Following the successfull sell-out of The Parc at Tugun, and with only a few townhouses remaining for sale at the (still uncompleted) Cassia development in Merrimac, Sunland are preparing to launch their next townhouse project, in The Glades precinct in Robina.  The move underscores the resilience of the middle property market, and highlights the local developer’s shift from highrise back to housing developments.

As part of its $90m, decade-long program, Council have purchased three new properties to set aside for parkland. The sites include a 1.1ha site in Robina, 12.6ha site in Ormeau and 21ha site in Upper Coomera.  The latter sites are slated for sporting fields and non-motorised watersports.

4 years into the program, nearly 45ha of parkland have already been purchased.

In a lavish evening at Palazzo Versace, Sunland gave a host of industry insiders a look into their plans for the coming year.

It will be a busy year for the local developer, and recent acquisitions – like land at Royal Pines and The Glades feature prominently.  It also marks a continuation of Sunland’s return to townhouse development – with a vast majority of the projects consisting of houses and townhouses.

The only high rise featured was a project on Marine Parade in Labrador, slated for launch in December of 2010.

In total, there are nine projects slated for launch in south-east Queensland in 2010, totalling 943 homes with a value over $510m.

It is reported that Sunland have purchased Thakral’s remaining development sites at The Glades in Robina.  A price has not been disclosed at this stage.

The four parcels of land, scattered throughout the estate are slated for future townhouse and apartment blocks – with some plans already in place for the future developments.

Sunland (among others) are also believed to be in negotiation with Thakral over the purchase of a number of their other sites, including Alchemy in Broadbeach and their large Budds Beach development parcel.

With completion of the $324m Robina to Varsity Lakes rail link and $25m Varsity Lakes train station due later this year, Premier Anna Bligh has announced that the new station will form the hub of a major future development, staged over the next 10 to 15 years.

The plans include up to 50,000sqm of commerical space, as well as signficant residentail development.  Part of the Government’s ‘Building for Jobs’ plan, the precinct is expected to support up to 2500 office and 350 retail jobs – as well as the boost to construction jobs during the building process itself.

Ms. Bligh hopes to have the first stages of development underway by 2011.

In an effort to sell their remaining houses and townhouses at The Glades, Thakral have launched a successful marketing campaign that has netted around $8m worth of sales in the space of only a few weeks.

The move is in line with a shift in direction from Thakral, to refocus upon their core hotel and shopping centre management business.  Following the clearance at The Glades, there is also speculation that the company may consider reselling their ‘Alchemy Broadbeach’ development site on Queensland Avenue.

This will be an interesting test of the market, following a price of only $7.7m for the former National Australia Bank building just one street away.

The first stage, of the extension of the Brisbane Airport to Coolangatta rail link is due to open by the end of the year.

Currently running from Brisbane Airport to Robina, the new link will extend to Varsity Lakes, adding another 4.1km of track to the Gold Coast line.

Part of the QLD Government’s$107bn infrastructure plan, the longer Gold Coast line is designed  complement the planned light rail link slated to run between Southport & Broadbeach.

After 29 years – in which Robina has grown from practically nothing but bushland into a thriving suburb, and one of the Gold Coast’s business and transport hubs – the Robina Land Corporation has placed their remaining interests in the area up for sale.

The sale – with an estimated value in the vicinity of around $350 million will comprise of around 30 hectares of land, as well as existing commericial buildings.  RLC has made it clear that the sale is not a liquidation, and they plan to complete the projects that are currently under way.