Tweed - A Better Investment Than Gold 
(Extracted from Sun Herald Article 26/03/06) 

THE Tweed Coast was once considered the dowdy poor cousin of the highly developed Gold Coast. Now, with $7.5 billion in development either completed or under way, including luxurious tourist resorts and residential accommodation, the Tweed is no longer playing second fiddle.

 But this facelift has not seen the area remade in the image of its flashier cousin up north. Instead, its low-rise pockets of development surrounded by green belts are leading some to badge it the Noosa of NSW. 

The Tweed will be the green lungs of the Gold Coast," said Noel Hodges, director of planning and development at Tweed Shire Council.It has been completely transformed. But the Tweed is going into what we call village-type development where towns are separated by green belts. It's an old-fashioned way of doing it. Much of the activity has occurred at Casuarina, south of Kingscliff and 10 minutes from Gold Coast airport. 

Major developments there include Multiplex's Cotton Beach - a $350 million project that won State Government development approval last month. Stage one of the project is a $100 million 129-unit resort and apartment village. Units are now selling and construction is expected to begin in the middle of the year. Mr Hodges said the Casuarina town centre was still being designed but would be a mixed-use retail centre. If it is done properly it will give a lot of vitality to the area, he said. 

Developer APH says it has sold all of its 24 villas and 80 per cent of its 90 apartments in the $70 million Drift Villas and Apartments project at Casuarina. APH managing director John Wilson said interest had been steady and all the properties would be finished and settled by August. He said that apart from large-scale developments, a large number of individual homes were also under construction. "Prices on the Gold Coast are starting to go up and it is better here in terms of value. Resort Corp's Santai, a $45-million luxury resort at Casuarina with 114 one- and two-bedroom apartments is now open for business. And the company is also developing The Beach, further south at Cabarita Beach, which includes 57 apartments, cafes, bars and boutiques. 

Then there's Salt, a $1.5-billion, 550-home development by the Ray Group. The village centre now houses tourist facilities such as Outrigger on the Beach, Peppers Resort and Spa and Peppers Beach House, as well as shops, cafes, restaurants and a beachside tavern. Golden Door Health resort, part of Peppers, is due to open in the next few weeks. There are 55 home sites, including some beachfront sites, left to be sold. 

The Tweed CBD is also getting a facelift. The council has just allocated $13 million to the first stage of a major rejuvenation project that includes a dining precinct and retail centre. Several residential apartment projects are also either under construction or in the planning stages. And a 15-kilometre beach promenade will link the town centre with Coolangatta, with the master plan due for consideration by Gold Coast City Council soon. 

Resort Corp managing director Paul Brinsmead said the Tweed coast had preserved its natural environment and this had become a selling point. The Tweed is still one of the hottest markets in Australia and recent sales activity has been phenomenal compared with the level-headedness in other places, he said. BUILDING BOOM When development is competed, the Tweed Coast will have an extra 1000 houses and 2500 apartments. $7.5 billion in new development is under way or completed in the area. 

A major facelift is planned for Tweed CBD. Development projects include: the $350 million Cotton Beach at Casuarina; $70 million Drift Villas and Apartments; luxury resorts such as the $45 million Santai, The Beach at Cabarita and Outriggers on the beach and Peppers at Salt

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