The redevelopment of the old Petrie paper mill into a university precinct will be fast-tracked after the state government declared it a priority development area.
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The declaration paved the way for The Mill at Moreton Bay, with the University of the Sunshine Coast at its core, to be up and running by 2020.
The cost of the development was still to be determined, but Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said it was expected to create 6000 jobs and add $950 million a year to the Queensland economy.
"We know that every day, thousands of kids from this region leave Moreton Bay to travel into Brisbane so they can go to university," she said.
"We know that we need to do something about this and it was the vision of [Moreton Bay] mayor, Allan Sutherland, to drive this project and to state that, after this mill closes, we want this site to be used for a university.
"We want this site to give our kids in the region the opportunity to study closer to home, so they're not spending three hours a day travelling to and from Brisbane."
PDAs were parcels of land the state government had identified as sites for accelerated development with a focus on economic growth.
Aside from the Petrie mill site, there were a further 23 PDAs across the state, including 13 in south-east Queensland, the most high-profile of which were Northshore Hamilton and Bowen Hills, centred around the RNA Showground.
Ms Trad said, after the Petrie announcement, there were currently no further PDAs in the state government pipeline.
Cr Sutherland said he was struggling to contain his excitement over the PDA announcement, which he said would have far-reaching impacts on the region, nestled between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
"Until now, this site was our platform for a university campus," he said.
"Now, it's so much more. PDA status will unlock the full potential of the university's surrounding land to create a vibrant community hub where people can live, work and play around education.
"The Mill is a bold new vision for our region and will help us to diversify and future-proof our economy."
Sunshine Coast University vice-chancellor Greg Hill also spruiked the economic benefit of the university, which he said had added $7 billion to the Sunshine Coast community since it opened in 1994.
But it was about more than just economics, Professor Hill said.
"To put things in perspective, at present about 35 per cent of Moreton school leavers go to university," he said.
"It's over 40 per cent on the Sunshine Coast and, of course, it's 50 per cent in Brisbane and that's not good for this community and it's not good for the future careers of those students.
"So, looking at creating a knowledge economy here that's starting in the schools, giving people an opportunity to go into careers that just aren't possible if you don't go into post-secondary education.
"That's what it's all about."
Professor Hill said the University of the Sunshine Coast employed about 1900 staff, more than 100 of whom already lived in the Moreton Bay region.
Ms Trad said the funding arrangements were still being worked out between the council and the state and federal governments.
