Racing Billionaire Pushes Ahead with SEQ Masterplan

Billionaire businessman John Camilleri’s Celestino Developments is forging ahead with plans across South-East Queensland at a steady gallop. That includes a revised masterplan for a major landholding 50km south-west of the Brisbane CBD that will deliver thousands of homes. Camilleri—more widely known as the breeder of champion mare Winx and principal of the Baiada poultry empire—has been ramping up Sydney-based Celestino’s pipeline north of the NSW border during the past 12 months. On the Gold Coast, it has revealed plans for two major developments—including a 40-storey highrise with 93 apartments at Main Beach and two towers rising 48 and 55 storeys with 275 on an almost 4000sq m beachfront site at Surfers Paradise. Meanwhile, Celestino has also plans with Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) for the first precinct of its 550ha Riverbend greenfield project at Jimboomba, within the fast-growing corridor of the Greater Flagstone priority development area. The masterplan—reworked and subsequently approved in May last year—will ultimately deliver about 7000 homes, a town centre, school, community and sporting amenities and green spaces. Celestino is now seeking the green light from EDQ for a 871-lot subdivision across 12 stages as it gears up to put shovels to dirt for Riverbend’s first precinct. Overall, according to the documents, it would span 73.4ha—south-east of Teviot Road and north of the Logan River—of the site and accommodate 974 homes. “Precinct 1 has been designed as a high quality residential neighbourhood,” a town planning report prepared by PSA Consulting said. “The design and diversity of lots provides for a range of housing and lifestyle choices including terrace housing, villas, courtyard lots, traditional suburban lots and multiple residential lots for duplex and multiple dwelling development.” ▲ A concept rendering of Celestino's Riverbend greenfield masterplan south-west of Brisbane. Under the subdivision plans, a total of 855 residential lots ranging from 225sq m to 945sq m would be created—including 12 lots with the potential to accommodate dual occupancies—all with a maximum building height of two storeys. Three lots ranging in size from 8300sq m to 11,700sq m also have been proposed to accommodate “future multiple dwellings” accommodating up to 107 homes. However, higher density development is referenced as part of the the broader masterplan for future stages. “Future stages of the masterplanned community will provide for an even greater diversity of residential product choice with the land allocated in the approved masterplan capable of accommodating minimum residential densities or 60 dwellings per hectare and multiple residential and mixed-use product up to five storeys,” the report said. Beyond residential yield, the proposal for Riverbend’s first precinct includes a 7ha site set aside in the north-western corner for a primary school. As well, a total of 6ha is allocated for recreation parks and 13.5ha for a local street network. “The Precinct 1 subdivision layout achieves a compact and walkable residential neighbourhood which locates residential lots within 5 minutes’ walk of community focal points including neighbourhood recreation parks, local recreation parks, district centre (to be developed as part of a future precinct) and the proposed public transport route,” the documents said. Celestino Developments is named after Camilleri’s late grandfather, Celestino “Charlie” Baiada, who founded the family’s poultry business. It is no stranger to large-scale development, with its initial strategy targeting surging demand in Sydney's outer suburbs, with such projects as the Sydney Science Park mixed-use precinct envisioned for a 271ha site at Penrith and The Gables residential estate at Box Hill, about 40km north-west of the Sydney CBD. In 2020, Celestino inked a $415-million deal to offload the undeveloped two-thirds of the latter project’s 293ha masterplanned site to Stockland.

Racing Billionaire Pushes Ahead with SEQ Masterplan

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