Billions of dollars worth of Gold Coast developments planned to beat Games hangover
RESORT and residential towers will be the Gold Coast’s post-Commonwealth Games hangover cure, with the development industry set to deliver more than $6 billion of projects after 2018.
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RESORT and residential towers will be the Gold Coast’s post-Commonwealth Games hangover cure, with the development industry set to deliver more than $6 billion of projects after 2018.
The developments planned for sites between Southport and Broadbeach will create at least 11,000 construction jobs.
Business and building industry figures are banking on the projects — as well as the Coast’s robust tourism industry — to help the city avoid a long-feared major economic downturn following the April 2018 Games.
Leading the charge is the multi-billion Star of the Sea block, which has scope to transform the former historic Catholic convent site into major hotel, residential and retail precinct with picture-perfect views of the Broadwater.
The site has capacity to be as large as Surfers Paradise’s $1 billion Jewel and could dwarf Southport’s existing high-rises.
Gold Coasters got an idea of what could be built there this week with leading development designer DBI posting its first concapt image for it on Facebook.
The idea shows three potential supertowers of at least 60 storeys and is just one way the site could be developed.
City and business leaders say the project could represent thousands of new jobs and a $1 billion economic shot in the arm.
Gold Coast Combined Chamber of Commerce president Martin Brady said large-scale developments including Star of the Sea, the $3 billion ASF integrated resort and the third tower at Jupiters Casino would help arrest fears of a Commonwealth Games “hangover”.
“The economic legacy of these games will be part of its great success and we will have projects such as this and the Coomera Town Centre up north in the pipeline which will be a major boost, along with the Health and Knowledge Precinct,” he said.
“This will help us avoid the hangover which has occurred with other games and these projects, like the athletes village, will be built into the Gold Coast’s DNA.”
Several major projects already underway, including the $1 billion Jewel complex, $1.2 billion Spirit tower in Surfers Paradise and Jupiters’ second tower, will all be completed between late 2017 and 2019.
Master Builders Association Gold Coast regional manager John Duncalfe said the timing of the construction would allow many of the workers already building the new towers to move straight to the next developments.
“There is no doubt these will bring more people and more jobs in,” he said.
“With those new jobs coming on-stream while others such as Jewel are coming off it would be fairly good timing and if it comes off I think it will be perfect.”
Few details are known about the Star of the Sea project, with its developer, the China-based Huixin Real Estate Group, currently seeking a partner to build on the site.
An international marketing campaign is set to begin in China next week.
Huixin already holds preliminary approval to build a complex on the 1.61ha site and recently expanded its holdings to take in a series of buildings at the intersection of Nerang Street and Gold Coast Highway.
City leaders have been briefed on plans for the site, with Mayor Tom Tate declaring the concept design to be “world class”.
UDIA Gold Coast president and architect Finn Jones said the project, the largest proposed for Southport, was the result of a “slow burn” in the suburb since it was declared a priority development area (PDA).
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