Billionaire owners of Surfers Paradise Spirit development site rejected mammoth offer to buy it

The billionaire owners of the “eyesore” site of a failed $1.3bn development have rejected a staggering offer to buy it. Here’s what they had to say about their plans for the dormant Spirit project.

The billionaire owners of the “eyesore” site of a failed $1.3bn development have rejected a staggering offer to buy it and have no immediate plans to build the supertower.

Spirit was supposed to be among Australia’s tallest and most luxurious towers, featuring 479 units and a record-breaking $41m penthouse, rising 89 floors from the centre of the Gold Coast’s busiest beachfront tourist strip.

An artist’s impression of the Spirit supertower. Supplied

No work on the development, on the Surfers Paradise Esplanade, has been done since June 2018, when a six-storey underground wall was installed to prevent flooding in the basement.

While the site’s former owners, Forise, had spent more than $120m before running into financial trouble in China, there’s little evidence of the spend apparent on site.

Battered blue timber hoardings barely hide the rubble-strewn concrete pad, where would-be entrances to the basement appear to have been filled with tonnes of dumped gravel.

The property, formerly home to the Iluka building, was bought by a consortium of investors, including Gold Coast billionaire Ri Yu Li, and others from Hong Kong and Macau for $56.5m in 2019.

Mr Li sold his 10 per cent share to the other partners four months later.

It’s now been revealed a private interstate development company offered around $80m in a bundle which would have allowed the current owners to retain a significant proportion of the apartment stock. The offer, made in 2021, was declined by the owners.

Artist impressions of the Spirit 89-floor tower at Surfers Paradise. Photo: Supplied

A 70 per cent share of the property is held by the Loi family, including Macau casino magnate Keong Kuong Loi and his children Keong, known as Kenneth, as well as Jack, Maggie and Ian Loi.

Kenneth Loi this week said the family was “not looking for publicity” about the site.

Mr Loi said although the property “was never for sale”, an offer had been received and “we turned (it) down, that was the whole story”.

He declined to speak further on the matter.

“If we need to announce our plans, we will run them through our marketing guys,” he said.

Kenneth Loi with actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Sales agent Julian Sutherland, who oversaw marketing on behalf of the previous owners Forise, said the site had become an “eyesore”.

“The site is certainly in one of the most iconic positions on the Gold Coast, being in the heart of the tourist strip, centrally located and right on the beachfront,” he said.

“The previous owners did undertake a considerable amount of underground infrastructure, however, this is not apparent at ground level, so it still presents as somewhat of an eyesore on the tourist strip.”

Mr Sutherland said the rise in construction costs would limit the number of developers looking for large scale sites and had also made off-the-plan apartment buyers nervous.

“The rise in construction costs and supply issues is making feasibility of these projects more challenging than it was a couple of years ago,” he said.

“Buyers are looking for certainty in the marketplace, with smaller projects being more popular due to delivery time frames and certainty of completion.

“It’s a very attractive proposition at the right price, but the owners aren't in any position to have to fire sale the asset.”

The Loi family, headed by casino owner Keong Kuong Loi, also owns the Soul Boardwalk retail and dining centre at Surfers Paradise, which was bought for $90m in 2018.

Mr Loi added Circle on Cavill to his Coast collection for $61.8m in April 2020.

The billionaire casino magnate’s children appear to live an exclusive lifestyle, with photos on social media showing them mixing with big-name sport stars and viewing high-end sport cars.

Members of the Loi family own a majority share of the former Spirit site in Surfers Paradise.

Kenneth Loi with tennis star Roger Federer.

The development approvals for Spirit, originally issued in 2016, have been twice extended and are due to lapse in March 2027.

A Gold Coast City Council spokeswoman said the city had received 21 complaints about the site.

“As a result, City officers worked with the owner to rectify these issues,” she said.

“Works have been undertaken to ensure the matters have been addressed and that the site is maintained in an appropriate manner.”