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Redcliffe fires up with $1 billion-plus development boom
February 2009
ONCE sleepy Redcliffe is stirring to life as southeast Queensland's next likely boom area, with more than $1 billion in new development and infrastructure planned or underway.
Projects such as the $315 million Houghton Highway expansion and just-announced $150 million Seabrae Hotel redevelopment have analysts talking about Queensland's first European settlement as the southeast's next property hotspot.
Sydney-based developer the Kyko Group has just unveiled plans for Mon Komo, a Caribbean-themed mixed use development on the Seabrae Hotel site overlooking Moreton Bay.
The twin-tower luxury apartment project, incorporating a pub, shops and offices, will complement a raft of new residential, retail and commercial projects recently completed, underway or planned for the Redcliffe Pensinsula.
Respected property analysts such as RP Data are billing Redcliffe as one of Australia's next coastal boom areas.
“This is one of the best investment locations in Australia", RP Data research director Tim Lawless said recently.
“The peninsula is within easy commuting distance of Brisbane and presents an exceptionally affordable housing market.
“The sheltered beaches are usable for swimming, fishing and boating while the foreshore is dotted with parks. The coastal strip, which runs along most of the eastern length of the pensinsula, has a burgeoning cafe and restaurant scene which is becoming increasingly popular as a destination.
“To top it all off, the Houghton Highway Bridge is being duplicated which will cut travel times onto the Gateway Motorway, leading into the Brisbane Airport and Brisbane CBD."
The bridge duplication, due for completion in 2011, will also provide a 4.5metre wide pedestrian and cycle path, which will connect with existing cycle networks on either side of Bramble Bay.
Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt says the project will “vastly increase traffic capacity between the Redcliffe Peninsula and Brisbane's northside” for the 36,000 vehicles that use the Houghton Highway every day.
Other new infrastructure projects underway or planned for Redcliffe include a $27 million upgrade of Redcliffe Hospital and the $9.5 million Woody Point Jetty and Foreshore Renewable Project, being developed as part of Queensland's 150th birthday celebrations.
As well, the $65 million, Woolworths-anchored Bluewater Square shopping centre opened recently in Redcliffe and an $80 million upgrade of the nearby Kippa-Ring Shopping Village is planned.
Prominent demographer Bernard Salt has described Redcliffe as Brisbane's answer to Melbourne's St Kilda and predicted the city's ‘funkification'– a phenomenon where older-generation areas, particularly those near the coast, become trendy as younger residents move in.
Redcliffe is currently home to more than 50,000 people and is part of the fast-growing Moreton Bay Regional Council area – Queensland's third-largest local authority.
The region's population is currently 333,000 but is forecast to surge to 490,000 by 2026. In addition, Redcliffe attracts around 1.2 million visitors a year.
Adrian Parsons, of TOTAL Project Marketing which will market Mon Komo, said Redcliffe's potential remained untapped.
“For a beautiful coastal area just 35 minutes from the Brisbane CBD, Redcliffe really is an undiscovered real estate jewel," he said.
“With the new development happening and property prices still relatively cheap, it's primed to take off in a big way. The Houghton Highway duplication will only enhance its access to Brisbane and make it an even easier commute."
The Kyko Group group acquired the 6414sqm Seabrae Hotel site last year and is finalising plans for a stunning mixed-use development incorporating a new hotel, extensive commercial and retail space and 184 luxury residential and serviced apartments spread across two 12-storey towers.
Queensland property analyst Michael Matusik has described the site as ‘arguably the best … on the Redcliffe peninsula' and perfectly suited to a development of the standard of Mon Komo.
“Redcliffe already attracts about 1.2 million tourists a year and we believe that will increase substantially in the coming years, along with the number of residents choosing to commute to Brisbane."
Mon Komo will be targeted at both end-users and investors, with the 108 apartments in Tower 1 aimed at owner-occupiers.
The two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments will boast large balconies (some will have private terraces), multi-purpose rooms, and luxury features and fittings including ducted air-conditioning, European appliances, stone benchtops and fully glazed balcony balustrades.
Tower 2 will contain 76 serviced apartments of equally similarly high-quality. A feature will be a three-bedroom, dual-keyed apartment on each floor, allowing one bedroom to be separately let.
Both towers will have their own swimming pools with terraces and will be accessed by spectacular symmetrical lobbies with soaring glass-feature ceilings.
Mon Komo's pub will sprawl across the ground a mezzanine levels and will include two bars, al fresco dining areas overlooking Marine Pde, gaming room and 200-person capacity function centre.
There will be almost 1000 sqm of retail space, more than 400sqm of commercial office space and 458 basement carparks.
Natural materials such as stone and timber will be used extensively throughout the development. A striking water feature will flow through the middle of Mon Komo, ‘connecting' the tower lobbies to the ocean.
Another key architectural element will include distinctive building cladding intended to set a new design benchmark for Redcliffe.
Demolition of the old Seabrae Hotel is due to begin in February, with construction scheduled to start in April. The project will also be launched to the market next month.
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