Niecon Plaza development: $800m towers to replace Broadbeach shopping centre
A famous Gold Coast shopping centre will be razed to make way for a giant $800m twin tower development which will reshape the city’s skyline.
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Construction will begin this year on a giant $800m twin-tower development which will replace the Niecon Plaza.
The Gold Coast City Council this week approved Sydney-based Iris Capital’s giant Victoria & Albert Broadbeach (V & A) a “premium luxury” residential complex.
The towers will be 56 and 40 storeys, with 398 units split between them.
The buildings will also include two levels of office and commercial facilities and a bar and restaurant precinct.
Iris Capital CEO Sam Arnaout said construction would begin before Christmas.
“We’re absolutely delighted that the Gold Coast Council has seen the vision of V & A and how it will play an enormous role in transforming Broadbeach,” he said.
“We were very eager to get the approval to meet our timelines for delivery and we’re now focusing our attention on sales and marketing with the view of a construction start later this year.”
It will be the first high-end residential, retail and dining precinct in central Broadbeach since the Oracle towers more than a decade ago. Niecon Plaza was built in the late 1980s as part of a wave of development which saw the creation of the Oasis Shopping Centre, the Sofitel, Broadbeach Mall and the then Conrad Jupiters Casino.
Colliers’ director Residential David Higgins said the project had been well-received by the market.
“The council has recognised the significance and merits of V & A and also acknowledged the incredible role that the project will play in the city’s cosmopolitan heart."
$800m mega towers to replace Coast shopping centre
September 23, 2021: BROADBEACH’S famous Niecon Plaza will be razed to make way for a giant $800m twin tower development which will reshape the city’s skyline.
The 1980s-era shopping centre once targeted for redevelopment by former US President Donald Trump will now be transformed into Victoria & Albert Broadbeach (V & A Broadbeach) a “premium luxury” residential complex.
Put forward by Sydney-based developer Iris Capital, the Victoria tower will be 40-storeys while Albert will be 30 levels.
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Both will be joined at the base by a two-level podium which will include more than 5458sq m of retail, dining and office space.
“The opportunity to purchase the Broadbeach site was not taken lightly and is in line with what we have been looking for – a multifaceted, mixed-use project with ground-floor activation that complements the vertical village we are proposing,” Iris CEO Sam Arnaout said.
“In my opinion, this is the best site in Broadbeach to deliver a landmark transformative precinct that will be well received by the end-user market and become an important legacy project for the Gold Coast.
“Our plans have been carefully crafted to ensure this will be a destination for everybody to enjoy. With every project we undertake, we like to dive into the DNA of an area and deliver for the end user.
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“V & A Broadbeach will meet those objectives and transform what is already one of the most dynamic and most recognised areas of the Gold Coast.”
The Victoria tower will have 219 units, while The Albert will have 114, all of which will be a mixture of between one and three bedrooms.
Each tower will be topped by a giant single penthouse.
Mr Arnaout said his company had initially considered an expansion into Victoria before being lured to the Gold Coast because of its booming property market.
“The way the market is heading and how buyers have responded to southeast Queensland has definitely driven our decision to expand further north as opposed to Victoria,” he said.
“The onslaught of investment and migration into southeast Queensland, the prospect of the Olympics in 2032 and regional growth over the next decade have certainly changed our strategic focus. For us, it’s a no-brainer.”
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The Niecon Plaza was built in the 1980s by the late developer Con Nikiforides.
There have been several failed attempts to redevelop the site in the past 15 years.
In 2008, developers George Raptis and Larry Matthews were planning a new hotel in Broadbeach on the site of the Niecon Plaza and hoped to attract superstar developer Donald Trump to become a partner in the project.
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The project was to be known as Trump Tower, sharing its name with the Mr Trump’s famous 68-storey New York high-rise which opened in 1983.
The Gold Coast tower was to be 55-storeys, with 20 operated as a hotel by the Trump Organisation and a further 30 levels of apartments.
Mr Trump was even due to fly into the Gold Coast in late 2008 to check out the property market himself ahead of conducting his Think Like a Billionaire seminar.
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He was quoted as saying: “If I do something in Australia, I’d want to have a partner in Australia.”
But just two months before his expected visit the global economy went into free fall, scuttling the deal despite negotiations being well advanced and both parties being close to signing a formal deal.
Ultimately, Mr Trump’s visit was cancelled and the project never went ahead.
Mr Raptis and Mr Matthews pitched a new two-tower project for the plaza site in 2015 which was approved by council.
They sold the site to Iris Capital in July.
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