A developer is rebooting its plans for a major tourism venture on a high-profile site next to the Sunshine Motorway.
An application has been submitted to Sunshine Coast Council seeking minor changes to the existing approval for a mixed-use development at 39 Barns Lane, Coolum Beach.
Plans for the 6.82-hectare site, which is adjacent to the Sunshine Motorway near the Yandina Coolum Road roundabout and was once earmarked for a Bunnings store, were initially approved in May 2022 before being amended in February 2023.
The approval includes plans for a function centre, 26-room boutique accommodation, brewery and distillery, restaurant, bandstand, produce hall, farmyard, playground and nursery.
BLF Coolum Pty Ltd, which is linked to Brisbane-based company Churchill Development Group, has now lodged a minor change application with the council seeking to update the plans.
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A letter by Urbis, dated September 26, on behalf of the applicant says the changes will improve the project’s viability.
“The proposed change seeks approval for minor modifications to the approved plans and operational requirements to address changes resulting from further redesign and updated tenant usage requirements,” it said.
“The proposed modifications will enhance the onsite experience and ensure the development is highly responsive to user preferences and provide operational efficiencies for tenants.
“The applicant is fully committed to the delivery of this project and this minor change is required to facilitate this commitment with an improved design and layout that is tailored to market demand.
“The applicant has worked extensively with operators and tenants to realise the long activation of the site, following a long period of inactivity, for a diverse mix of uses.”
The changes include changing the orientation of some buildings and the removal of plans for an underground car park.
“The economic reality for a site and project such as this is that excavation to include a partial basement is not a feasible outcome,” the letter said.
The staging plan has also been simplified. Stage 1 will deliver the wedding and events centre, including car parking; Stage 2 will see short-term accommodation added along with retail and commercial buildings; and Stage 3 will include low-impact industry at the northern end of the site.
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Churchill Development Group general manager Ben Bailey told Sunshine Coast News the proposed amendments were about creating a “more workable master plan”.
“The minor change for us is about the constructability and trying to get some building costing in and start that whole process, which is obviously difficult for all developers at the moment,” he said.
The site was put on the market last year, after the developers made the decision to focus on other projects, but no sale went through.
“We didn’t go through with that so it’s business as usual our end. It’s just a matter now that the approval that we had was quite old,” Mr Bailey said.
“We’ve got five other sites – it’s the only one up the Coast at the moment, one down at the Gold Coast, and a few in Brisbane and the city. We’ve just pulled this one under our banner, hopefully into delivery mode, but we’ve got to make things stack and get all the buildability sorted first.
“It’s baby steps with these large projects. You’ve got to be patient, finding the right outcome on the plan and the design, and then also finding the right builders and having a delivery model that works. So we’re at stage one of that — the Barns Lane 2.0 story.
“We’re really looking forward to delivering an outcome to the community. It’s one of our sites with the most potential, and it’s quite exciting for us.
“We’re hoping we can continue to push it forward, start to get those good interactions with builders, and look at how we can deliver this thing and in what time frames.”
