Sunshine Coast opts for central park lake, prepares beach for climate change
The Sunshine Coast is undergoing dramatic changes to its urban landscape with tenders called for major works at a popular beach and its emerging city centre likely to create a “central park lake” and change the site of its key elements.
An artist's impression of the Maroochydore CBD central park and lake (image supplied)
The council is calling for expressions of interest to build a new parkland at Mooloolaba and replace a sea wall that dates back to the 1960s to protect the beach from “increasing climate change risks”.
It follows the approval recently of a $250 million tourist resort development near the beach while another $350 million development nearby was in the approval process. There has also been a big influx of new residents to the region since Covid.
The council said its ageing vertical seawall had protected the foreshore from the majority of severe weather events for 50 years, but investigations had found it will not be sufficient to safeguard the community from rising sea levels and more extreme weather events into the future.
Assisted by a $7.95 million contribution through the Federal Government’s National Emergency Management Agency Disaster Ready Fund, a new seawall will be about 290 metres long and stretch between the surf lifesaving tower ramp and the pedestrian crossing opposite Mantra Sirocco. It will be half a metre higher than the existing wall.
The key piece of infrastructure will better protect the community parklands, paths, roads and underground services such as power, telecommunications and water supply from climate change impacts and provide improved access from the foreshore to the beach.
Sunshine Coast Council Environment and liveability portfolio councillor Peter Cox said it was a once-in-a-lifetime, legacy project which would see Mooloolaba further elevated on the world stage and protected well into the future.
“Mooloolaba is renowned as a great place to live as well as being recognised as one of Queensland’s most sought-after holiday destinations,” he said.
“This next stage of the foreshore’s revitalisation represents a multimillion-dollar investment by council and the Federal Government in Mooloolaba’s future.”
The council said it has also started consultation for a proposed amendment to the Maroochydore City Centre Priority Development Area Development Scheme that would allow for the combining of the waterway and parkland elements to create a central park and lake at the heart of the city centre.
It has also proposed moving the proposed Exhibition and Convention Centre closer to the future transit centre and relocating the amphitheatre to the northern end of the central park.
The amendments would also mean adjusting the maximum development yields for the retail and commercial use categories by enabling 21,000m2 of retail gross floor area to be converted to commercial use.
