General News
25 January, 2024
All systems go - Council green-lights $250m residential project at Trinity Park
DEVELOPER Frank Gasparin plans to start a 249-lot gated residential community at Trinity Park in about three months after Cairns Regional Council approval on Wednesday.
He told Cairns Local News that as soon as council paperwork was signed off he would put the project – a joint venture with NSW-based developer Villawood Properties and the Gasparin Group – out to tender.
The Half Moon Bay Estate is on the waterfront at the end of Reed Rd at Trinity Park.
The site – owned by Mr Gasparin for 20 years – is 19.58ha, and 13.9ha will be developed with 249 house and land packages. It will be a community title scheme. About 35 per cent of the site will be open space, with a mangrove conservation area and plans to rehabilitate a lagoon to create a wetlands environment. There will be parks and playgrounds.
Architecturally-designed homes will be built on lots with an average size of 450sq m and the developers are aiming at ‘lock up and leave’ buyers.
Mr Gasparin, who has built Park Ridge and Bella Vista at Brinsmead and City View at Mooroobool, said it was possibly his biggest project.
“This will be my best development and will attract people from Melbourne and Sydney wanting to downsize,” he said.
“I want to get started as soon as possible,” Mr Gasparin said.
Civil works to create roads and kerb and channelling and other infrastructure will start first while his team will negotiate with the council over Reed Rd upgrades to the Bluewater roundabout.
Mr Gasparin said the community’s “entry statement would be different to everything else”.
He hopes the first stage will start later this year. It involves 40 lots with eight stages in total.
Mr Gasparin said there would be nine house designs, including terrace-type properties, as well as others with small yards and pools to keep maintenance to a minimum.
While about 100 melaleuca trees would be removed, thousands of other trees would remain as well as mangroves on the southern and eastern boundaries.
Mr Gasparin said the idea was to involve a local main contractor and local subcontractors.
Councillors debated the project for more than 30 minutes with concerns raised about flooding, traffic volumes, tree removal and tourist accommodation.
Planning, growth and sustainability director Ed Johnson said officers had carefully and thoroughly assessed the development application.
He said “obviously flooding was front of mind” but the site experience no water inundation in the aftermath of Cyclone Jasper.
Mr Johnson said storm surge would not be an issue either because the development was set well back from the beach.
He said it was estimated when fully developed traffic movements in the afternoon and morning peak hours would total 211 each.
Mr Johnson said road upgrades by the developer would cater for the extra capacity.
He said there were no plans for tourist accommodation – that was a previous approval.
Cr Rhonda Coghlan, who moved approval and whose division is where the project is, said she was satisfied with the answers to her concerns.
But Crs Rob Pyne and Brett Olds did not support the project.
Cr Pyne said the gated community would not alleviate the city’s housing crisis and he was concerned about the recent flooding and the impact it would have on the site.
“It will be putting people in harm’s way,” he said.
But Cr Cathy Zeiger said people moving to the estate would free up houses in the region.
Cr Olds said it did not meet community expectations, the blocks were too small, Reed Rd traffic jams would increase at peak times and the removal of trees would exacerbate flooding.
Crs Pyne and Olds voted against approval. It was passed by the seven other councillors.
