Palm Beach development: Every new tower on light rail stage 4 route
Palm Beach is being reshaped by 16 towers in the pipeline, which property experts say is just the start of the development revolution. SEE THE INTERACTIVE TOWER MAP
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A BILLION-dollar corridor of tower developments at Palm Beach is set to reshape the seaside suburb and future light rail route.
The southern Gold Coast suburb has been at the epicentre of the city’s red-hot property market, which has seen vacancy rates fall to record lows, with just 45 units available for sale in the March quarter.
Despite vehement opposition from some locals to both the tram extension and increased development, property industry figures say the current wave of 16 proposed tower projects, which stretches from the banks of Tallebudgera Creek to Currumbin Alley, is just the tip of the iceberg.
Veteran real estate expert Mark Witheriff, of CBRE, said Palm Beach and the southern suburbs surrounding the future tram route were highly sought-after by buyers based in Sydney and Victoria because they offered a better lifestyle and a dramatically lower price point than the southern capitals.
“The shift is already happening and not just in Palm Beach, it’s in the property which is stretching south all the way to the border and there is no doubt that this evolution will continue,” he said.
“Given there is such a narrow corridor between the water and hinterland where people want to live, there is a clear need for this kind of development, while the height limits are not the same as those of Surfers Paradise, so they are greatly desirably for modern living.
“The schools down there are top-class and the people coming here are not just the retirees of the past – it’s families who are looking to buy a great home or apartment and I think we are in a better state right now than at any other time in my career because the fundamentals are strong.”
A Bulletin investigation this month found there are nearly 120 tower projects either under construction, approved, on the market or before city leaders awaiting a green light.
Of these, about half were filed with the council this financial year. Surfers Paradise (18 projects), Palm Beach (16), Broadbeach (14), Burleigh (13), Chevron Island (12) and Main Beach (seven) are the busiest suburbs for development.
Despite a cooling real estate market and dramatically increasing material costs, applications to build tower projects continue to flood into the council weekly.
These projects, as well as the expected increase in development along the route which will come with the tram extension, have fired up strong opposition from vocal residents and area councillor Daphne McDonald who are say Palm Beach’s village atmosphere is being lost.
They argue that council, state and federal leaders should instead focus on extending the heavy rail to Gold Coast Airport.
But leading Social researcher Mark McCrindle argued that units were the future as the only way of sustainably coping with the dramatic population increases.
Mr McCrindle said this week’s census data revealed there had been a significant shift towards the Gold Coast, with the population swelling by 70,000 in just five years.
“In a fast-growing nation, the Gold Coast has grown 12 per cent, way ahead of the national average of 8 per cent,” he said.
“What I have found remarkable is the question of where to accommodate these people and the answer is apartments.
“The apartment market is the future and the demand is far greater than the supply.”
An apartment essentials report by property consulting firm Urbis released earlier this month revealed a slowdown in the property market in the first months of 2022 had failed to translate to more supply.
The report states there is just 3.3 months of supply remaining if new apartment projects on the Coast were not launched. This is up from 2.3 months of supply earlier this year. The report reveals 377 units sold in the first three months of 2022, down from 742 during the same period in 2021.
Southern suburbs between Mermaid Beach and Coolangatta had their slowest sales quarter in five years, with just 27 sales.
However, the report noted this was because of an extremely limited number of units, with just 67 on the market during the three-month period.
However land on the Palm Beach light rail route has also seen values increase by 75 per cent in just two years according to state government land valuation data released in April.
A report by the State Valuation Service revealed the significant increases in Gold Coast land values were “due largely to overall confidence and strong demand throughout the property sector”.
“An increase in interstate migration and investment, a shortage of available stock, and low interest rates have all contributed to land values increasing,” the report said.
“The multi-unit residential lands, especially within prime waterfront localities, have increased significantly.
Gold Coast developer Stephen Harrison, who is chairman of the Gold Coast Light Rail Business Advisory Group, said Palm Beach was attractive to both buyers and the construction sector.
“Historically it was undervalued and today it still represents great value compared with other areas like Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise and particularly Burleigh, which is now the most expensive suburb per square metre in terms of land,” he said.
“This is what is driving the Palm Beach market activity – you can get land which is large enough to get a building on at a price which the project will still work within.
“It reflects that people want to buy near the beach. It’s a lifestyle choice.”
EVERY PALM BEACH TOWER REVEALED
Project: Cabana Palm Beach
Location: 1 Nineteenth Ave
Developer: Ignite Projects
Status: Construction
Details: Nine storeys, 30 units
Project: East Palm Beach
Location: Corner of 23rd Ave and Gold Coast Highway.
Developer: Bluepoint Property
Status: Construction
Details: Nine-storeys, 33 units.
Project: Perspective 488
Location: 488 The Esplanade
Developer: Sherpa
Status: Presales
Details: Seven storeys, 11 units
Project: Palm Beach Residences
Location: 10-12 Brooke Ave
Developer: Grassy Knoll Projects
Status: Construction
Details: Eight storeys, 80 units.
Project: Siarn
Location: 460 The Esplanade
Developer: Cru Collective
Status: Construction
Details: Nine storeys, 17 units.
Project: The Monroe
Location: 124-126 Jefferson Lane
Developer: Lacey Group
Status: Presales
Details: Nine storeys, 33 units.
Project: Akuna
Location: 39 Jefferson Lane
Developer: Ryan Stokes
Status: Approved
Details: Nine storeys, 13 units
Project: The Collective
Location: 1128 Gold Coast Highway
Developer: S & S Projects
Status: Before council
Details: 22-storeys, 193 units.
Project: Beach House Palm Beach
Location: Corner of Twenty First Ave and Gold Coast Highway
Developer: Dorr Family
Status: Approved
Details: Nine storeys, 40 units
Project: Hemingway
Location: 1267 Gold Coast Highway
Developer: Hirsch & Faigen
Status: Construction
Details: 12 storeys, 78 units
Project: Esplanade
Location: 474-476 The Esplanade
Developer: Pask
Status: Presales
Details: Nine storeys, 16 units.
Project: Eva on Tenth Avenue
Location: 1214-1220 Gold Coast Highway.
Developer: Chippendale Group
Status: Presales
Details: Nine storeys, 48 units
Project: Villea Palm Beach
Location: 26 Mawarra St
Developer: Abadeen Group
Status: Presales
Detail: Eight storeys, 69 units
Project: Northshore
Location: 1486-1496 Gold Coast Highway
Developer: Marquee Development Partners
Status: Presales
Details: Nine-storey, 93 units
Project: Unnamed tower
Location: 1409-1411 Gold Coast Highway
Developer: Paul Spina
Status: Before council
Details: Eight storeys, 41 units.
Project: Perspective Nexus
Location: 949-953 Gold Coast Highway
Developer: Sherpa Property Group
Details: 14 storeys, 34 units.
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Originally published as Palm Beach development: Every new tower on light rail stage 4 route
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