Gold Coast real estate: Surfers Paradise Westpac Bank site sells for $12m
A prominent central Surfers Paradise site next to a proposed giant go-karting racetrack has sold for $12m, with its new owner revealing what he plans to do with it.
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Brian Mirfin, the man behind the reverse-bungy attraction in Surfers Paradise, has bounced next door and bought a bank site for $12 million.
Mr Mirfin, who in 1969 came to Australia as what he terms a ‘10-pound Pom’, has become the landlord to the Westpac Bank branch on the corner of Surfers Paradise Blvd and Cavill Ave.
The rent is $1.627 million a year, so the annual return on the Mirfin investment is 13.55 per cent.
Mr Mirfin yesterday said he saw the bank property as a good longer-term investment.
“I found a bank that would lend me money – Westpac,” he said.
“I’m a great believer in Surfers Paradise and in Cavill Ave.
“The tourist capital always will be busy.”
Mr Mirfin has spent $17 million in the past few years building up a near-1800sq m holding in Cavill Ave and also has a lot fronting Beach Rd.
His reverse-bungy, or slingshot, attraction abuts the two-level Westpac building, which is on an 804sq m site.
The property has been sold by a company owned by Toorak resident David Waters, founder of the Sunburn clothing label, which bought it for $6 million in 2003.
Westpac owned it until 2001 and carried out a major refurbishment in 1994.
Mr Mirfin has the bank as a tenant until late 2026.
“In 2024 I’ll look for a new tenant or find some other use for the property.”
The area, is set to undergo a dramatic transformation, with the bungee attraction expected to expand to include the two-storey Paradise Karts track.
It will be built on a site lodged between Surfers Paradise’s Cavill Ave and Beach Road as part of an expansion of the existing Slingshot facility.
According to plans lodged by Bribri Holdings, the complex will operate from 7am to 2am seven days a week and will feature a track which will run the electric-powered racers.
The Slingshot has operated at the site for two years and both attractions will share the facility.
The plans show the Cavill Ave frontage will feature a three-dimensional kart appear to break through the glazing above the street.
It will transform a long-empty bomb site in the centre of Surfers Paradise which was once home to the infamous “Biker Bar” and other nightclubs such as Bamboo, The Beach and The Mansion.
During its time as the Biker Bar it as considered a magnet for gangs before its closure in 2006.
It later became a haven for homeless people before being demolished.
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