Saturday, 21 November, 2015
REFLECTING the changes in development that have been taking place in recent years, Sunshine Cove at Maroochydore has won the Residential Subdivision section at the 2015 Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Queensland Awards for Excellence.
The inner-city project by Chardan Development Group has been driven by sustainability, community, growth, amenity, innovation and affordability. Before planning of Sunshine Cove commenced, Chardan chose the six key words above as their development yardstick for the central Maroochydore project. Today, seven years into the development of the 106-hectare estate Chardan’s commitment to the concept has been recognised at the 21st annual UDIA (Old) awards ceremony held at Sanctuary Cove Resort at the Gold Coast. UDIA (Old) president Brett Gillan said delivering affordable housing, urban renewal and thoughtful seniors’ living solutions, all at exceptional standards, were key priorities for the UDIA (Qld) and the residential development industry.
“It’s great to see that while there was a strong focus on innovation and creative design in all of this year’s winning projects, the core values of sustainability, liveability and fundamentally understanding how people want to live, were still at the heart of every development,” Mr Gillan said. “Creating great communities and meeting the lifestyle aspirations of Queenslanders are what the awards are all about.” Sunshine Cove is home to 4000 people and offers a mixed use of commercial and urban residential precincts within a waterfront setting on the doorstep of Maroochydore’s newly announced CBD redevelopment. lt is also home to some of the most dynamic and modern living options in Australia.
Innovative allotment solutions have opened up more room for lifestyle community facilities including parks, boardwalks, walkways and bikeways that combine to enhance an enviable Sunshine Coast lifestyle. The vision for Sunshine Cove was for a coastal, urban lifestyle community where individuality and the freedom of space remained paramount. The concept was to create a medium-density “parkland city” environment offering easy access to all the usual amenities of a major centre like schools and transport without losing the lifestyle benefits of its laid-back location.
The UDIA judges considered that through innovative planning, Sunshine Cove’s residential neighbourhoods have brought to the market a new perspective on medium-density housing, one that moves away from the more traditional “cookie cutter” townhouse/apartment models.
The innovation focussed on two and three-story freehold terrace housing which allow owners freedom to design and construct their home to suite their own lifestyle needs. Initially it wasn’t certain how the Sunshine Coast market would respond to this new direction and the concept was a step into the unknown for Chardan. However, the release of the first residential precinct plans triggered a strong preference toward terrace-style housing as opposed to more traditional small lot detached housing.
This confirmation became the focus of allotment planning and design throughout subsequent Sunshine Cove precincts. The freedom has spawned a great diversity of architecture which has created unique streetscapes and neighbourhoods. Each neighbourhood precinct offers intimate communal parks with easy lake access and vistas. Each park is diverse in both size and character, providing homeowners with shared gardens and parks.
Homes within Sunshine Cove present a broad design diversity with central courtyards for breezes and light, and loft homes that provide flexible living areas, housing for extended families and compact duplex terrace solutions. Delivering the vision has required collaboration, creative thinking in finding new approaches to urban living and ensure it maintains a subtropical character.
The Chardan team has worked together with Sunshine Coast Regional Council and services providers as well as local builders to find new ways of building. The result has fostered a strong community outcome. Sunshine Cove continues to evolve the development of its primary mixed-use vision with the introduction of the Soho Terraces in the Flinders Precinct. Soho Terrace allotments allow for business and housing to combine under one roof, an idea reminiscent of the old high street days of community life. This precinct bridges the board between commercial and residential environments.
By Erle Levey
Sunshine Coast Daily – Real Estate This Week
Saturday November 2015
Tags: Apartment Living, Award winning, business, CBD, coastal lifestyle, development, maroochy boulevard, Maroochydore, Sunshine Cove, Sunshine Plaza, UDIA, urban development, waterfront
Posted in Press Clippings
