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| New Tweed Coast |
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By Jana Pearce
Go to where the weather is warm and the whales are jumping, and wrap yourself in sunshine at the Tweed Coast at the top of NSW - a favourite holiday destination for retirees.
Today with 80 per cent of the region's population age 65 plus, the Tweed Heads-Coolangatta region is home to around 40,000 seniors who have chosen this sun soaked coast as their retirement nirvana.
Many of these retirees spent their annual holidays here, and returned to stay to enjoy the warmth and boundless range of easily-accessible activities.
Everything for seniors is huge - fully equipped hospital at Tweed Heads as well as the Gold Coast, a bowling club the size of an convention centre, home care services, and even a steady pool of salaried jobs for older people who want to keep earning their spending money.
Nowhere else in the world have I seen so many older people actively working in hotels, retailing and real estate - I reckon even if you are 80 and hankering to earn a income from a day's work, you would find a job at Tweed.
Tweed is undergoing a massive change under the expert steermanship of charismatic Magdy Youssef, project manager for the Tweed Heads Masterplan project facilitation team, the group that is bringing together the thousands of pieces to create the multi-million dollar transformation of Tweed CBD and Jack Evans Boat Harbour.
An onerous task but one expertly managed by Magdy who born in Egypt and educated in Switzerland. I thought his being Eqyptian born explains his project management talent as he must be a direct descendant of the ancient pyramid builders. |
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| Tweed Ultima |
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Spearheading the new Tweed is Tweed Ultima, a $145 million project overlooking Jack Evans Boat Harbour. It will comprise 235 luxury apartments, undercover walkways, swimming pool, day spa, full-equipped gym, retail shopping complex, cafes, restaurants, offices and a hi-tech conference centre to cater for up to 550 delegates.
Adrian Parsons of Richardson and Wrench Surfers Paradise is marketing Tweed Ultima. She said apartments with harbour views are priced from $340,000 and are being snapped up quickly by local residents and interstate buyers.
"Tweed Ultima is within walking distance to all amenities and facilities, making it one of the hottest pieces of real estate on the eastern seaboard," she said.
The huge Twin Towns Services Club, already one of the biggest clubs of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, is also going up with its just completed 15-level Harbour Tower. A joint venture between Twin Towns Quality Resorts and developer Baulderstone Hornibrook, it is the second resort tower for the club.
Many of the 197 self-contained one and two-bedroom holiday apartments have harbour views. Harbour Tower features a full size grass tennis court, indoor pool, spa and everything else you'd expect in a luxury resort. These large strata-title units are zoned tourism and selling to investors for $289,000 to $530,000.> Top |
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| Sun soaked lifestyle |
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At Kingsciffe, right opposite the surf club and in the lap of retirement heaven, is Azura, a stunning boutique development with 22 luxury apartments. Built by Real Living Projects, Azura is next to an old historic fig tree called the Tree of Knowledge named after two elderly gents who sat under it and chinwagged all day.
With the tourism industry jumping out of its socks - there was a 20 per cent increase in holidaymakers last year and expected to increase to 600,000 visitors a year by 2008 - there will be steady employment for all in hospitality, tourism and aged care industries.
A few kilometres south of Tweed CBD, at what is now called the New Tweed Coast, are luxury beachside developments by heavyweight developers, Multiplex, the Ray Group, Consolidated Properties, Resort Corp and AHA Properties. > Top |
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| Salt & Peppers |
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The New Tweed Coast developments are designed for families, retirees as well as tourism. Ray Group's $1 billion Salt Village at South Kingscliffe features parks, a Peppers resort, bicycle tracks, beach frontage and it own surf club.
Another jewel in the New Tweed crown is Multiplex's 5-star Cotton Beach, on a seven-hectare beachside site, it features high-end luxurious beach homes and apartments.
Nearby is the $1.5 billion Domain Casuarina Beach Resort built on a 183-hectare beachfront site. Designed for the upwardly mobile, it is modelled on some of the world's most desirable addresses.
Domain Casuarina's developer Don O'Rorke managing director of Consolidated Properties and a resident of his development, said: "This is one of the most beautiful places in Australia - all it has lacked in the past is the infrastructure to allow people to experience all it has to offer.
"Now with improved road connections, a range of accommodation choices, fine dining restaurants, bars, shopping and entertainment, the area has everything it needs to really fire." > Top |
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