Maroochydore CBD development reshapes Sunshine Coast commercial property landscape

The SunCentral Maroochydore urban renewal project is transforming a substantial parcel of former showgrounds land in the heart of Maroochydore into a planned city centre, and its gradual completion is beginning to reshape where businesses choose to locate across the Sunshine Coast. The project, which is one of Queensland's most significant greenfield urban development programs outside of South-East Queensland's major growth corridors, has drawn professional services firms, government agencies and hospitality operators into a precinct that did not exist a decade ago.

Small businesses are among the tenants establishing in the new CBD, attracted by purpose-built commercial space, activated street frontages and proximity to the major anchor tenants that generate foot traffic. The ground-floor retail and food and beverage component of the precinct has filled progressively, though operators acknowledge that building a new CBD's natural foot traffic takes time and that the lunch and after-work economy is still developing relative to the established Hastings Street and Mooloolaba precincts.

Commercial property valuations in the new CBD have tracked above initial projections in some categories, reflecting demand from businesses that want modern, well-connected workspace in an emerging precinct rather than legacy suburban office stock. The eventual completion of the planned direct rail link to Brisbane, with a station in the Maroochydore CBD, is expected to be a significant catalyst for further commercial investment.

Council has positioned the Maroochydore CBD project as central to its economic development strategy, arguing that a functioning city centre is a prerequisite for the Sunshine Coast to be taken seriously by major corporate and government employers who require a genuine CBD address for their operations.

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