Gold Coast development: Site of proposed Sovereign Islands unit project on the market

The future of a controversial posh three-level project that would deliver Sovereign Islands its first apartments is up in the air.

THE future of a controversial posh three-level project that would deliver Sovereign Islands its first apartments is up in the air.

Work on the waterfront Residences on Royal Albert was to have started in mid-2019 but the project has stalled.

Now the 2566 sqm Royal Albert Cres site, described as being ‘shovel ready’, quietly has been slipped on to the market but the controversy surrounding it isn’t over.

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An artist impression of the Residences on Royal Albert

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The original ‘face’ of the project is out of the picture and, meanwhile, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is on the prowl.

ASIC is mum — a spokesman has reiterated the body’s policy of not discussing any investigation, or even confirming if there is one.

The man who today controls the three-title holding, Mark Murray, says the move to market the land has come after agents told him they had a lot of developers, especially from ‘down south’, looking for sites that were ‘ready to go’.

Also, the prices for development sites had jumped dramatically.

Mark says that if he doesn’t get the price he wants, he’s moving ahead and building the project.

It’s still being marketed and two would-be buyers are in the wings.

Mark’s already very au fait with Sovereign Islands and its values – he and Akiko Sho previously have owned $3 million homes there, one of them in Royal Albert Cres.

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Work was meant to begin on the project in 2019.

The Residences on Royal Albert land, zoned for medium-density housing, was bought for $4.78 million three years ago by company 19 Royal Albert Crescent.

The company was jointly owned by a Murray entity, Sho Development Holdings, and by Chester Property Holdings, a $1 company owned by 39-year-old Guam-born Ian Chester.

Former McGrath property agent Ian at the time was managing-director of the Vested Group and was the initial promoter of the Residences project.

He spruiked it as ‘an exclusive opportunity for the elite and downsizers looking to live like a king or queen’.

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The site has gone on the market.

The Residences was to have two penthouses, two sub-penthouses and four ground-floor apartments, each with its own plunge pool.

The residents were to be looked after by a full-time concierge and each home was to have a marine berth.

The plan, in which the apartments were to range from $2.6 million to $5.3 million, did not sit easy with the owners in the blue-chip Broadwater-fronting Sovereign Islands.

Close to 500 of them signed a petition opposing the project and the city council wasn’t quite a Speedy Gonzales in giving planning approval.

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Sovereign Islands is one of the Gold Coast’s most exclusive suburbs. Picture Mike Batterham

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In March 2019 Ian Chester said a start on the project, beginning with the removal of 5000 cubic metres of sands from the site, was only weeks away.

Ian, who has described himself as an astute property investor and investment manager with a background in banking, finance and corporate transactions, parted ways with Vested in April 2020.

Meanwhile, the chances of the $4.78 million purchase price of the Residences land being recouped look rosy.

One estimate is that if the land is sold off as three housing lots, it could be worth up to $6 million or so.

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