$83m Maroochydore SOHO office project gets green light
Work on Habitat Development Group’s $83 million office and residential project on the Sunshine Coast has been approved to start next year.
The mixed-use site will be integrated into SunCentral’s masterplan for the Maroochydore CBD after gaining approval from Economic Development Queensland.
It is the first residential development approved within the masterplan and is made up of 152 units across two residential towers and six small-home office (SOHO) townhouses.
Commercial Insights: Subscribe to receive the latest news and updates
The townhouses have been designed to appeal to the growing small-business market on the Sunshine Coast.
Each SOHO will be three-storeys tall with non-residential space downstairs and a street frontage, which can be used as an office or shop front for a retail or hospitality business. The mezzanine level can be used as an office or storage space, while the top floor could be used as a residential apartment.
Habitat Development Group managing director Cleighton Clark says the three-storey SOHOs introduce a new form of mixed commercial-residential property to the Sunshine Coast and that interest has been high.
“Even before we received approval for the project, we had numerous inquiries from potential buyers about the town homes,” he says.
“The SOHOs have clearly hit the mark for this sector, providing a perfect combination of work and home in one property.”
The number of new small businesses on the Sunshine Coast rose 2.5% in 2018, more than double the growth in Brisbane, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Work on the 53ha Maroochydore city centre masterplan began last month, with Evans Long starting construction on its eight-storey Foundation Place office building. Construction on the 4158sqm Habitat site is to begin February 2020.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
