$750M COMMUNITY FOR COOMERA

GOLD COAST developer Young Land Corporation (YLC) will build a $750 million master-planned community at Coomera after the project was green lit by Gold Coast City Council.

The mixed-use project will be developed on the northern corridor between the Gold Coast and Brisbane and will consist of 1450 new dwellings and include a village centre spread across 105 hectares.

The project is to be partly bankrolled by privately-owned funds management company LM Investment Management Ltd (LM).

YLC managing director David Young, says the development will answer the demand for affordable housing as the Coast prepares to accommodate an influx of 15,000 new arrivals each year.

“We’re delighted by the decision and it obviously recognises the critical need for new housing in what is arguably Australia’s fastest growing corridor,” says Young, who is also the developer behind Keppel Bay Estate at Yeppoon in Central Queensland.

“We’re working very hard to be able to start marketing the project in the middle of next year and looking to bring a housing community that is world class and very unique in its own right.”

The site is located just off the M1 (exit 49) on the western side of the highway and is poised to benefit from a number of government initiatives to upgrade the region as well as the future Coomera Town Centre. Work is expected to commence early 2010.

The project will also include a commercial and retail precinct and a wide variety of residential offerings ranging from luxury apartments and freestanding homes. It will consist of a full range of housing products from detached lots, terrace housing, duplexes and apartments as well as a mixed use precinct containing 2000 square metres of commercial floor space with apartments and a Resort Hotel precinct for a health retreat.

“We want to combine high quality product and affordability to create one of the most unique master-planned communities on the Gold Coast,” says Young.

“Our target demographic for the estate will be the ambitious first home buyer or current homeowners who have built up equity in their existing homes and looking to upgrade and live in a vibrant community.”

Young says the combination of affordability, location, strong infrastructure and nearby amenity is making Coomera a ‘beacon for first home buyers, investors and renters’.

Around 35 hectares of land will be dedicated to the GCCC for the protection of environmental areas and the provision of parklands for the recreational and sporting needs of the community.

Young has also detailed plans to establish a Youngcare Apartment complex, a community care facility for the relevant and dignified lifestyles for young Australians with high care needs.

The area is fast becoming a major urban centre between the Gold Coast and Brisbane largely due to its close proximity to established transport infrastructure such as the M1 and Coomera Railway Station and a number of planned retail and commercial developments such as the forthcoming Coomera Town Centre.

LM’s chief executive Peter Drake, says the funding partnership was part of LM’s ongoing exploration of property creation funding opportunities in Australia.

“We’re conscious that this is Australia’s high growth area and determined to support developers like YLC that express a determination to meet the region’s future housing needs,” he says.

“We continue to investigate opportunities throughout Australia which can deliver medium and longer term assets to generate ongoing, enhanced income to our fund investors.”

LM manages around $800 million in assets and has offices on the Gold Coast (Head Office), Sydney, Hong Kong, London, Dubai, Auckland and Tokyo.

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