is currently occupied by the Chancellor Park Driving Range.
RMD director Josh Myers said the company purchased the property in 2021 and last year negotiated further lease extensions with the operator, with no plans to fast-track the development.
“The project is of strategic long-term importance to the Sippy Downs masterplan,” he said.
It will be the third project for RM Developments in Sippy Downs’ ‘Knowledge Hub’.
Its SOHO development is under construction at 310 University Way, while development approval has been granted for an 89-apartment project at Spring Street.
Mr Myers said RMD recognised the strength of the emerging community in the Sippy Downs precinct.
He revealed that RMD had also previously presented the site to the Queensland Government as a private consortium option to deliver the 2032 Athletes Village as an alternate to the council-led proposal in the Maroochydore city centre.
The property is situated close to the University of the Sunshine Coast and Siena College, and is within the Sippy Downs Town Centre, a zone that allows for high-density accommodation and a maximum building heights of 25m.
It has wide frontages to Sippy Downs Drive and the Sunshine Motorway.
RM Developments, a company owned by Mr Myers and Remi Rafter, has a range of projects and asset classes across Queensland.
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The company recently launched its investment business RM Capital, which operates under an Australian Financial Services Licence, and will allow larger-scale projects to be acquired and developed. RM Capital recently acquired the Oceanside Car Park at Birtinya for $20.965 million.
According to the state government’s ShapingSEQ plan another 219,000 people are predicted to move to the Sunshine Coast by 2041. That will mean another 84,800 homes need to be delivered in the next 16 years.
