$800m mega towers to replace Gold Coast shopping centre

$800m mega towers to replace Niecon shopping centre

Words: Andrew Potts Producer: Bianca Mastroianni

Broadbeach’s famous Niecon Plaza will be razed to make way for a giant $800m twin tower development that will reshape the city’s skyline.

The 1980s-era shopping centre will be transformed into the Victoria & Albert Broadbeach, a “premium luxury” residential complex.

Put forward by Sydney-based developer Iris Capital, the Victoria tower will be 40-storeys high while Albert will be 30 storeys.

The two towers, comprising 333 units, will be joined at the base by two-storeys of retail, dining and office space.

Iris CEO Sam Arnaout said his company was initially considering expanding into Victoria before being lured by the Gold Coast's booming property market.

“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."

There have been several failed attempts to redevelop Niecon Plaza including one in 2008, that developers had hoped to win Donald Trump's backing.

The Gold Coast tower was to be 55-storeys, with 20 operated as a hotel by the Trump Organisation, and a further 30 floors of apartments.

Mr Trump was set to fly out to the Gold Coast in 2008, but when the global economy went into free fall, the project was scuttled.