'Here. Take mine': Developer urges Council to retain parking spaces and shift housing project to his stalled site

ARM Property Group Pty Ltd director Rod Constantinides has been trying for four years to get his development across the line, without success.

A Nambour developer has called on Sunshine Coast Council to rethink its plans for affordable housing on Howard Street (see story this edition). Instead he says Council should use his own stalled development site.

ARM Property Group Pty Ltd director Rod Constantinides said he was prepared to hand over his Bury and Currie Street site to council and Coast2Bay Housing after years of trying to progress the private development. He said his site offered a better location for higher-density living without impacting existing parking infrastructure.

“For four years, ARM Property Group Pty Ltd has attempted to bring a landmark residential project to the corner of Bury and Currie Street,” Mr Constantinides said. “We believed we were finally at the finish line, yet last week we were met with another round of unreasonable design requests. These bureaucratic demands are never-ending. As a result, we have reached a point where we are ready to forego it and just hold the existing buildings.”

Mr Constantinides said the company would “officially” offer the site to Council and Coast2Bay to complete the project, arguing a private developer could not make the numbers work in the current market. He said his site was far better suited for the project and no public infrastructure would be lost.

Mr Constantinides said building apartments vertically in Nambour was “currently a zero-profit venture for a private developer.”

“Our project budget is a very optimistic $45 million with an end value of $45 million. Collectively, the builder and the developer make no money. There is zero room for error, and that makes no sense to move forward.”

He said infrastructure charges alone exceeded $3 million and, with previous rebates expiring, made projects unviable.

“When six percent of your total cost goes to government fees on a project with no profit margin, it simply does not happen without help,” he said.

Mr Constantinides said his team had worked to address council concerns, including a design that allowed Bury Street flooding to drain through the site so that council did not need to upgrade infrastructure, yet continued to face setbacks.

While supporting more housing in Nambour, Mr Constantinides said he strongly opposed council’s proposed Sydney Street/Howard Street site, arguing it would remove critical public parking.

“It is a mistake to assume Nambour has enough parking when you consider the lack of private options. These buildings were built at a time when Council accepted money – instead of car parks – to go towards public car parking. This is why Howard Street car park exists,” he said.

“If the Council is determined to embark on a development with a community housing entity, they should do it on a site far more suited for it. I’m not trying to sell our site, we are happy to hold it. But there is no comparison in the economic impact both will bring to the town. One positive, one negative.”

Read Rod Constantinides’ full statement on this page.

‘Too hard’: Developer issues statement

From Nambour Developer Rod Constantinides:

For four years, ARM Property Group Pty Ltd has attempted to bring a landmark residential project to the corner of Bury and Currie Street. We believed we were finally at the finish line, yet last week we were met with another round of unreasonable design requests. These bureaucratic demands are never-ending. As a result, we have reached a point where we are ready to give up.

As the developers, we are now officially offering to hand over this site to Coast2Bay Housing and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council to complete the project. A standalone private developer simply cannot make this project viable in the current climate. If the Council does not want to take over, we will leave the existing leaky old buildings exactly where they stand. While that is not ideal for Nambour, we would rather hold these existing buildings than go broke trying to build a new one.

The Impossible Math of Affordable Private Construction in Nambour

Building apartments vertically in Nambour is currently a zero-profit venture. The cost of construction for concrete, masonry, scaffolding, cranes and finance is exactly the same in Nambour as it is in Maroochydore. However, the eventual sale or rental price in Nambour is far lower. In today’s market, it is impossible to cater to the lower to mid price range when the entry cost of construction is so high. This is why you primarily see expensive high end apartments being built elsewhere. The main cost of a building remains the same whether the fit out is cheap or expensive.

Our project budget is a very optimistic $45 million with an end value of $45 million. Collectively, the builder and the developer make no money. There is zero room for error. Currently, infrastructure charges for our project exceed $3 million. This is a fee that the Council and Unity Water charge us upon completion. There used to be a 50 percent rebate for infrastructure charges to encourage development in Nambour, but that has expired. When six percent of your total cost goes to government fees on a project with no profit margin, it simply does not happen without help.

We have tried to be cooperative, even solving the Council’s Bury Street drainage issue by allowing our ground floor car park to act as a flood basin. This design comes at the expense of 32 meters of street frontage. Yet, in the same breath, the Council requests more street activation in the dead pockets that are left on the ground plane. You cannot have it both ways. While Councillor David Law and Principle Project Planner Marc Cornell have been helpful, the project continues to hit a brick wall with the Urban Design and Engineering teams.

The Sydney Street Location

Regarding the Howard Street car park, our opposition is not a case of "poor us." We openly support more housing projects and have even been in discussions with Coast2Bay Housing ourselves. However, this does not change the fact that we strongly oppose the location of the Howard Street project.

Nambour is an old town built before car parking was a requirement. Most existing buildings have zero on-site parking. It is a mistake to assume Nambour has enough parking when you consider the lack of private options.

If the Council is determined to embark on a development with a social housing entity, they should do it on a site far more suited for it. We are offering our Bury Street site for this exact purpose. It is a better location for high density living and it avoids destroying vital public parking infrastructure that the rest of the town relies on to survive.