Major Cairns property development starts

Earthmoving equipment rolled on site this week to begin work on the $35 million Mount Sheridan residential development in Cairns. The 130-lot project is being carried out by local firm Kenfrost, which is also gearing up to begin a new $50 million development at Redlynch by the end of the year, according to company spokesman Adam Gowlett. The Mount Sheridan project is likely to be developed over four to five years while the 180-lot development at Redlynch will stretch for about three years. The new projects come on top of Kenfrost’s work on the $1 billion Mount Peter residential project south of Edmonton and it is continuing to roll out its North Point development at Smithfield. “We are currently well progressed on construction of the first 129 lots at Mount Peter,” Mr Gowlett said. “We’re probably less than a couple of weeks away from getting asphalt down on the first roads there.” As well as being a land developer, Mr Gowlett said Kenfrost tended to act as designer and builder for the majority of houses on its residential projects. Apart from the civil works, which the Kenfrost team carries out, it subcontracts out all relevant work – from concreting and electrical reticulation to roofing and paintwork. The Mount Peter residential development is expected to span 20-30 years and eventually house 40,000-50,000 people. The 1000-lot portion being developed by Kenfrost is set to include a shopping centre and other retail and business land, while Satterley Property Group plans to develop an adjacent area. Mr Gowlett said about $10 million in construction work was either complete or under way as Stages 1-3 progressed and housing would take that to about $25 million. “What we’ve been saying all along and is very important is that for every million dollars spent in the development industry there are about four and a half jobs sustained – that’s two direct and two and a half indirect jobs sustained by the construction,” he said. “So that’s 120 odd jobs that are sustained through the project to date as well – which is good for Cairns.” Mr Gowlett painted a positive picture for Cairns the next 12 months due to local opportunities as well as access to projects throughout the far northern region, including the $2.6 billion Amrun bauxite project at Weipa. “Cairns has a good population growth, slightly higher than the Queensland average, so there is always going to be fairly good demand for housing,” he said. “With Mount Peter, it is in a growth corridor that the State and council have identified. These (lots under construction) are the first lots being developed in what will eventually become home to 40,000 or 50,000 people. “As a community we are effectively building a brand new small city to the south of Cairns. So for entrepreneurial people there’s going to be all manner of opportunity in Mount Peter.” Businesses interested in subcontracting for Kenfrost projects should contact subcontractor administrator Rose Bradshaw (roseb@kenfrost1987.com.au) “They can fill out a subcontractor’s pack and register their abilities with us – because we are always looking for people for work from all sorts of areas,” Mr Gowlett said.

Major Cairns property development starts

Industry Queensland

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