Development around a hinterland shopping centre is forging ahead, with a childcare centre under construction and new plans for shops, food outlets and a gym.
The work forms part of a wider redevelopment of land along Old Gympie Road in Yandina by Queensland property investment and development company Griffith Group.
The company announced earlier this year it had acquired the Yandina Shopping Centre and adjoining land, spanning about two hectares.
In a public statement, the company said the project, touted as Yandina Stores & Yards, would include refurbishment and expansion of the centre’s existing Seasons IGA, upgraded facades and common areas, new retail businesses including a dog wash, landscaping, outdoor seating and car park improvements.
A 112-place Joy Early Learning centre approved by Sunshine Coast Council in January is now under construction west of the shopping centre.
Earlier this month, plans were also lodged with Sunshine Coast Council by Yandina ELC Pty Ltd for a two-storey commercial building on the adjoining land.
If approved, the new facility would add two ground-floor tenancies for shops or food and drink businesses, with a gym upstairs.
The building would have 861sqm of gross floor area, comprising 350sqm on the ground floor and 511sqm on the first floor, as well as 36 car spaces, a motorcycle space and eight bicycle spaces.
Application documents state the building would have a “restrained, low-reflective material palette” and a contemporary design that “does not detract from Yandina’s rural town character”.
Plans show the contemporary building would feature brickwork, fibre cement panels and vertical metal cladding, as well as a covered patio and landscaped areas fronting Old Gympie Road.
However, the application has hit an early procedural hurdle.
Council issued an action notice on September 11 advising the application was “not properly made” because the $28,315 application fee had not been paid and required engineering material had not been supplied.
The applicant has until October 12 to pay the fee and provide a revised engineering services report and detailed operational works plans.
The childcare centre is also the subject of a minor change application lodged this month for sections of its front fence to reach about 2.4m, rather than the 1.8m maximum imposed under the existing approval.
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Planning and development consultancy Project Urban, acting on behalf of the applicant, said the change reflected concerns raised by the childcare licensing authority that the lower fence increased the risk of unauthorised access from Old Gympie Road.
The amended design would retain a solid lower section with transparent fencing above.
The Yandina centre will add to Joy Early Learning’s growing Sunshine Coast presence.
The operator opened a 142-place facility at Banya in June, while its website lists another centre at Moffat Beach as coming in 2026.
A separate development application at Baringa Business Village also includes plans for a Joy Early Learning centre.
The aerial imagery in this story is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap. The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies, with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand and North America.
