ApartmentsPhil BartschFri 22 May 26
Four-Tower Play Pitched for Caloundra ‘Gateway’ Site
Four towers would rise from a longstanding Sunshine Coast motel site under plans filed for a landmark mixed-use precinct at the western gateway to Caloundra’s Bulcock Street.
Construction identities John Gowdie and Simon Vinnicombe are behind the proposal which would deliver 170 apartments.
The cluster of 10-storey buildings is earmarked for a 6167sq m holding spanning 139 Bulcock Street and 70-76 Omrah Avenue that reportedly changed hands for $17 million last year and is partially occupied by the Suncourt Motel.
Within a major centre zoning, the proposed development would feature more than 580sq m of ground-level retail/hospitality space topped from level 2 upwards by a mix of eight one-bedroom, 113 two-bedroom and 49 three-bedroom apartments.
The residential component includes “sleeved apartments” wrapping the Bulcock Street and Omrah Avenue frontages, designed to mask the podium’s integrated services and 248 car parking spaces. No basement levels are proposed.
Under the scheme, there are also no rooftop communal areas but recreational open space—including two pools and several shaded seating areas—would be interspersed across levels 2 and 3 of the towers.
As well, a 5m-wide, landscaped cross-block pedestrian link lined with commercial tenancies is planned—connecting Omrah Avenue and Bulcock Street—providing direct access to the Coastal Pathway and Bicentennial Park.
“The proposal presents a vibrant mixed use development comprising active uses at street level and high quality residential development above…[and] has been designed to frame Bulcock Street as a western gateway site and to achieve a high standard of urban design,” the documents said.
Designed by OGE Group Architects, its built form incorporates a subtropical, coastal aesthetic and the tower identities differentiated—the western towers adopting a lighter, more curved form, while the eastern towers given sharper edges across roof and balconies.
The four-tower configuration was favoured in lieu of a two-tower arrangement prescribed by local planning codes.
According to a submitted planning report this was for several strategic design and environmental reasons—specifically citing that the four-tower design “distributes built form bulk, supports access to daylight and breezes, and... contributes to a distinctive skyline”.
“The proposal…[contributes] to an attractive and inviting gateway into Bulcock Street through high quality design and public realm outcomes, addressing and activating street frontages, preserving significant view corridors and demonstrating overall exemplar design that epitomises the Sunshine Coast subtropical lifestyle,” the report said.
