First commercial building approved for Maroochydore's new CBD
The first commercial development approved for the Sunshine Coast’s new cutting-edge central business district is a sign of the region’s “coming of age”, the project’s developer says.
The $30 million Foundation Place is set to become the first building in SunCentral’s Maroochydore city centre, with construction expected to start in June following strong interest from businesses looking to get a foothold in the building.
The eight-level, energy-efficient office complex features more than 5000 square metres of space, incorporating ground-floor retail, five levels of commercial and office space as well as car parking across two podium levels.
It will also become the home of its developer, Sunshine Coast’s Evans Long, with the project only needing pre-commitments of about 20 to 25 per cent to proceed.
“We’ve got enough enquiry to build it more than twice. We’re comfortable with the amount of enquiry that we have at this point,” Evans Long director Dirk Long said.
Transact Property Group associate director Daniel Cullinane said rental and sales enquiry in the first week of project launch had been strong, especially from big and small local businesses looking to stake their claim in the new CBD.
“We’ve been inundated with enquiry over the last week from 100 square metres to full floors – it’s just been crazy,” he said.
An artist’s impression of how the Maroochydore CBD will look.
“They just see the potential of the CBD and that’s the biggest draw card. From the initial enquiry, there is a really diverse range of people who are coming through.
“You’ve got people who are household names and you’ve got people that you have never heard of, but they are all those entrepreneurial, visionary-type of businesses.”
Office rents range from $380 to $400 per square metre net, with ground floor retail rents priced between $750 to $800 per square metre. Sale prices are about $5450 per square metre.
Businesses can buy or lease a full floor of the building or as little as 80 square metres of office space with retail zones also available for sale or lease.
Foundation Place will be the first private building on the Sunshine Coast to have a Five-Star NABERS rating.
However, as well as a plethora of sustainable features and a design that makes the most of the coast’s sub-tropical climate, the building also heralds the start of something much bigger for the entire region, Mr Long said.
He said population growth, a significant infrastructure program, and a commercially-minded local council meant that the coast was about to economically come into its own, which had positive ramifications for generations of its residents.
“The wave always follows that. You’ve got to be there, and you’ve got to be ready, because once the wave comes through it’s too late to try put your foot on blocks of land and create a development business because you can’t start one from scratch,” Mr Long said.
“It’s a coming of age for the Sunshine Coast and with that comes the detractors but with that comes the positivity as well.
“We’ve kept our identity, we’re going to have a population that gives us our own economies of scale so there is depth in the market, and there is a future for us and for future generations.”
