Confidential documents show council has $50 million offer on the table for Bruce Bishop car park and transit centre
A secret $50 million offer being weighed up by city councillors for a prime Surfers Paradise site can be revealed. Read the surprising conditions of sale.
Gold Coast
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The City has a shock new offer on the table of $50 million from a consortium to buy outright the much-debate Bruce Bishop car park and Surfers Paradise transit centre.
The contract is contained in a confidential legal document.
Councillors have been emailed privately and must now make a decision.
This is arguably the Gold Coast’s best prime commercial site of real estate. It’s owned by ratepayers but the decision to keep it will be up for review by the new council in October next year.
In July this year during council debate it became clear the longevity of the car park and its 1600 car parks remained uncertain.
In the meantime, emails sent out to Mayor Tom Tate and his councillors show a south east Queensland-based consortium with overseas financial backing is hovering.
The timing of the offer has much to do with the Gold Coast emerging as a contender for the staging of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The email says the revenue to council from the sale would be $50 million. This reflects an earlier purchaser offer of $48m in 2018 and $50m during the latest tender process held last year.
Of the $50m in the latest offer a “voluntary contribution” for social and community facilities worth $40m will be made during development of the site, which could take years.
The consortium in the offer promises it will increase parking by 300 per cent, create parks for free periods, retain the transit centre tenancies and help “revitalise Surfers Paradise”.
This is a buzz word around council. In February, councillors agreed to fund an immediate $40 million revamp for Cavill Mall.
But they baulked on funding the entire $138m revitalisation project for Surfers Paradise.
The kicker in the private offer is providing Commonwealth Games stimulus.
This involves allowing the media and officials to be based at the new tower – the consortium is aiming for 94 floors – and a commitment to the building of 1250 housing units for athletes.
How will this play out?
A super majority of councillors recently supported spending $200,000 on investigating a town hall style entertainment venue at the transit centre.
But the consortium says an entertainment centre is part of the tower plans.
City of Gold Coast CEO Tim Baker is expected to bring this latest offer back to council where councillors discuss it behind closed doors.
A council insider says: “Council made a decision not to sell the car park. That’s the current recommendation on the books. The advice is that the CEO will likely bring this latest offer back to councillors.”
Some councillors, aware they face election early next year, are not keen to sell a public asset. But they also, on being briefed on the cost of fixing the car park, might not be keen on paying out that sort of ratepayer money.
“The report on maintenance does not paint a pretty picture. This latest offer may be too attractive for councillors not to ignore,” the council insider says.
This will be the toughest final decision of this council and it must be made before Christmas
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