Edo Mapelli Mozzi: British Royal unveils plans for $250m Main Beach development on Gold Coast
Main Beach residents have labelled a tower pitched for their suburb by an international property tycoon closely linked to the British Royal Family as “totally inappropriate”. SEE THE PLANS
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MAIN Beach residents have labelled a tower pitched for their suburb by an international property tycoon closely linked to the British Royal Family as “totally inappropriate”.
Britain-based developer and interior design company Banda, headed by Princess Beatrice’s husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi, has unveiled plans for the “seven-star” building, which will be built on Main Beach Parade.
The Masthead Ocean Club tower will be 37 storeys and will be built in a joint venture between Banda and Australian businessman Rory O’Brien who bought the site in 2019.
Main Beach Association leader Sue Donovan said the project did not fit in with the suburb.
“The reaction from Main Beach residents is that we don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” she said.
“The idea of pushing a minor royal on this is so ludicrous, not to mention plans for cigar and whisky rooms and other totally inappropriate accoutrements for the Gold Coast.
“More seriously, people are extremely concerned about a 37-storey tower being built which would absolutely destroy the character of the area.”
‘Golden triangle’: Why royal developer is targeting Main Beach
A DEVELOPER with close links to the British Royal Family want to build a $250m “ocean club” high-rise tower on the Gold Coast
Britain-based developer and interior design company Banda, headed by Princess Beatrice’s husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi, has unveiled plans for the “seven-star” building, which will be built on Main Beach Parade.
The Masthead Ocean Club tower will be 37-storeys and will be built in a joint venture between Banda and Australian businessman Rory O’Brien who bought the site in 2019.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2023, with the first residents expected to move in by late 2024.
Mr Mozzi, who is building developments in London, New York, Doha, San Salvador, said the Gold Coast has been selected for the company’s first Australian project because of its location.
“This northern end of Main Beach is an incredible proposition. It has the beach and Broadwater on the doorstep but is also adjacent to 140 hectors of Spit parkland, which for me is reminiscent of the open space of Hyde Park in London and this really resonated,” he said.
“We had been looking for the right opportunity to bring us to Australia and Masthead is absolutely the project we’ve been waiting for.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be designing and creating in Australia.”
Mr Mozzi dubbed northern Main Beach, as the ‘Golden Triangle’ “for its proximity to
premier lifestyle destinations. The Southport Yacht Club and Superyacht Marina, Main
Beach Surf Club and Spit parklands”.
The tower is expected to feature 28 full-floor units, including a penthouse, two sub-penthouses and five ‘sky homes’.
The starting price for units is expected to be $5m.
It is earmarked for a Main Beach Parade site which also fronts Stafford and Cunningham avenues.
It is directly across the road from the Lark site where prolific developer Spyre Group had planned a 18-storey tower.
The centrepiece of the tower will be its exclusive “ocean club”, which will take up two floors and 650sq m.
Its features will include a “sophisticated wine and champagne lounge, whiskey and cigar room, private dining space, coffee bar, sky high library and business meeting areas”.
Mr O’Brien and Mr Mozzi will both hold membership in the club, with the later to serve as its honorary chairman.
The joint venture will retain units in the tower.
Mr O’Brien, who has built projects in Sydney, Los Angeles and the Whitsundays, talked up the project’s luxury features, which he said would exceed other high-end towers pitched for the Gold Coast.
“This isn’t your average luxury beachfront development - the planning code has now changed so there will be nothing quite like it in the future,” he said.
“Masthead Ocean Club will be in a class of its own, dedicated to servicing the unique lifestyle demands of the world’s most discerning residents.
“We have carefully exploited the unique east west axis so owners can see the sunrise over the pacific and set over the mountains of the Hinterland. These views are preserved in perpetuity and will never be built out.”
It is the latest in a series of new tower projects pitched for the suburb in recent years that set off a wave of opposition from Main Beach residents.
The Main Beach Association has consistently called for the council to slow the wave of development in the area, arguing its infrastructure could not cope with the significant population increase.
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