Creation of the next stage of the Gold Coast’s answer to New York City’s Central Park will begin within a year.
The Greenheart parkland, which will cover 257ha between Robina and Merrimac has reached significant milestones, gaining environmental approval from the federal government and undergoing Local Government Infrastructure Designation (LGID) from the state government.
This clears the way for the Gold Coast City Council to receive final building approvals before work can begin.
Mayor Tom Tate said the project would be delivered in stages across the next 15 years.
“This means the boxes are now ticked and we can progress it further,” he said.
“We have put $7.5m in the budget to finalise the masterplan and this will be done in stages so we can live within our means.
“There will be sporting fields, walking tracks and something for everyone and the whole family.”
Mr Tate said the location of the parklands meant it would be equally accessible for residents across the city.
“The concept of this parkland is that having it right in the geographic middle of the city means that it does not matter where you live, you will only be about 30 minutes away so you can come here and enjoy it,” he said.
“Location wise, you will feel like you’re right in Africa, maybe we can look at getting some of those animals in here.
“We have already started with stage one and it has been very popular and the community consultation is now completed so we can now bring this dream into reality.”
The $25m first stage, next to Cbus Super Stadium at Robina was completed in mid-2025.
A council report released at the time revealed the completion of the project will cost around $250m.
Once finished, it will be ten times the size of the Southport Broadwater Parklands and three quarters of the size of New York’s Central Park.
Mr Tate defended the city’s decision to use the land to create a parkland rather than for housing amid a shortage of available greenfield development sites.
“We bought it for open space and that’s the intent of it,” he said.
“I didn’t want to go change that and the community consultation showed this is what people cherish and want to keep the middle part of our city like this so they will remain the city’s lungs.”
Mr Tate said there would be the potential for wedding venues and other buildings in the parklands but housing would not be created in the parklands.
He said an internal road network would be among the first pieces of work done in the area to allow vehicles to move through it while creating the park.
Originally Published in the Gold Coast Bulletin by Andrew Potts. View online article HERE.