Church-owned Gosford super-site hits market with plans for apartments, hotel and health hub
A church property is poised to be the next big mixed-use precinct in West Gosford, NSW, attracting developers interested in existing plans to transform it into apartments, a 124-room hotel and commercial and medical spaces.
The 12,500-square-metre holding at 19 Faunce Street sits beside Waterview Park, close to Gosford’s CBD, and currently hosts Hope Unlimited Church buildings. A concept prepared for the site envisages four buildings of up to 22 storeys and has received endorsement from the City of Gosford Design Advisory Panel.
While apartments would form the core of a future project, Knight Frank Newcastle agent Brent Sinclair says the scale of the site gives the buyer scope to combine several property sectors in one development.
“Given the scale of it, it’s definitely got scope for a multi-sector approach,” Sinclair explains. “Residential is obviously a big driver, but whether that’s in the seniors living space, or whether there are complementary medical uses that could form part of the overall program.”
The commercial component could include a hotel, medical suites and shops or hospitality venues serving residents and the neighbourhood.
The site’s health-precinct position is expected to be an important component of that mix. It is about two kilometres from Gosford Hospital and close to the University of Newcastle’s Central Coast Clinical School and Research Institute. Mann Street, public transport and The Entertainment Grounds are also nearby, while the bushland and walking tracks of Waterview Park adjoin the property.
Sinclair says that since launching the campaign, the agency has fielded interest from large residential and seniors-living developers.
The offering comes as Gosford evolves into what Sinclair describes as a maturing development market.
“There’s been a lot of public investment, especially in the hospital nearby, and there’s been a lot of interest and rising values,” he says. “When you get that, you’ve got a maturing market.”
The NSW government committed $348 million to the redevelopment of Gosford Hospital, completed in 2018. The $72.5 million University of Newcastle Central Coast Clinical School and Central Coast Research Institute opened on the hospital campus in 2022.
That investment is occurring alongside population growth. State planning forecasts show the Central Coast growing from about 347,500 residents in 2021 to more than 404,250 by 2041, which will require another 32,550 homes.
Sinclair says the combination of infrastructure spending and housing demand is giving private developers greater confidence in Gosford.
“There are strong fundamentals for population growth in the Central Coast and the Gosford area,” he says.
“There has been significant state investment in the hospital nearby, and that’s filtering through to the surrounding area and giving developers confidence to invest. I think you’ll start to see more of these types of projects make progress to support that population growth.”
