Esprit de Vie: First look at two-tower retirement village on ultra-thin Runaway Bay’s Bayview St

A controversial development on an ultra-thin site “no wider than a cricket pitch” has been dumped in favour of an even bigger project. FIND OUT WHY

A controversial development on an ultra-thin site which was greenlit by the courts after council rejected it has been dumped in favour of two towers.

The project, on Runaway Bay’s Bayview St will become a two-tower retirement village overlooking the Broadwater under fresh plans lodged by Esprit de Vie.

The towers, which will be 22 and 21-storeys respectively, will have a total of 57 units and 134 bedrooms.

It will replace Monaco Property Group’s $130m, 31-storey residential tower which was approved by the Planning and Environment Court after the Gold Coast City Council rejected it.

Artist impression of a proposed two-tower retirement village project on Bayview Street, Runaway Bay. Picture: Supplied

The new retirement facility will be aimed solely at the over-65 market and will by operated by Benowa-based aged care provider Esprit de Vie, headed by Stephen Scotchmer.

The company already has two towers in Mermaid Waters.

“The proposal seeks to establish a new later living development that will deliver high quality independent apartments for downsizers and retirees over the age of 65,” a planning report on the project reads.

“The subject site is benefited by a recent Court-approved development permit for multiple dwelling.

The two buildings will replace a single-tower project previously approved by the Planning and Environment Court. Picture: Supplied

“Moreover, the tower footprint to the east remains comparable to the existing approval, thereby achieving an appropriate, and improved through the significant reduction in height,

built form outcome within the context of the surrounding high-rise environment.”

The Monaco project was to have been the first residential complex to be built since the first crop of high-rises, such as the Broadwater and Bayview towers, went up in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Neighbouring residents have long opposed development of the site. Picture: Supplied

Council rejected the project in 2022, citing concerns from resident who feared the tower was too large and “shoe-horned” into a too-small site.

Monaco appealed the decision, leading to the negotiated outcome.

The court’s shock decision was described as a “gut punch” by Runaway Bay Action Group, chairman Kevan Wolfe who had fought against building the tower on a 120m site he described as “no wider than a cricket pitch”.

“We couldn’t believe it when we heard it and the impact on traffic and the day-to-day living of people in the nearby complexes will be disastrous,” he said in early 2023.