River Parks easily accesses the major developments that make Townsville the unofficial "capital of North Queensland".

Things such as:

• One of Australia's largest defence force establishments, Lavarack Barracks,
• The biggest provincial hospital in Australia Townsville General Hospital. This complex services people as far north as Thursday Island, south to Sarina and across inland Queensland
• The leading tropical research university in Australia, James Cook;
• A bustling regional airport carrying passengers to and from northern cities and meeting the large commuter requirements of mining communities

Then there is the huge local mineral processing industry, the city's port, the biggest in the North with exports totalling $3 billion a year. And a major tourist industry involving Townsville as jumping off points for the Great Barrier Reef and the World Heritage Tropical Wilderness.

Many new infrastructure programs are underway or planned as the cities experience a growth pattern that the State Government expects to continue for years.

Indeed, with 26,000 more people moving in over the next 20 years, they are expected to be among the State's fastest growing regions.

Sport and recreation

Nearby are Townsville's beautiful Northern Beaches which offer unspoilt beaches and great fishing.

The popular Ross River offers a multitude of recreational outings on your doorstep, including the exciting Riverway Development that stretches for 11 kilometres.

The Riverway Stadium opened in December 2007 and hosted a domestic 20/20 cricket match on New Years Eve to a packed house. Members of Queensland Cricket lavished their praise on the stadium saying they would promote it as a venue for future cricket events. The Brisbane Lions AFL community camp will also be held there in February.

Riverway features a public art gallery and cultural centre together with facilities for swimming, entertainment, dining and shopping in one of Queensland's most spectacular river settings.

The most southerly point of the World Heritage Areas starts at the beautifully unspoilt Paluma rainforest, and, of course, you will live at the jumping off point easily accessing the fabulous Great Barrier Reef.

Just 30 minutes drive from River Parks is Townsville CBD, now undergoing massive transformation to meet the city's demographic and technological changes. It contains residential, retail, mixed use, offices and entertainment areas.

A $1 billion lifestyle precinct, new cruise ship terminal, Jupiters Casino, heritage precincts, entertainment areas, and new retail and commercial developments are at Breakwater.

Business and work

Townsville has a strong, diverse economic base:

• It is the north's largest port with annual exports totalling $3billion
• Tourism provides close to a billion dollars a year income
• Agriculture provides surprising income results like 67% of the State's tomatoes, 66% of its capsicums and 36% of its sugar cane
• Townsville is north Queensland's largest administration centre
• It is one of Australia's largest defence force cities
• Its state of the art hospitals are the largest in provincial Australia, supporting people north to Thursday Island and Papua New Guinea, west to Mount Is and south to Sarina as well as those living in Townsville
• The James Cook University is Australia's leading tropical research university
• Some of Australia's major mineral production and processing industries are located in the region including Sun Metal Zinc Refinery, QNI's nickel and cobalt refinery, Xstrata's copper refinery
• Around 60 companies produce 50% of national recreational boat exports; and
• A new gas-fired power station, operating from late 2009, will produce a 370-megawatt base load.
• Handling more than 1.2 million passengers a year, Townsville Airport is a major regional transport hub, servicing Cairns, Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Hughenden, Winton, Moranbah and the mining communities of the northwest.

Underscoring the dynamic nature of the region, Townsville CBD is planned to undergo dramatic re-development over at least a decade.

Council statistics show that between January 1, 2003 and April 30, 2005, the council issued development approvals valued at $100 million for residential and commercial premises in the CBD.

A further $400 million of development projects are proposed.

The council has developed a Masterplan embodying seven precincts that it says will revitalise the area to meet the city's demographic and technological challenges.