‘We need volume’: Developer urges radical density shift to meet housing targets

Queenslanders will have to abandon the idea of owning a big block close to the city and embrace significantly higher density if the state is to build enough homes by 2032, a leading developer has warned. Gardner Vaughan Group director Sam Gardner said the traditional Australian dream of a detached home on a large block was becoming increasingly unrealistic in southeast Queensland, while the looming Olympic infrastructure boom would place even greater pressure on an already stretched construction workforce. Samuel Gardner, director of Gardner Vaughan Group. Image supplied. “The mindset of the great Australian dream has changed,” Mr Gardner said. “For a young family to own 800sq m within 10km of the city is almost a pipe dream now. We need to come to terms with density.” Mr Gardner, whose business operates across the development process from site acquisition and design through to construction and sales, said communities were becoming increasingly accepting of taller buildings as the scale of Queensland’s housing challenge became clearer. He said that could mean allowing developments previously restricted to about 12 storeys to reach 20 storeys in appropriate locations, particularly a...