Mt Peter seeks all-clear

Developers ready for $30m fourth stage

DEVELOPERS will soon shop around for supermarket giants to secure an early stake in the city’s fastest expanding growth corridor.

Kenfrost Homes have applied to Cairns Regional Council for the all-clear to start trunk infrastructure works for the $30 million fourth stage of its Mount Peter Estate residential development.

The 70-lot subdivision near Edmonton builds on the 220 lots already created, as part of what is expected to be a 1000lot estate.

Kenfrost general manager Adam Gowlett said about 130 homes were already occupied with land also set aside for a 6000sq m shopping centre.

“It will be the size of a Woolies and Coles and a dozen specialty stores,” he said.

“We probably need about 3000-4000 people living there to make that viable, so we’ve got a little way to go yet.

“But the point in time might come where we encourage a shopping centre or supermarket developer to come sooner rather than later, to provide local jobs in that area well before the demand is there — just so the community has those services.”

The Stage 4 properties are set to hit the market later this year with construction due to begin “as soon as the wet season breaks”.

“With the MacKillop Catholic College and our new daycare centre out there now, there’s a good demand for homes,” he said.

“We need to get the next stage under way to provide for the extra demand we expect during the year.

“We have to make sure we have the land to see us through to the next wet season.”

The developers do not expect any slowdown in demand, especially among its core market — young families.

“Particularly with MacKillop College expanding this year so it can open up high school in 2020, we just see it growing,” Mr Gowlett said.

Kenfrost’s entire estate will be worth about $1 billion when completed, but even the $30 million Stage 4 subdivision is expected to boost employment.

“That amount is worth about 100 full-time jobs for Cairns,” Mr Gowlett said.

It will not be the only estate out there, either.

“That whole area will ultimately have about 13,000 houses, from Stoney Creek through to Draper Rd over about 30 years,” Mr Gowlett said.