Developer ditches plans to build townhouses after community advocacy for ECEC

An early childhood education and care (ECEC) service located on a lucrative Burleigh Heads site on Queensland’s Gold Coast has been given a second chance at life after an interstate investor bowed to community pressure to keep the service open. 

 

Speaking with realestate.com.au Gracorp Holdings director Sam Graziani said the company had intended to demolish the existing service and create townhouses on the prime beachside land which was sold for $2.19m at a hotly contested auction in April 2023.

 

“We initially looked at it as a development opportunity. It was an 802 sqm corner block and we had the option of putting either two houses or three townhouses on it,” Mr Graziani said.

 

“But there were a lot of locals at the auction on the day we bought it, and it became clear to me these families didn’t want development if it meant losing their school.”

 

After seeing the reaction from the community Mr Graziani said the company decided to “do the right thing by the community,” opting to renovate the centre instead of demolishing it. 

 

The 38 place service is now reopen after extensive refurbishments, which came at a cost of close to $250,000. 

 

Service Director Lisa Campbell said many of the staff had returned to the new look service, which is Gracorp’s first step into the ECEC sector. 

 

Having established one service, Gracorp is now seeking further opportunities to pursue residential development in the southeast Queensland corner.

 

Read the original coverage of this story here.