From the 4th April 2018, the Gold Coast will host the 21st Commonwealth Games. The Games will be the largest sporting event Australia will see this decade and the biggest sporting spectacular the Gold Coast has ever seen. As the first regional Australia city to ever host a Commonwealth Games, the Gold Coast will celebrate great Games in a great city leaving memories and benefits for all.
The city will shine on the world sporting stage and the promotional exposure for business, investment, tourism, and events will herald a new era in the region’s growth and maturity.
MORE CONSTRUCTION = MORE JOBS
In the lead up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games major developments on the Gold Coast have been transforming the city into what we’d like to consider – Australia’s most beautiful city.
The Games are estimated to generate circa 30,000 full-time jobs whilst leaving behind world-class sporting and accommodation infrastructure that will allow the region to host future international sporting events for many years to come.
Over 6,600 athletes and team officials from 70 nations and territories will converge on the Gold Coast for an 11-day sporting and cultural event. With the proud support of close to 15,000 passionate and friendly volunteers, a spectacle of 18 sports and 7 para-sports will be contested and broadcast to a cumulative global audience of 1.5 billion.
The event aligns well with the Gold Coasts’ standing as a world-class tourism and event destination and is expected to boost tourism with 100,000+ visitors expected and $270 million+ to be injected into the state and local economy.
PRDnationwide Chairman and Managing Director Tony Brasier, said these large events leave an infrastructure that helps fuel ongoing growth.
“When Melbourne hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2006, new and upgraded infrastructure was scattered throughout the city. Its athlete’s village saw a $43.5 million investment post Games to become a major residential hub in Parkville,” he said.
According to the Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Jann Stuckey, the total estimated economic benefit of the Games and all associated infrastructure and development spending is estimated to breach $2 billion dollars (Queensland Government, 2016)
– Source: Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation, 2017
There have also been some major infrastructure upgrades to accommodate for the demand. These include:
COMPLETED
• $670 million Pacific Fair redevelopment. The redevelopment generated 1,115 construction jobs and has created 1,540 ongoing retail jobs.
• A new $530 million Coomera Marine Precinct Expansion of 63.5 hectares has been earmarked for one of the largest integrated marine industry developments in the state. The plan is forecasted to generate 4,800 jobs in the construction phase and 4,600 in ongoing employment.
• $1.6 billion Light rail Stage 2 has been completed. This connects the heavy rail to the light rail – allows residents to travel from Brisbane to Broadbeach.
• The $163 million duplication of the heavy rail line from Helensvale to Coomera. It has allowed for extra peak hour services and extra capacity from Brisbane to the Gold Coast
TO BE COMPLETED
• Proposed North Ormeau Town Centre to feature Coles Supermarket and a mix of retail and food outlets. Construction date has not yet been announced.
• Yatala Enterprise Area projects underway, including the Empire Industrial Estate which will comprise of 250 buildings creating 5,000 local jobs.
• $95 million to widen the Pacific Motorway from four to six lanes
• $495 million upgrade to Foxwell Road
– Source: Queensland Government, 2018
PARKVILLE, VIC
In March 2006, Melbourne played host to the Commonwealth Games, the largest cultural and sporting event in Victoria. Much like the upcoming Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, new and upgraded infrastructure developments were scattered throughout the city, rather than having a specific centre for activity. The 2006 Athletes Village was constructed in the established suburb of Parkville on the site of the old psychiatric hospital, around three kilometres from the CBD, with plans to execute construction in two phases and create a new residential pocket after the Commonwealth Games.
CASE STUDY
The Parkville Gardens accommodated around 6,000 athletes during the 2006 Commonwealth Games. After the Games, $43.5 million was invested in further development of the site, to transfer it to a residential precinct with a focus on sustainability.
This includes approximately 1000 residences to be completed in 2018, confirming the longevity of an athlete village legacy. The high demand and undersupply of property in Parkville and surrounding areas impacted the property market positively, with sales transactions rising over 33.0% between 2006 to 2007. In 2005 prior to the Games, the annual median price growth was 6.2%. However, on the year of the Games and the year after, prices increased by 11.4%, and continued to grow for the next 24 months. This indicated the positive impact of the Commonwealth Games on the property market in Parkville and its neighboring suburbs.
-Source: PRD Nationwide Research, 2017/APM PriceFinder, Real Estate Institute of Australia, Melbourne City Council, Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, Sport and Recreation Victoria, Major Projects Victoria
COMMONWEALTH GAMES & PROPERTY
As the Commonwealth Games draw closer, its impact on the property market in the surrounding areas is becoming more visible. The Gold Coast is expected to deliver up to 25% house and unit price increases. PRDnationwide chairman Tony Brasier said suburbs located near Games venues, including Ashmore, Carrara, Coomera, Oxenford and Southport, had experienced exceptional growth that was set to continue. Melbourne’s residential price growth two years after the Commonwealth Games event was up 20%, in comparison Sydney’s residential price growth two years after the Olympic Games was almost 40%.
When Melbourne hosted the Games in 2006, the athletes village saw a $43.5 million investment post Games to become a major residential hub in Parkville, Sydney saw the same impact following the Olympic Games in 2000. Newington and surrounding areas which once hosted athletes was seeing sales rise 58% by 2001. Growth on the Gold Coast is already on its way, particular suburbs house prices located close to the Games venues are experiencing up to 9.9% in 2016 and their median sales price growing up to 12.6 percent.
– Source: PRD Nationwide Research, 2017
POPULATION DOUBLED BY 2050
Leading demographer, Bernard Salt has stated that the Gold Coast needs to prepare for a population of 1.2 million people by the year 2050. Mr. Salt says Games will provide infrastructure and promote the city to the world but he says he is looking further into the future.
“Sure the Commonwealth Games is important and will deliver and extraordinary legacy and impact for the Gold Coast but we want more… We want a Gold Coast in 2050 that has a diverse economic base.”
– Source: Bernard Salt, 2015
