Sundale Motel: Demolition begins on historic Southport building ahead of new tower from developer MRCB

The wreckers have moved in on a historic Gold Coast motel as developers prepare to build a new high-rise on the site. SEE THE PICTURES

The wreckers have moved in on the Sundale Motel, with the historic building set to be replaced by a high-rise tower.

The original two-storey property has been gutted and stripped of its fittings, with heaving machinery now about to pull it down.

It’s the end of an era for the 25-suite motel, which was built in 1969 to coincide with the opening of the nearby Sundale shopping centre — at the time, the state’s largest retail outlet.

The 1743sq m site is now owned by Malaysian developer MRCB International, which is planning to build a 20-storey residential building.

The Sundale Motel in Southport is being gutted ahead of its demolition to make way for a high-rise tower. Picture Glenn Hampson

Plans lodged with Gold Coast City Council in August 2024 revealed the tower, to be known as Twenty Queen, will have 180 units of primarily one and two bedrooms.

It will have “resort-style” amenities including a recreation deck, pool, barbecue areas, sauna and gym.

MRCB, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the publicly listed Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad, has secured design firm Plus Architecture to create the project with a brief to “meet the needs of an under-represented market” and “premium living in a highly sought-after location”.

MRCB bought the motel last year in a deal brokered by Ray White Commercial Gold Coast’s Brad Merkur.

Artist impression of Twenty Queen, a tower proposed by MRCB to replace the Sundale Motel in Southport.

MRCB sales and marketing executive Kevin Zhang said at the time the project “not only aims to attract diverse buyers but also addresses the pressing issue of housing shortage in the region”.

“The Southport development is aimed at capitalising on the prime location, close to Broadwater Parklands with breathtaking waterfront views and easy access to the light rail network,” he said in 2024.

Sundale remained one of the Coast’s most famous landmarks through the 1970s and 1980s before the opening of the expanded Australia Fair in 1990 marked its end.

The Sundale Motel in Southport is being gutted ahead of its demolition to make way for a high-rise tower. Picture Glenn Hampson

The motel, which sat on the outskirts of the shopping centre, benefited from the trade and in the 1980s was occasionally used by Queensland Police to hide witnesses involved in high-profile cases.

The building remained until the early 2000s and was used as a marketplace before it was demolished to make way for development.

The MRCB plan is the latest attempt to redevelop the site.

Plans were unveiled in September 2015 for a 14-storey tower which was to have 133 units – 61 with one bedroom, 54 with two bedrooms and 18 with three bedrooms.

The project was put forward by the site’s then-owner, Real Properties Qld, which bought it for $4.5m.

Its sole director was Paradise Waters resident David Dickson Spankie who moved to sell the site in mid-2019.

Originally published as Sundale Motel: Demolition begins on historic Southport building ahead of new tower from developer MRCB