City ticks off on 18-level tower with affordable units to transform southern coastal village
An 18-level tower – originally planned as a 12-storey building – has been approved by council in the heart of Palm Beach, cementing the height for future buildings in its district centre.
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
An 18-level tower has been approved by council in the heart of Palm Beach, cementing the height for future buildings in its district centre.
A super majority of councillors at a planning committee on Tuesday backed a recommendation from officers for approval of the tower called Flourish on Sixth. Only Peter Young and Dan Doran voted against.
Palm Beach councillor Josh Martin, while continuing to support low and medium density in the suburb’s residential zone, said it was responsible town planning to support the project.
“I’ve always recognised that the Palm Beach centre zone – its CBD – being different to that low to medium density that I’ve been fighting to protect,” he said.
Mr Martin said he was “not jumping up for joy” about the height.
But he said there were genuinely affordable units in the project which locals had bought, and the tower boasted great features like a communal rooftop.
“It’s not the luxury interstate or rented or empty luxury apartments,” he said.
Mr Martin said a refusal of the project would expose ratepayers to a likely court appeal.
“I’m not about flushing ratepayers’ funds down the toilet,” he said.
The Sherpa Property Group had updated its original plans with council from 12 to 18 levels. The previous height limit was 14 storeys.
The developer’s rethink was sparked by the Planning and Environmental Court’s decision to overturn council’s refusal on another earlier separate high rise project – an 18-level building on the neighbouring The Collective site.
Flourish on Sixth will be the third 18-level building in the area after the City approved the tower by developer Changfa on the corner of Gold Coast Highway and Palm Beach Ave.
Planning committee chair Mark Hammel said an amalgamation of sites in the right area had led to not just a good-looking building but one which delivered more dwellings “at a more affordable price point”.
“To hear Councillor Martin’s point that there are existing Palm Beach residents choosing to buy in this development, that’s a great outcome,” he said.
Only two properly made objections were made against the project – a record low for Palm Beach. Some single bedroom units will cost around $600,000.
The site is within the Palm Beach district centre, west of the Gold Coast Highway covering five street blocks, from Eight Avenue to Fourth Avenue.
The District Centre contains a mix of shops, offices, commercial and personal services and houses – most only one to two storeys in height.
Coastal centres are “generally afforded taller building heights than inland centres”.
The proposed building height of 58.95 metres would still provide a level lower than the higher order centres located along the coastal strip at Broadbeach and Coolangatta, officers wrote.
Officers in considering architectural merit believed the tower would be a bonus for the coastal skyline emerging from Burleigh to Coolangatta.
“The proposed development would contribute to a varied skyline, by reason of it having a different height to other buildings in the surrounding locality,” they wrote.
“The development would contribute to an ordered skyline because it would provide additional building height at a logical location within a District centre.
“From an architectural perspective, the proposal will result in an ordered skyline where the tallest buildings are anticipated to be located in the centre zone, with building heights taller than the surrounding medium density zone.”
More Coverage
Originally published as City ticks off on 18-level tower with affordable units to transform southern coastal village
The Fisher message that convinced star to perform at GC festival
Popular UK DJ Chris Lake says he is “itching” to get back to the Gold Coast, as he shares how Fisher convinced him to perform at his hometown.
Election candidate called terror boss ‘my leader’
A federal election candidate standing in a Gold Coast seat described the man who ordered the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel as “my leader” and pledged to “continue your path”.