Giant sand deposit under cattle property near Caloundra proving a bonus for would-be buyers
The Sunshine Coast has some of the best beaches in the world but it is the sand that you can’t feel between your toes that is drawing plenty of would-be buyers to a farm a few kilometres from the ocean.
A 500-acre Meridan Plains property, west of Caloundra, is a cattle-fattening operation but it’s what’s under hoof that has so many potential purchasers excited.
The property sits on top of one of the largest alluvial sand deposits ever discovered in Queensland.
There is so much sand that it reportedly could supply south-east Queensland’s needs for the next 35 years, or the Sunshine Coast’s requirements for 200 years, according to the marketing agents CBRE Sunshine Coast managing director Rem Rafter and CBRE agribusiness director Simon Cudmore.
Alluvial sand is an essential ingredient for construction purposes, with the Sunshine Coast already one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions.
A development application to extract as much as a million tonnes of sand a year from the property was lodged with Sunshine Coast Council in 2016, with a decision expected before the end of the year, according to CBRE.
Mr Rafter said the unique property had already attracted interest from some of Queensland’s most wealthy residents. It’s tipped to fetch between $8 million and $10 million.
“It’s an opportunity to buy 500 acres within three or four kilometres of Caloundra beach and then work out what they’re going to do with it long-term, but it’s just a property they want to put in their portfolio,” he said.
“The sand deposit is a real added bonus, but I think they’re just looking at it as a grazing property and, if one of the big concrete companies comes along and wants to extract at some stage, well, that’s going to be a real bonus, too.”
Mr Rafter said the site, which is on three adjoining lots and has frontages to Kawana Way Link Road, Rainforest Drive, Westaway Road, Sattler Road and Honeyfarm Road, was also a suitable site for a solar farm.
“Energex’s new 132,000-volt power line from Mooloolaba to Bells Creek runs adjacent to the property,” he said.
“With a national focus on exploring every possibility for renewable energy, the prospect of a new solar farm on the Sunshine Coast is particularly exciting.”
The strong inquiry levels from buyers was a further sign of the strength of the commercial and residential sectors on the Sunshine Coast, with no apparent “weak spots”, he said.
“The Sunshine Coast is a bright spot on the map right now and, in south-east Queensland, I think we’re a big benefactor of what happened in COVID,” Mr Rafter said.
“The whole market across the board, residential and non-residential, has strengthened. There are no weak spots in the market right now. There are certainly more buyers than there are properties available.”
The rural land for sale in Queensland is close to the Bruce Highway, which links Brisbane with all of Queensland’s northern coastal towns, and is only a few kilometres from Caloundra, the hub for the fast-growing southern end of the Sunshine Coast.
The property is for sale by expressions of interest, which closes on Wednesday, December 2, at 4pm.
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