Sydney developer buys Paradise Resort to build $1 billion apartments at Budds Beach site

A SYDNEY developer tipping the Gold Coast to be a property star has brushed aside major Chinese players to buy the Paradise Resort for about $75 million.

Liam Hopkins, 11, and Bianca Hopkins, 10, from Forest Lake in Brisbane enjoy the water park at the Paradise Resort in Surfers Paradise. Pic Tim Marsden

A SYDNEY developer who is tipping the Gold Coast to be an Australian property star during the next decade has brushed aside major Chinese players to buy the Paradise Resort in Surfers Paradise for about $75 million.

William O’Dwyer, who heads the Ralan Group, intends to develop more than 1500 apartments on the site during the next five years.

He said yesterday the project, likely to start later this year, would be worth more than $1 billion.

The 380-room Paradise Resort, which has four street frontages, sits on a 2.49ha Budds Beach site.

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Dan and Sam McVay, of McVay Real Estate, sold the property on behalf of owners the Zagame and Pellicano families — a deal that comes on the heels of the McVays selling Broadbeach’s Oasis shopping centre for $103.5 million.

The Melbourne families bought the resort for $38.9 million in 2010 and spent $8 million improving it.

Sisters Simone Barry and Nicole Barry splash in the water park at Paradise Resort. Photo by Richard Gosling

Sam McVay yesterday said Mr O’Dwyer’s group beat a number of contenders to the winning post with “a very straight and clean deal”.

He said the resort’s strong cashflow — it was marketed as earning close to $4.5 million a year — influenced Mr O’Dwyer.

“We had a lot of interest, including a whole range of Chinese buyers — two of them big players,” Mr McVay said.

“One of those players had 20 people staying in the resort for four nights as part of their homework.”

Mr O’Dwyer said Ralan had built thousands of apartments in Sydney during the past few years, including throughout the GFC.

“I pride myself on my due diligence,” Mr O’Dwyer said.

“It’s shown the Gold Coast is one of the most compelling property opportunities available and will experience the most exciting growth period of the eastern seaboard during the next five to 10 years.

“The city was hammered during the GFC and was on its knees but it’s very resilient and is poised to ‘get up’.’’

William O'Dwyer of the Ralan Group at their offices in Chatswod.

Mr O’Dwyer, 49, said the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the light rail system were big pluses for the city and he expected a tsunami of tourists from China. “The Chinese will be bigger here than the Japanese were,” he said.

Mr O’Dwyer said the Paradise Resort project would be developed in keeping with an approved masterplan which allowed four towers with up to 1650 apartments as well as commercial space.

“Being able to build in stages makes it far more economical to fund,” he said.

He believed he could build the first two of four towers without having to impact on the existing resort.

The news was welcomed by city planning boss Cameron Caldwell who said the project would be a shot in the arm for Surfers Paradise.