A new golf resort is being planned for Russell Island, the largest of the Moreton Bay islands. Over 200 apartments in buildings ranging from 3 to 5 levels.

The development will be called Canipa resort.

The Bay islands are making news in most realestate liftouts around the country for having the cheapest land and house prices on the eastern seaboard. Blocks of land are priced from $25 000!

No doubt more apartment developments will follow.

Island resort plan rejected
DANIEL HURST
29/04/2008 12:06:50 PM
A PROPOSAL to build a $185 million tourist resort on Russell Island has been rejected by Redland City councillors.
Canaipa Developments had put forward plans for a 245-apartment resort over two sites on the northern tip of the island, including a 150-delegate conference centre, a nine-hole golf course, three pools and three tennis courts.

Council officers recommended preliminary approval at today’s development assessment meeting, despite some conflicts with planning scheme zonings.

The preliminary approval would have prompted more negotiations with the developer and included calls for more reports to prove the size of the development was justified.

But councillors voted 6-3 against granting a preliminary approval at Tuesday's meeting, citing conflicts over the scale of development allowed in the rural non-urban zonings.

Crs Karen Williams, Craig Ogilvie and Murray Elliott supported a preliminary approval, while Crs Kathy Reimers, Wendy Boglary, Debra Henry, Toni Bowler, Helen Murray and Mayor Melva Hobson voted against.

Wow, Toni Bowler's a Redlands councillor these days? I know her from years back.

those islands are so undervalued its not funny.. wait a few years until those $25 000 blocks are worth $300 000 and the $900 000 blocks are worth a good 2 mill. Woolies and others own big sites on Russell and are waiting for the boom. All they need are more frequent or larger ferry/barge services or the proposed road and bridges (against that!) and people will visit them more.

A few years ago, you could buy land there for as little as $12,000 but most lots apparently are really low to level with the sea or so, i.e. AHD is like 3m or less.... so you can't develop anything on some lots, council has probulary bought a stack of the land and rezoned it as wetlands. A lot of areas have no sewage or town water. Not sure how it is today, but it is my understanding that there is still no sewage, just septics.

I think there is also an issue with Russell Island by Redlands Council, where they don't want to service the entire island as it is expensive or something.... I can't recall the exact reason..... There is possibly a good source of ground water there.

I know Lamb island had waterfront land for about $25,000 now those same waterfront blocks on Lamb are about $60,000. Damn I wish I bought one there before, only in less than 2 yrs the prices went up.

From Russellisland.com.au many news articles on this site... I think this is an older one different to the above resort....

12 Feb 2008
Eco-Resort Approval Update

Source: Bayside Bulletin
Eco resort step closer

THE first approvals of an eco-tourist resort on Russell Island have been given by Redland Shire Council. Council at its Development Assessment meeting on Tuesday amended the conditions of its Preliminary Approval on January 22 so the developers could satisfy council the proposed four-storey buildings would not appear above the tree line when viewed from major vantage points around Moreton Bay.

Council also wants to ensure that retained vegetation at the site will substantially screen the buildings from major vantage points around the bay.

Initially, councillors had amended a council officer’s recommendation that the height and scale of the development be reduced and the density and site coverage (number of buildings) be reduced.

At that meeting councillors voted to grant preliminary approval to the resort, including four-storey buildings, if it could be established that buildings could be screened from major vantage points in the bay.

At last Tuesday’s meeting, Cr Burns (Bay Islands and Redland Bay) successfully moved a rescind motion which required the developers to submit a visual analysis to ensure the two four-storey buildings could not be seen from above the tree line of the island.

Other conditions were also made in relation to effluent disposal and stormwater treatment.

The resort on a 4.8-hectare site on Kibbinkibbinwa Point has been designed to blend in with the existing vegetation.

The proposal consists of a caretaker’s residence, 88 accommodation units, a refreshment establishment, a shop and associated resort facilities such as a swimming pool and a gymnasium.

The accommodation will involve 20 separate buildings, consisting of 13 three bedroom, one and two-storey eco-cabins; as well as five three-storey apartment buildings with six and 12 unit configurations, and two four-storey apartments buildings with 31 and 12 unit configurations.

http://www.russellisland.com.au/ecoresort12feb08.htm



3rd Feb 2008

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has approved plans to build the $185 million Canaipa resort on Russell Island - The application for the 245 apartment luxury resort was submitted in February last year. The proposal is yet to receive Redland Shire Council approval.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p300/IFB83/resort.jpg

The thing I've always noticed about Russell Island is that there are shitloads of streets that have been named and mapped, but never built. Like the southern end of Russell Island theres a whole heap of streets criss-crossing what in reality looks like a mangrove forest, and even the streets that do exist are very sparsely developed. I guess someone had some very ambitious plans for the area some time in the past. It doesn't look like a particularly appealing location though, compared to say Coochimudlo Island, with proper beaches, well developed suburbia, and closer to the mainland.

A few years ago, you could buy land there for as little as $12,000 but most lots apparently are really low to level with the sea or so, i.e. AHD is like 3m or less.... so you can't develop anything on some lots, council has probulary bought a stack of the land and rezoned it as wetlands. A lot of areas have no sewage or town water. Not sure how it is today, but it is my understanding that there is still no sewage, just septics.

I think there is also an issue with Russell Island by Redlands Council, where they don't want to service the entire island as it is expensive or something.... I can't recall the exact reason..... There is possibly a good source of ground water there.

I know Lamb island had waterfront land for about $25,000 now those same waterfront blocks on Lamb are about $60,000. Damn I wish I bought one there before, only in less than 2 yrs the prices went up.

Council did buy back those blocks or swapped them for buildable blocks they owned. Apparently all blocks privately owned are buildable. Recently Redlands council were going to sell their blocks that were buildable but community uproar made them reneg. They need to hold these for public and green space if the islands ever do get heavily built upon.

There was a bit of a buying frenzy last year I think and prices rose. Just checked and Lamb's cheapest block is $65000 and cheapest waterfront is $125000. Not bad really as it has water and elect, just no sewerage. You really missed out if you saw a waterfront block for $25K:colgate:

The thing I've always noticed about Russell Island is that there are shitloads of streets that have been named and mapped, but never built. Like the southern end of Russell Island theres a whole heap of streets criss-crossing what in reality looks like a mangrove forest, and even the streets that do exist are very sparsely developed. I guess someone had some very ambitious plans for the area some time in the past. It doesn't look like a particularly appealing location though, compared to say Coochimudlo Island, with proper beaches, well developed suburbia, and closer to the mainland.

Isn't that because of the Russell Island real estate scam perpetrated in the 1970s by Joh and his ilk?

http://www.smso.net/Redland_City_Council#Russell_Island_real_estate_scam

yes, there was a huge scam a few decades ago where developers sold blocks of land on mud flats and mangrove forests. All of which were under water with high tide.

The roads that criss cross the islands are a joke. You see street signs pointing at grass fields and forest. However, there was a time when Bribie was nothing more than a sand bar!! Think of what could happen to the islands in 20 years time. They won't remain the cheapest real estate forever.

^^they will until a bridge is built.

A bridge is probulary out of the question until that council gets serious about doing something about it. Alas they probably wont build a bridge for another decade.

There has been a petition going around though,

7 Oct 2007

Bay islands bridge is inevitable - The Sunday Mail reports that the mayor responsible for the Southern Moreton Bay Islands says that the bridge from the mainland is "inevitable". View full report here.

http://www.russellisland.com.au/bridge.htm

Update for the Bay 148 mixed-use 5-storey project on Broadwater Tce, Redland Bay, from the Midwood Report, Nov-09:

Total Units: 28
Sold to Date: 68% (19)
Av. $/m2: $3,600
Settlement: Nov-10

Gutsy development in a very underdeveloped part of Brisbane. It will bring some life to the only local shopping area for Redland Bay (the Suburb).