Growing up in Mudgeeraba, there are several instructions that parents will impress upon their children: don’t swim in the flood waters, don’t ride your pushbike down Strawberry Road, and don’t go near the Mudgeeraba Caravan Park unless you are deliberately looking for trouble. At least, that was this writer’s childhood.
The Caravan Park was synonymous with drugs, prostitution, and alcoholism; a hub of crime and squalor set against a picturesque hinterland backdrop. A season of Underbelly could have been based on it.
That was until developers Derek Nicholson and Mark Johnson from Jonic Properties decided to take a chance on the site at 402 Springbrook Road. Each of them has over 30 years of property development experience and felt like there was a unique opportunity to provide a product at the more affordable end of the rental market – something they had been searching for over 10 years to find. So in July 2021, the notorious Mudgeeraba Caravan Park was rebranded to Rainforest Rental Village.
There are many layers to redeveloping a site like this, and from a social perspective, Derek and Mark have been able to work closely with people from different government agencies to take residents living in squalid conditions and relocate them to the care they so desperately need. Many were in a spiral of drug addiction and poverty and couldn’t find a way out.
Many of the older more dilapidated dwellings on the property have been removed to pave the way for fresh and modern cabin homes for our most vulnerable senior citizens. Over 100 skips full of rubbish have been removed from the property.
When asked what the highlight of the project has been for him, Derek commented that the opportunities to regenerate the landscape have been immense and rewarding.
“It’s such a beautiful property fronting Mudgeeraba Creek, and there are so many opportunities to regenerate the landscape in a similar way to what Watergum has done in Austinville,” Derek remarked.
"In a relatively short time, and with the help of City of Gold Coast environmental officers and Watergum land conservationists, we have seen the return of many species of parrots, cockatoos, lorikeets, and various other rainforest species. We are even seeing freshwater turtles and platypus in the creek, which is so exciting."
A big challenge for Derek and Mark has been rising building costs. Their target market is primarily seniors on the pension, so each dwelling must be affordable, and they cannot just keep putting the rents in accordance with the price rises as their tenants won’t be able to afford it. It’s a delicate balance during a national housing crisis.
“The feedback we received at the start of the project was very negative as residents were opposed to change. We are almost two years in now and the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. The park feels very quiet, calm, and safe these days – it’s a totally different place. We are glad to do our bit to help with the current housing crisis,” Derek concluded.
Derek and Mark have set the ambitious target of completing over 80 cabins in the next 18 months. You can follow their journey online here or on Facebook and Instagram @rainforestrental
