Mixed-use high-rise tower development planned for Bruce Bishop carpark after Gold Coast City Council sold for $48m

EXPECT to see a very different-looking Bruce Bishop Carpark site after the Gold Coast City Council sold it to a property developer and parking operator for $48 million. Insiders reveal what will happen. TAKE THE POLL

THE move by a prominent Hong Kong-based developer and one of Australia’s biggest car park operators to buy the Bruce Bishop car park for $48 million has been hailed a “shrewd move”.

The deal, cloaked in secrecy, was secured yesterday when the Gold Coast City Council voted six-two in favour of the sale to Care Park and its majority shareholder Far East Consortium (FEC).

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Bruce Bishop carpark. Photo: Supplied

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The Gold Coast Bulletin understands there will be no immediate move to redevelop the car park.

However, it is eventually expected to be transformed into a mixed-use tower incorporating a hotel, residential units and retail offerings.

Despite being mooted as a potential site for a casino, sources last night told the Bulletin that was unlikely given FEC’s links to The Star and more than $1 billion worth of projects on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

The purchase of the car park was hailed by both business and city hall figures last night a “shrewd move” as it would block any developer from buying the prime site and putting the city’s second casino on it.

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“It’s definitely a shrewd move — it means any potential casino can be ruled out from that site. It’s not going to happen there,” a source told the Bulletin last night.

“FEC are primarily developers but they also are a carparking business.”

Far East Consortium, founded in Hong Kong in 1972, is well-established in Australia as a property developer.

Its Australian headquarters are in Melbourne where it has three large-scale developments on the books.

FEC holds a 4.9 per cent share in The Star and has partnered with it to develop the $3 billion, multi-tower Queen’s Wharf integrated resort in Brisbane, and the $400 million, 54-storey The Star Residences at Broadbeach.

The Star Residences will break ground this year.

The Gold Coast development, a mixed-use residential and hotel complex, is due to break ground this month.

FEC is also developing mixed-used projects in Sydney and Perth.

Representatives from Care Park and FEC were unavailable for comment last night.

The Bulletin understands FEC is “bullish” about the Gold Coast property market and has been looking to buy up more land in the city as part of a long-term investment strategy.

“They aren’t just buying this to save it from another casino, they have been open (in some quarters) about bullishly pursuing the property market here on the Gold Coast and they have been looking for commercial properties to do deals — big parcels of land,” a high-placed source said last night.

Artist impression of 2007-era proposal by Portberg Property for $850 million, 101-storey twin towers project on the Bruce Bishop Carpark site in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast

“Do not be surprised to see more land being bought up.”

Figures close to the deal say they expect the site will remain a car park for at least a decade, with Care Park one of Australia’s largest private parking companies.

Council has spent more than $8 million to solve Bruce Bishop car park’s longstanding issues with concrete cancer.

Artist impression of 2008-era design for redeveloped Bruce Bishop Carpark

“FEC could do a mixed-use development on the site and keep most of the car park,” a figure close to the deal said last night.

Care Park, based in Melbourne, operates more than 300 private car parks across Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and other countries, employing 200 people.

Its most prominent sites include the Melbourne Cricket Club, Queen Victoria Markets and Grand Chancellor Hotels.

This project fell by the wayside following the financial crisis.