8 minute read
COAST’S GOLDEN FUTURE AHEAD
ANDREW POTTS
The Gold Coast is a city where dreams come true and the impossible realised.
The story of the so-called “Glitter Strip” is one of soaring ambition and success realised, through grit, cunning and talent.
From inauspicious beginnings in the late 19th century as a collection of small villages, it has grown to become Australia’s sixth-largest city and a booming metropolis which has defied the odds to forge its own path.
This became particularly apparent in 2020 where the multi-billion dollar development industry has flown in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and downturn to become the Gold Coast’s biggest industry, employing more than 20,000 people and keeping the economy on-track.
While the capital cities have struggled under prolonged lockdowns and weakening property markets, the Gold Coast has surprised even its most ardent critics by holding its own during the most challenging year.
While the tourism industry is in the doldrums with international borders still closed, the Gold Coast has unexpectedly become the most desirable place in Australia to live.
The city once derided as “god’s waiting room” for its proportionally older population has instead blossomed into a destination where Victorians and NSW residents want to relocate to.
Everyone from families to high-end investors are attracted to the city, not only for being a refuge from COVID-19 but for its boundless opportunities and billions of dollars in new projects underway.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has championed the city’s “open for business” strategy since he was first elected in 2012 and said the future was “looking very bright”.
“We are not only a bold city but we are also a safe city - which is more important than ever - and makes us one of the most desirable places in Australia and even the world, to live and invest.
“While it is so important to get our tourism industry back on its feet, the city has so many other industries continuing to thrive including health, construction and film.
“We are also hearing stories of people from NSW and Victoria who are so desperate for our sunshine and lifestyle they are buying property off the plan. They know what we have to offer and will be here as soon as conditions allow.”
More than $14 billion worth of major developments are underway across the city, creating thousands of jobs and generating significant interest from interstate and international investors.
Leading the pack is The Star Entertainment Group’s $2 billion masterplan for Broadbeach Island, with the investment all based around nongaming assets such as hotels, restaurants, resort amenities, and apartments.
HAVING RECENTLY CELEBRATED ITS 35TH ANNIVERSARY, THE FORMER CONRAD JUPITERS CASINO IS IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A GIANT INTEGRATED RESORT, BOASTING UP TO SEVEN TOWERS.
The Darling hotel was completed in 2018 in time for the Commonwealth Games while the $400 million, 53-storey Dorsett tower is rising rapidly and on track to open in early 2022.
This supertower particularly is expected to deliver a major shot in the arm for Broadbeach, with features including a dining precinct in the tower’s six-level podium, a 313-rooom Dorsett hotel and a 422 residential component, known as The Star Residences.
Residential sales on this project were stronger than expected, leading to it being fast-tracked to meet the demand.
The State Government has approved a further four towers to be built on the site, with The Star yet to commit to a timeline for their delivery.
Plans reveal these supertowers, which would include a mixture of hotel and residential offerings would stand at 65, 74, 54 and 52 storeys and comprise a further 1794 apartments and 518 rooms.
The next stage of these projects is expected to be announced in 2021 as The Star determines its path forward following the pandemic.
Another major project currently under construction is the $1.3 billion The Lanes “mini-city” at Mermaid Waters.
As one of the biggest developments currently underway on the Gold Coast, this project, from Sunland Group, will ultimately feature four luxury residential towers overlooking a lake, plus an $80 million high-end shopping centre which will begin construction in 2021.
Sunland is also in the midst of constructing a new luxury tower on Mermaid Beach’s Hedges Avenue.
Known as ‘Millionaire’s row’, Hedges Ave is one of the most exclusive addresses in the entire country and home to some of Australia’s best-known business figures.
This new $250 million tower, 252 Hedges Ave, will be completed in 2022 and was in hot demand, with more than 80 per cent of its units already sold.
Another supertower in the pipeline is Mertion Group’s 76-storey Ocean project in central Surfers Paradise.
Its construction recently reached the halfway mark and it is expected to be completed in mid-2022.
Leading demographer and social researcher Mark McCrindle says the Gold Coast’s low property prices, relative to the Sydney and Melbourne markets, its highly desirable lifestyle and the recent shift towards work from home modelling meant the city’s population growth would only accelerate.
“We are seeing massive internal population shifts and the Gold Coast will gain many of those sea change and treechange individuals,” he said.
“If they can get the lifestyle and feel safe there, they will make the move.
“This is the attitude which we need to take rather than let ourselves be victims of circumstance – here on the Gold Coast when can shape a better future.”
THE STAR GOLD COAST
Treasury figures released in early 2019 predicted the Coast would welcome 14,670 people annually for the next 25 years, up from an average of about 10,000.
The pandemic has slowed migration temporarily but Mr McCrindle said he expected this to bounce back and even accelerate within a handful of years.
In the meantime, Gold Coast real estate agents have been run off their feet selling properties to southern state residents who are looking to start afresh north of the Tweed River.
With so many people moving to the city, developers have had to keep pace with growth, announcing billons of dollars of projects which are set to roll out of the pipeline in coming years. In June 2020 alone there was more than $200 million worth of projects ticked off by the Gold Coast City Council.
Many projects are focused on the city’s northern growth corridor and western suburbs, including the proposed Pacific City in the Norwell Valley and Worongary’s $1 billion Pacific View Estate which is currently before the council for approval.
Once ticked off, the latter project is expected to kickstart a building boom which will include new railway stations, schools and commercial projects.
Other developers have turned their attention to revitalising the Gold Coast’s famous skyline with ambitious new projects burgeoning with opportunities.
Among the most prominent is Azzura Group’s $2.3 billion Imperial Square project in central Southport.
Azzura boss Robert Badalotti, has held the Meron Street site for more than a decade and has already gained council approval for his four-tower project, which at its centre would site the southern hemisphere’s tallest tower.
IMPERIAL SQUARE
To be built in four stages, Imperial Square will include:
• The 18-level Regal Residences, which will have 145 apartments including two rooftop penthouses, and a four and a half star hotel with 200 suites. Construction is expected to begin in 2021.
• The 48-level Monarch Place.
• The 68-level Imperial Tower.
• The Majesty, a 108-level supertower which will become one of the world’s tallest towers.
It is ultimately expected to deliver more than 40,000 sqm of retail space, 1600 units and create more than 3000 jobs during its construction and operational period.
Cr Tate said he welcomed all ambitious proposals harkened back to the “spirit” of his predecessor, former mayor Sir Bruce Small, who developed the Gold Coast’s famed canal estates in the 1960s.
These man-made creations were profoundly ambitious in their day and remain a marvel in the present, having become the place where many of the Gold Coast’s most desirable homes stand.
“We do the property market very well – where else can you get waterfront homes near the beach or acreages which are all 30 minutes from each other?” he said.
“The lifestyle we have is something the southerners are getting a sniff of and they want to be part of it.
“Going forward, my pitch will be to the young entrepreneurs who I want to attract and brain drain Sydney and Melbourne.
“They will spread out here and help diversify our economy and you will see them shine in the next 10 years.”
An area ripe for future development and business opportunities is the Health and Knowledge precinct in Southport which is being developed around Griffith University, the Gold Coast University Hospital and the former Commonwealth Games athletes village.
Research and development firms are already eying off its offerings, and it is set to become a major manufacturing area in the coming decade, with council offering incentives to bring more businesses to the area.
