Development group still committed to $550-million Cairns towers

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The developers behind a high-rise project that would transform the skyline of Cairns have applied for an extension to their council approval, with plans to complete the project before the end of the decade.

Gasparin Group’s C3 tower development was first announced seven years ago.

The design, by TPG and CA architects Roger Mainwood and Carlo Amerio, includes three towers up to 24-storeys high opposite the Cairns Convention Centre on Sheridan and Kenny Streets.

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Almost 800 units are earmarked for both residential and holiday accommodation.

There’s also shopping and office spaces.

Director of Planning Plus QLD, Evan Yelavich, this week applied to the Cairns Regional Council for a six-year extension on the project’s approval, on behalf of the developers.

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“The pandemic put it on hold but it’s definitely back on the drawing board," he told Tropic Now.

 “They’re talking to other parties that will become involved in it and they just want that certainty of a longer period of time.”

The development had its original 2016 approval extended until July next year because of changes to the design in 2018 and state-wide approval extensions granted during the pandemic.

The application asks for an extra six years, with a lapse date of July 1, 2029.

“From a planning perspective, the intention for the site remains unchanged,” it says.

“The project represents a desirable form of development for the CBD and will result in increased densities and activation.”

Gasparin Group, which is based in Adelaide, has a strong footprint in Cairns.

It also owns the DFS Galleria Building and Redlynch Quarry, and renovated retail spaces at 63 Abbott Street.

The group also has plans for a major residential development called Half Moon Bay on waterfront land at Yorkeys Knob.