Caloundra South awarded top green star rating

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has endorsed Stockland’s master plan for the $5 billion, 2,310 hectare Caloundra South community on the Sunshine Coast, accrediting the project with a 6 Star Green Star – Communities rating, Australia’s highest standard for design excellence, economic prosperity, liveability and environmental responsibility.

The highly coveted 6 Star Green Star - Communities rating signifies world leadership in the design of the master plan, which sets the highest possible standards for the community’s long-term economic prosperity, ‘liveability’ and environmental responsibility during, and well after construction is completed and the community is established.

Caloundra South is the largest mixed use development ever undertaken under single ownership in Australia and the largest project ever undertaken by Stockland. The new city will be developed by Stockland over the next three decades and will grow to a similar size and scale to that of Maroochydore, Hervey Bay or Gladstone, and ultimately be home to around 50,000 people.

Stockland Managing Director and CEO, Mark Steinert, said: “Our team on the Sunshine Coast has spent more than four years working with Australia’s leading urban planners,environmental scientists and consultants and a large number of local environmental groups on the coast to develop the most detailed master plan for any project we’ve ever undertaken.

“The 6 Star Green Star Communities rating is a glowing endorsement for the soon-to-bedeveloped Caloundra South project from the leading national and internationally-recognised body for assessing and accrediting green building design, construction and operational practices. This accreditation is important because it considers the social and economic sustainability and environmental performance of communities, not just during construction but in perpetuity.”

The Green Star Communities rating tool relies on scientific and holistic analysis, which has been peer reviewed and ratified by more than 1,000 industry and sustainable development experts.

Romilly Madew, added: “Stockland has done an outstanding job to formulate a world’s best practice approach to water treatment, purification and management and environmental conservation and rehabilitation for its Caloundra South Master Plan, while also demonstrating inspirational thinking around social inclusion that will enhance the ‘liveability’ of this new community.

“Through the application of the GBCA’s Green Star - Communities rating tool, Stockland and other industry partners will help to set new, higher, national benchmarks for community development that stand the test of time for many generations to come.”

Stockland has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure the community will become a model for social inclusion and environmentally sensitive urban design and development.

• More than 700 hectares, nearly one-third of the site, will be rehabilitated from decades of use as a former pine plantation and designated as a conservation area.
• New habitats for rare and endangered flora and fauna species will be created with fauna underpasses at every major creek crossing, and fauna overpasses along all major roads.
• Installation of the most advanced water reticulation, filtration, storage and treatment system ever installed in any Australian city, which will recycle water, minimise run-off and ensure the protection of the nearby Pumicestone Passage.
• Annual environmental reporting will assess the development of the project against stringent water quality and biodiversity measures.
• Stockland will establish an environmental education facility and run sustainability awareness programs to promote life-long learning amongst residents and local school children.
• A dedicated Caloundra South economic development strategy will target the creation of 19,500 direct jobs, creating long-term local employment opportunities.
• Stockland will invest $300 million alone in the first five years of development, creating thousands of local jobs during this first stage of the project.
• Using the latest hybrid designs for home and business premises, Stockland will seek to establish a strong community of home-based business entrepreneurs.
• Additional business innovation and incubator hubs will further stimulate the emergence of small businesses and boutique enterprises.

The new community will also help to address the under-supply of affordable, new homes on the Sunshine Coast, which has seen rental vacancies recently slip below 1 per cent* over the last 6 months.

Kingsley Andrew, General Manager Queensland at Stockland, said: “Caloundra South is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop a new city to the world’s highest environmental and liveability standards. The GBCA 6 Star Green Star – Communities rating scientifically validates our commitment to develop the community in a way that respects and protects the nearby Pumicestone Passage and rehabilitates and restores the natural, environmental values of the site.”

Stockland also confirmed that, as part of its $5 billion Caloundra South development, it will make significant investments in essential services for the benefit of all residents on the Sunshine Coast.

In addition to creating much-needed new homes on the Sunshine Coast, Stockland will invest in local roads, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure and create a host of new communities facilities. This will include nine separate sporting grounds, numerous parks and playgrounds and a People’s Place and Central Park alongside a new Town Centre.

Stockland has consistently been the Sunshine Coast’s biggest private sector investor for the last 11 years, injecting more than $3.2 billion into the local economy through an array of residential, commercial and retirement living developments, including the 1,500 lot Brightwater community at Kawana, Oceanside Health Precinct, and the highly successful, multi-award-winning Bells Reach Residential Community at Bellvista.

Kingsley Andrew added: “We’re immensely proud of achieving a 6 Star Green Star – Communities rating for our Caloundra South master plan. We’ll repay the confidence that has been shown by the local community and community groups and our many stakeholders in Local, State and Federal Government by delivering a project that exemplifies the finest qualities of environmental stewardship and sustainability, and helps to ensures the future economic prosperity of the Sunshine Coast.

“We’d like to thank and acknowledge everyone that has contributed to achieving this outstanding result, and we look forward to bringing this project to fruition in the precise manner detailed in our approved master plan.”

Stockland is planning to commence construction of the Caloundra South community before the end of FY15, with the first settlements expected in FY16, subject to the finalisation of an Infrastructure Agreement with the newly elected Queensland Government.

For media enquiries
Greg Spears
Senior Manager
Media Relations
Stockland
T +61 (0)2 9035 3263
M +61 (0)406 315 014
Michelle Taylor
General Manager
Stakeholder Relations
Stockland
T +61 (0)2 9035 2786
M +61 (0)400 356 692
For investor enquiries
Antoinette Plater
Senior Manager
Investor Relations
Stockland
T +61 (0)2 9035 3148
M +61 (0)429 621 742
Tim Mitchell
Senior Analyst
Investor Relations
Stockland
T +61 (0)2 9035 2467
M +61 (0)478 308 513