One of the Sunshine Coast’s largest undeveloped urban projects has taken another step forward, with the clearest picture yet emerging of a future high-rise centre linked to rail, Olympic-era infrastructure and one of the region’s fastest-growing areas.
Stockland has unveiled a refreshed vision for the proposed 28-hectare Birtinya Central, a major mixed-use development planned beside the Sunshine Coast Health Precinct that could eventually deliver up to 2600 homes alongside retail, entertainment, commercial and community spaces.
The project is designed around future transport infrastructure, including The Wave rail project, and forms part of more than $350 million in transport and community investment planned across the broader Birtinya area.
The vision also reveals a pedestrian and cycling corridor running through the the site. A planned green spine would connect a future train station through to the cable-stay bridge across Lake Kawana and continue toward the beach and Kawana Sports Precinct, creating a direct link through the wider area.
Stockland says the refreshed masterplan has now been approved, following a planning process that reshaped what could be built within the town centre.
Sunshine Coast Council voted in January 2025 to support a Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI), which later received state approval with conditions that reshaped aspects of the proposal.
The final planning framework revised building heights, increased housing capacity and expanded public open space by more than 60 per cent within the future town centre.
The changes increased maximum building heights from 10 storeys to a range between eight and 15 storeys and increased potential dwelling numbers from 1333 to 2600.
Earlier proposals for three 18-storey towers were removed following community consultation, while at least six sites were capped at 12 storeys.
Council said the planning changes aimed to respond to housing pressures while also taking advantage of future infrastructure investment and opportunities linked to Brisbane 2032.
The project forms part of the broader 140-hectare Birtinya and Lake Kawana precinct beside the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
Stockland Development director Matt Patullo said the latest approval represented an important milestone.
“The approval of the refreshed Birtinya Central masterplan is a major milestone that sets the foundation for a new urban heart for Birtinya and one of the Sunshine Coast’s most significant employment and lifestyle destinations,” Mr Patullo said.
“The plan has been carefully refined to prioritise people and place, with a generous blue-green network anchored by the lake, a new green spine and connected parklands, aligned with long-term regional planning, including the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Stockland said civil construction was expected to begin from late 2027, subject to further approvals, with the first residents and commercial tenants anticipated from 2029.
