An application to develop a shopping centre in Eumundi has been lodged with Sunshine Coast Council – the second proposal of its kind for the market town.
The plans for the 1.95-hectare former butter factory site, in the northern part of the town, were submitted this week. The site has frontage to Memorial Drive, Elizabeth Street, Caplick Way and Cook Street.
A planning report submitted by Innovative Planning Solutions, on behalf of JLJL Pty Ltd, says the development would have a 1521sqm supermarket as the anchor tenant and four specialty retail stores ranging between 104sqm and 280sqm.
The site forms Precincts 2, 3 and 4 of the Our Village Eumundi development, which was given preliminary approval in 2019.
The Our Village Eumundi development proposal summary states that Precinct 1 is the old Highway Motors site on Memorial Drive and has been approved subject to construction of a roundabout and public infrastructure upgrades. It would be the Our Village Hub, with food and retail outlets on the ground floor and office space above.
Precinct 3 comprises the supermarket and specialty stores and would be accessed primarily through Precinct 2 from the new Caplick Way and Napier Road roundabout, as well as a single entry from Memorial Drive. It proposes a total of 183 carparks and 23 motorcycle spaces.
The remainder of Precinct 2 would be retained for future development and be subject to a future development application.
Precinct 4, off Caplick Way and Elizabeth Street, would be open space across a disused railway corridor.
“The Eumundi Butter Factory site is ideally located in a central position of Eumundi which is currently underserviced in regard to convenient access to supermarket facilities,” the planning report says.
“The redevelopment of the Eumundi Butter Factory site would strategically consolidate the Eumundi local centre and offers convenient on-grade parking with enhanced levels of convenience and accessibility for shoppers, as well as visitors to Eumundi and the bi-weekly markets.”
The report says the butter factory closed in 1974 following decades of operation. From the 1980s to early 2000s, it was home to weekly craft markets and a microbrewery, which ceased operations in 2004.
In 2005, it was largely destroyed by two fires and has since remained in a state of disrepair. JLJL Pty Ltd bought the site in 2014.
“Consideration into the opportunity to utilise and integrate the existing butter factory buildings on the site were considered as part of the development concept inception for the site,” the report says.
“It is apparent that the costs of a remedial strategy would significantly exceed the cost of a strategy to demolish the buildings for new development.”
JLJL Pty Ltd’s Our Village Eumundi application is the second proposal for a shopping centre in the town.
An application by Altum Property Group for he planned Eumundi Village Supermarket precinct was submitted in February last year. It consists of a grocery store, specialty stores and car parks, on a 9915sqm site at 10 Memorial Drive. The site also includes an approved service station development over 4293sqm.
An appeal was lodged with the Planning and Environment Court in August against the council’s “deemed refusal” for a development permit, and the matter is due to be debated in a confidential session of Sunshine Coast Council’s Ordinary Meeting on Thursday, October 26.
JLJL Pty Ltd representative Louise Formosa said she did not want to comment on the Altum application.
“We can only say that we are not in the business of putting other developers down or publicising bias and unsubstantiated opinions regarding sites we don’t own,” she said.
“We’ve done our homework prior to lodgement, and view our proposal as the best outcome for the town centre of Eumundi.”
If approved, work on Precinct 3 (the shopping centre) would begin in 2025, after the completion of Precinct 1.
“Overall what became overarchingly apparent is the commercial town centre of Eumundi has limited areas for expansion, and the residential base is growing out from the centre,” the development proposal summary states.
“Historically the butter factory was a vital part of the town centre, and has a current preliminary approval for up to 1000sqm of commercial/retail use.
“If Eumundi is to retain a town centre focus, the butter factory site is the only viable town centre option left, and it is important for a town’s economic viability to maintain ‘centrality’, whereas there are plenty of options for residential development to expand outside the town centre.”
A community information session on the Our Village Eumundi proposal was held on Wednesday, October 25, at the CWA Hall in Eumundi.
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