ASF Consortium unveils plans for 66-storey gold tower on Gold Coast

THE consortium behind multi-billion plans for Wavebreak Island are planning to build a multi-million golden super tower in the heart of Southport.

GCB Artist impression of The Au, a high-rise project planned for Southport's Park Lane by ASF Consortium.

THE consortium behind multi-billion plans for Wavebreak Island are planning to build a multi-million golden super tower in the heart of Southport.

ASF Consortium, through the company Gold Coast Development (No. 8) Pty Ltd, has submitted a development application to the Gold Coast City Council for The Au, a two-tower development featured a 15-storey mid-rise and a 66-story super tower.

The larger tower, which is the third tallest development proposed for Southport, would be “enveloped in gold glazing to differentiate it in the context of other existing proposed towers in the vicinity”.

Artist impression of The Au, a high-rise project planned for Southport's Park Lane by ASF Consortium.

According to planning documents “tests on the glazing demonstrate that it takes on different tones depending upon the viewer’s and sun’s position and will vary from gold through to light blue and light green to create an ethereal quality”.

ASF director David Fang is Gold Coast Development (No. 8) Pty Ltd’s sole director and it has owned the land since 2011.

Mr Fang was unavailable for comment last night.

The Park Lane application was submitted to the Council on March 18, the day before the council elections.

According to plans it would feature 694 apartments including 1087 bedrooms through a mixture of studio, 1,2,3 and 4 bedroom apartments in a mixture of Permanent residential and serviced apartments.

An artist’s impression of The Au, a high-rise project planned for Southport's Park Lane by ASF Consortium.

Because it sits within the Southport Priority Development Area (PDA) it is virtually certain to get approval from the council, however area councillor Dawn Crichlow said she would put the project under the microscope.

While excited by the proposed development, Cr Crichlow said protecting the amenity of the area was her primary concern.

““I have spoken to the officers about it and I want to protect the Southport Bowls Club from any shadow that could be caused by the building,” she said.

“I think it would be an interest project for the area but at the moment I want to make sure it stacks up first.

“But if ASF want to put their casino there I would certainly support that.”

Bowls club president Graham Mee said he had no in-principle objection to a high-rise next to its grounds.

Southport Bowls Club members Barry Young and Susan Legge on the greens. Photo: Mike Batterham

“When a previous developer was looking to build on the site they did lots of shadow testing and they were expected to give us some compensation as a compromise, including new water tanks,” he said.

“We have no issue with high-rises as long as there is some compensation for the potential impact.”

According to documents filed with the council, the larger tower has been designed to hark back to the early 1950s/1960s motel architecture and is described as a “marriage of abstracted modernist historic reference with the organic”.

Its name comes from an abbreviation for Australia and the atomic symbol for gold on the periodic table of elements.

The site already held approval for a 49 storey tower from a 2013 application.

There would be 474 car parking spaces,

The mixed-use precinct would replace an existing carpark site without affecting the adjacent Westpac Bank or Little Theatre.

The project’s proposed site is just metres from Queen Street which earlier this year was dubbed “The Golden Mile” because of five high rise projects worth more than $1 billion either approved or proposed during 2015.