By Staff Writer Alistair Gray
We’ve all seen the major earthworks and frantic activity at the new Palm Cove Development along the edge of Sunderland Drive. Many will also have read the comments on the local Facebook pages expressing concern at the impacts a further 100 houses will have on the local infrastructure, roads, schools, and shops.
I thought it was a good time to check out what was happening, and I met with Annette Mengel, Sales Manager, for the Pacific Harbour Waterfront and Golf Community Development. Annette, who herself is a long-term resident on Bribie, has been with the development since Day One and has worked with the developer, QM Properties for more than 33 years, provided some great insights. So much so, we will be following up with another story talking about the environmental achievements and gains made during the life of the Pacific Harbour Development.
Mengel said that Bribie Island has been forgotten and bypassed for so long by many. But now, with the significant changes in our work culture, and the demand by professionals and other workers to work from home and maybe go to the office one or two days a week, Bribie Island had has come into its own. Being only about an hour away from the Brisbane CBD or the Sunshine Coast, professionals who would previously have shunned Bribie Island because of the travel times are now with the new work dynamics and technology able to get the best of both worlds. They can serve their customers and at the same time enjoy a much more relaxed lifestyle, more family time, and less stress.
Many professionals are rebelling against old-school management styles, the dictating of terms, long hours, poor pay, being taken advantage of, and poor management. Instead, they are voting with their feet, and with other workers are taking more control over their lives and how they work and live. The great "Resignation Rebellion” is on as workers set their terms and move to more affordable, lifestyle-friendly regional areas.
All this is excellent news for Bribie Island. Almost sold out, the Palm Cove development has only a handful of building sites left in Stage 2. The roading and footpaths are down in Stage 1 and are fast nearing completion in Stage 2. The development will be complete and filled with luxury homes by year-end; next year for local tradies, this means heaps of work over the next year or so. In addition, many of the new homeowners are work from home professionals. All this brings new life to Bribie, new opportunities as the new Islanders add value to the local economy. To say nothing of the growth in property prices as the market revalues and the supply of new homes tightens. Mengel mentioned that once the Palm Cove development was complete, the only land left in the Pacific Harbour Development was a few blocks in the Goodenia Heads development when QM Properties make them available.
When granting original development approvals, the Moreton Bay Council saw the opportunities the development presented to the overall community. While there will be transitional challenges as the community adjusts to the needs of a more extensive population base, particularly with local traffic flows and schooling, the positive impacts of encouraging new and younger people to the Island will well outweigh many of the short-term disadvantages. As the challenges unfold, the Council and the Queensland Government will need to adjust priorities and align with the community's needs.
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