The land lease developer wants to build the two- and three-bedroom apartments – including serviced apartments – over 16 two- and three-storey buildings on a 72,380sqm block backing onto a creek at Currumbin Waters.
Gold Coast City Council knocked back the application last month over environmental concerns, but GemLife has now lodged an appeal in the Planning and Environment Court to overturn the decision.
The operator – a partnership between the family-owned Living Gems and the Singaporean property developer Thakral – currently has two communities at Highfields in Toowoomba and Bribie Island with another three in development, but the multi-storey buildings and serviced apartment options would mark a new direction for the group.
GemLife makes a strong argument for the community. Their application says the area currently has no residential parks and almost 10,000 nearby residents aged over 65 – and the Gold Coast will need to establish a new residential park of the same size as the one proposed at Currumbin every 12 months for the next 20 years.
