Gold Coast development: Aquis boss Tony Fung’s luxury Surfers Paradise towers approved by council

Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung has been given the green light to build a giant two-tower beachfront residential project in Surfers Paradise. See inside.

HONG Kong billionaire Tony Fung has been given the green light to build a giant two-tower beachfront residential project in Surfers Paradise.

The Gold Coast City Council has approved plans by the Aquis business mogul to turn the ageing Pacific Point mid-rise on Ferny Ave near Narrowneck into The Minnette, a 31 and 26-storey residential complex to capitalise on the booming property market.

Council quietly checked off the high-end project under delegated authority during the Christmas period.

Artist impression of the Sky courtyard at The Minnette.

Aquis and its partner, Landsec, will take the project to the market in coming months before beginning construction.

Greg Benneworth, Landsec’s managing director, said The Minnette would have a focus on “exotic, tropical architecture and secret gardens”.

“A key focus was to design expansive residences which each wrap around a central, landscaped courtyard that all overlooks the beach,” he said.

Artist impression of The Minnette, billionaire Tony Fung's residential towers now planned for Surfers Paradise.

“These lush, green sanctuaries separate living and sleeping areas and help create a sense of calmness within the living environment”.

The northern tower will have just 30 full-floor residences plus a two-level penthouse while the southern tower will feature 26 levels of two units per floor.

Mr Fung began buying up the Pacific Point site in early 2016, amalgamating it at a cost of $24m.

Hong Kong-based billionaire, Tony Fung. Picture: Marc McCormack

In December that year Aquis announced plans to build a $440m hotel overlooking Main Beach with five-world-class restaurants, 500-plus rooms and a wraparound pool with ocean views sitting on a glass-encased podium.

But while approved by council in 2017, the project did not get off the ground and in 2018 the site was quietly listed for sale. The sale was cancelled and the project turned into a residential project in late 2021 once the property market rebounded.

An infinity pool in the tower.

Council planning boss Cr Cameron Caldwell said the Surfers Paradise foreshore was undergoing a significant change, with a raft of projects on the drawing board from prominent developers, including Mr Fung and Meriton’s Harry Triguboff.

“We welcome this project which displays high-quality design with an iconic beachside location,” he said.

It has been designed by Woods Bagot.

Massive tower to dwarf Broadbeach fast food giant

PLANS have been unveiled for a new tower in the heart of Broadbeach.

The unnamed 22-storey tower is earmarked for a 602sq m site on the corner of Australia and Jubilee Aves, directly behind the Ampol service station and Broadbeach McDonalds.

It has been put forward by developer AM38, headed by Pakistani-born Biggera Waters resident Mian Ali Hamid, 46.

It will replace a single-storey residential house.

According to documents filed with the Gold Coast City Council, it will have 27 units, including 20 with three-bedrooms and seven with four bedrooms.

The tower will also have a three-level basement carpark with 37 spaces.

It comes nearly three years after the most recent proposal to redevelop the site.

In late 2019, council approved a proposal for Monarch Two, a 13-storey tower which would have had just 14 units.

It is the latest in a flurry of activity in Broadbeach, with more than $1bn worth of towers currently under construction, including Star’s $450m Epsilon, Sunland’s 272 Hedges Ave and Little Projects’ Signature.

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Originally published as Gold Coast development: Aquis boss Tony Fung’s luxury Surfers Paradise towers approved by council