Revised plans for the largest vacant block along one of the Coast’s busiest roads have been submitted for assessment.
Uniting Care Queensland Ltd has lodged a development application for its Bokarina Beach Village retirement community, comprising 234 units across four separate buildings ranging up to six storeys at the corner of Nicklin Way and Lake Kawana Boulevard.
The application is for the facility’s Stage 2, which would occupy 2.04 hectares of the broader 6.36-hectare ‘parent site’, which has approval for a retirement community and aged persons home that was granted more than 15 years ago.
There has since been a series of changes and extensions to that approval, including the most recent extension to the currency period until November 2026, but to date the entirety of the site remains undeveloped.
This new application, which was submitted to Sunshine Coast Council late last month, seeks to replace the approved Stage 2 with the current proposal, which removes the aged persons home component.
A town planning report by Adams and Sparkes Town Planning on behalf of UnitingCare Queensland says the 234 proposed units would include a mix of two and three bedrooms.
The facility would also include a community centre and outdoor communal open spaces such as an accessible pool, lawns and a variety of landscaped seating and shaded areas.
A UnitingCare spokesperson said the revised plans reflected market changes and community preferences.
“The new development, Bokarina Beach Village, will offer attractive, modern housing designed to meet the changing needs of senior Australians, which aligns with UnitingCare and BlueCare’s extensive in-home care services and the recent shift in Australian government policy,” they said.
Lake Kawana Boulevard will be the main entry/exit point for the development, with a minor entry/exit off the intersection of Stern Drive and Cutter Street, on the site’s southern boundary.
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Basement carparking would include 316 resident spaces and 17 visitor car spaces, not including a further 38 visitor spaces along a future north-south road linking Lake Kawana Boulevard with Stern Drive that is to be constructed as part of Stage 1.
“Bokarina Beach Village will offer residents a wonderful lifestyle in a unique location,” BlueCare Retirement Living general manager Natalie Smith said.
“The architectural design makes the most of the Sunshine Coast’s easy living lifestyle.
“Retirement villages are a proven lifestyle choice, with recent Retirement Living Council research showing village residents are 41 per cent happier than their peers. This style of living is very attractive.”
“Our for-purpose, not-for-profit status underpins our ability to provide premium accommodation that reflects thoughtful design and exceptional quality.”
A concurrent application is before the council to amend the overriding Kawana Waters Development Agreement to rearrange the site’s existing precinct boundaries to better align with the proposed development staging, and to increase the maximum building height in Stage 2 from four storeys to six storeys, which the report says is to “reflect its strategic location on the corner of Nicklin Way and Lake Kawana Boulevard”.
“The increased building height at the northern portion of the site is designed to shift density closer to the Lake Kawana Boulevard commercial precinct and the adjacent Bokarina Beach development while being sensitive to Club Kawana and neighbouring residents,” the spokesperson said.
A minor change was issued by the council in July to amend the staging of the 2010 approval to allow the independent living units known as ‘beach houses’ to be delivered as a standalone Stage 1.
Construction of Stage 1 is anticipated to commence later this year, with completion expected in late 2027. It comprises 28 contemporary, single-storey freestanding homes designed by Architectus Conrad Gargett and tailored to modern seniors living.
Subject to planning approvals, construction of Stage 2 is projected to begin in 2027.
Bokarina Beach Village will be located on the eastern half of UnitingCare’s 6.36-hectare site. It intends to develop the western half of the site in the future, with early investigations currently underway.
