Billionaire Clive Palmer to reveal controversial $150m reno
Billionaire businessman Clive Palmer has had a tumultuous ride with Palmer Coolum which is almost at its next stage of life. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Rohan Kelly
Aussie multibillionaire Clive Palmer is set to unveil a controversial $150m major renovation almost a decade in the making.
The mining richlister is nearing the tail end of one of his longest running property sagas, pouring an estimated $150m into bringing a crucial mixed use development on the Sunshine Coast back to life – his Palmer Coolum Resort, formerly the Hyatt Coolum Resort.
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In its heyday, the 2009 PGA Golf Championship held at the then Hyatt Coolum which is now Palmer Coolum Resort. Picture: Cade Mooney / Sunshine Coast Daily
Clive Palmer pictured with wife Anna at the Stamford Hotel in Brisbane after turning 70 this year. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian
Palmer Coolum Resort is in a prime spot leading to the beach.
The redevelopment which has been through multiple changes to plans over the past decade and multiple disputes will see an estimated 380 villas, residences, studio units and residential allotments available in one of the most beautiful parts of Queensland.
It will also have resort facilities, buggy pathways for golf and residents to get around easily, as well as cycling and walking paths leading to the beach.
Jeff the dinosaur at the Australian PGA Championship at Palmer Resort in Coolum in 2012. Picture: Brett Wortman / Sunshine Coast Daily
Residences are dotted around the golf site with buggy and cycleways connecting to the beach.
Villas at Clive Palmer Coolum Resort pictured before redevelopment plans were released. Picture: Patrick Woods.
Insiders say the upgrades have been “massive” on the estate, though Mr Palmer is yet to decide whether his Coolum investment will be reopened in one go or if it will be released in stages.
The site surrounds a PGA level golf course which has been the only constant element on the estate that’s remained operational throughout multiple issues on the embattled site since it changed hands in 2011.
Mr Palmer had placed around 150 replica dinosaurs all through the estate after buying, the largest of which called Jeff was 10 metres and a standout during a PGA tournament in 2012.
The property was closed in 2015 and fell into disrepair, with several disputes arising with villa owners and others before Mr Palmer began a major development of the site in 2021.
