Broadbeach’s Niecon Plaza to be demolished for V & A $1bn twin towers in suburbs largest project
A $1 billion twin-tower project that will change the face of a Gold Coast visitor hub is on the cusp of going up, with a top Aussie builder in charge.
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Construction of a $1 billion twin-tower mega project in central Broadbeach will begin within weeks after one of Australia’s largest building companies was appointed to the project.
Just months after taking over several of fallen builder Condev’s Gold Coast developments, Descon Group Australia has been picked to build Iris Capital’s V & A (Victoria and Albert) on the site of the former Niecon Plaza.
Demolition has begun on the landmark 1980s complex to make way for the towers, which will be 56 and 40 storeys respectively and have 399 units.
Project manager Graham Goldman said the development was progressing despite the economic headwinds.
“This is a significant milestone for V & A and we’re excited to be collaborating with Descon Group on this major mixed-use project,” he said.
“We’re maintaining momentum in a market where supply is struggling to meet demand, and V & A is one of the few major projects to be breaking ground in the heart of the Gold Coast.”
Despite serious economic headwinds, the rising cost of building materials and supply chain issues, Sydney Iris Capital boss Sam Arnaout said he had fast-tracked the project after the sale of more than $200 million of units in six months.
“Descon will be bringing our vision to life, and this is an exceptional result for our project and purchasers,” he said.
Construction is expected to take nearly four years and the first residents are expected to move in before January 2026.
Iris Capital claims the project will create more than 400 jobs during the construction phase.
It will be the first high-end residential, retail and dining precinct in central Broadbeach since the Oracle towers more than a decade ago.
Descon, which at one time was going to build the Orion Towers, a 103-storey superpower project in Surfers Paradise, took over several of Condev’s projects after its collapse in March, including Allure at Chevron Island, the Brooke Residences at Robina.
Descon Group Director Greg Sneeden said the company had a “strong balance sheet”.
TUSSLE OVER DEVELOPMENT’S KITCHEN SINK
A tussle is underway between two developers over money spent on, among others things, a kitchen sink – it could even be two kitchen sinks.
The upshot could be that one of the battlers is out of pocket for more than $900,000.
The players, in what has become a court issue, are companies linked to Kiwi developer Danny Andrews and a newer Gold Coast arrival, Sam Arnaout’s Sydney-based Iris Capital.
The ‘scene’ is an Albert Ave street-front tenancy in Broadbeach’s Niecon Plaza which, as of last July, was bought by Iris arm Iris Broadbeach Property as part of larger tranche acquired for $58.5 million.
Iris is planning a $1bn million venture called Victoria & Albert on its holding.
Before the arrival of Iris, Andrews entity Beach House Broadbeach leased space fronting Albert Ave from the plaza’s then owner, a company owned by late seafood king George Raptis’s family.
The lease of the tenancy, which came with a mezzanine area, was for one year, with two one-year options at an annual rent of $71,875.
The Andrews company, in a claim before the Supreme Court in Brisbane, says the lease started in December 2020.
It says it undertook a fit-out of the space to create a showroom and retail sales office to market oceanside apartments.
Andrews Projects, at that time, was marketing a top-shelf Broadbeach building called Beach House.
It says a fraction over $1 million was spent fitting out the Niecon Plaza space using builder Hutchinsons.
The lease was transferred to Iris when it bought the plaza.
The Andrews company’s claim says that on August 12 last year an option to extend the tenancy by another year was exercised.
Two weeks later the company was notified that its lease was being terminated early to allow for demolition of the plaza, with the lease ending on March 4.
The Beach House Broadbeach claim against Iris is for fit-out compensation of $911,000 or, alternatively, $909,000.
Iris Broadbeach Property, which today has a V & A sales suite on the Albert Ave street-front, is fighting the claim.
In its defence tendered to the court, its arguments include that the lease terms were not complied with when Andrews ‘purported’ to exercise its option and that Andrews was not entitled to compensation for chattels it could remove.
The shop fit-out included two kitchens, toilets, a shower, airconditioning, an office and a meeting room.
No date has been set down for a hearing.
The Andrews group appears to have had a fair inkling that it was going to get its marching orders from Niecon Plaza.
The day after the termination notice was given, the group, via company My Vespa, scooted across the road to buy a two-level office building for $6.07 million.
Both the Andrews and Iris businesses have become major players in the Gold Coast apartment tower scene.
Sixty-year-old former Wellingtonian Danny surfaced prominently in Southport in 2016 with the $64 million Allegra tower.
His private family company – daughter Sarah and son Jordan are in the team – has since forged ahead with luxury towers at Broadbeach and, latterly, with Dune, being built at Main Beach.
The penthouse in Dune is under contract at $16.5 million.
Iris, founded in 1995, owns a chain of Ibis hotels and is undertaking a four-building development in the heart of Newcastle.
Its Broadbeach buy took in the Niecon Plaza, Niecon Tower (not to be demolished), and two Albert Ave office buildings.
Last September it spent $18.6 million to snare ageing beachfront building The Premiere on Garfield Tce in Surfers Paradise.
Iconic plaza to be demolished for $1bn twin towers
DEMOLITION of Broadbeach’s Niecon Plaza will begin next week to make way for a giant pair of $1bn twin towers.
Internal works to clear out the complex have begun before the wrecking ball goes through the 1980s-era landmark for the construction of V & A (Victoria and Albert), the suburb’s largest individual project.
Despite serious economic headwinds, the rising cost of building materials and supply chain issues, Sydney Iris Capital boss Sam Arnaout said he had fast-tracked the project after the sale of more than $200m of units in six months.
“We are in final discussions with a builder and we expect to have this locked in by mid-August so we can get underway,” he said.
“We have spent a lot of time ensuring a project of this scale was deliverable in the current climate and we are proud to today be embarking on the first major construction milestone.”
The towers will be 56 and 40 storeys and have 399 units.
Construction is expected to take nearly four years and the first residents are expected to move before January 2026.
Iris Capital claims the project will create more than 400 jobs during the construction phase.
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 by leading developer Bill Nikiforides as part of a wave of development that brought the Oasis Shopping Centre, Sofitel, Broadbeach Mall and Conrad Jupiters Casino.
Colliers residential director David Higgins said the strong sales had exceeded expectations given the current market conditions.
“The project has been exceptionally well-received by both the local and interstate market,” he said.
“Many buyers have been enticed by the project’s proximity to key lifestyle amenities and the ground-floor activation, which is set to reinvigorate the heart of Broadbeach with a world-class retail and dining precinct.
The demolition of the complex is the latest twist in the site’s history, with several failed attempts to redevelop the site in the past 15 years.
In 2008, developers George Raptis planned a new hotel in Broadbeach on the site of the Niecon Plaza and hoped to attract superstar developer Donald Trump to become a partner.
The project was to be known as Trump Tower, sharing its name with Mr Trump’s famous 68-storey New York high-rise which opened in 1983.
The Gold Coast tower was to be 55 storeys, 20 of which would operate as a hotel by the Trump Organisation and 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.
“If I do something in Australia, I’d want to have a partner in Australia,” Mr Trump said at the time.
But 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 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. It was approved by the council.
They sold the site to Iris Capital in July 2021.
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Originally published as Broadbeach’s Niecon Plaza to be demolished for V & A $1bn twin towers in suburbs largest project
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