Ocean nears completion and now Harry’s turning his attention to a second tower at Surfers Paradise

Apartments in the residential and hotel tower are more than 80 per cent sold and Mr Triguboff is now building a second tower on The Esplanade.

Meriton’s “Ocean” development located in Surfers Paradise.

Veteran Sydney developer Harry Triguboff has put the finishing touches to his Ocean apartment tower in Surfers Paradise – the first beachfront development he has built in his six-decade career.

Apartments in the 76-level residential and hotel tower on The ­Esplanade are more than 80 per cent sold and Mr Triguboff is so confident of the enduring popularity of Queensland’s Gold Coast that he is now building a second tower on The Esplanade, to be known as Iconica.

The remaining Ocean apartments still available for purchase are priced from $600,000. This will buy a one-bedder with study but no parking. Two-bedders with no parking cost from $815,000, while two-bedders with parking cost from $1.05m. Three-bedders with parking are priced from $1.67m.

Mr Triguboff said it was difficult to sell the 740-unit Ocean when he first started building the tower, but the residential real estate market had since changed and the people who bought in first had made the most money.

“It’s much easier for me to do the second block (Iconica) because the market is very strong in Surfers Paradise,” he said.

But the developer has learnt that there is limited requirement for one-bedroom apartments on the Gold Coast, and buyers are wealthier and require apartments with car parks.

“Every unit has to have a ­garage, which we did not understand,” he said, adding that it took about four years to build a large tower. “We have learned what the market wants.”

Meanwhile, the $1bn 76-level Iconica is under construction on a $75m corner site on The Esplanade at the northern end of the tourism capital. It will be positioned near a 50-level tower that will be a build-to-rent property for Mr Triguboff’s Meriton group.

The twin towers will take the number of Meriton developments built in the city to 20, spread across Broadbeach, Surfers, Main Beach and Southport. Iconica will have 645 apartments and include oceanfront cafes and restaurants.

Iconica apartments will range from one to four bedrooms, with pricing starting from $500,000.

Work on the four basements for the twin buildings have been under way for five months and the towers are expected to be completed in late 2026.

“The second tower (Iconica) is a beautiful site. There’s nothing like it with a big waterfrontage. But I have problems with the water if I excavate to build the car parks,” Mr Triguboff told The Weekend Australia.

“We have changed the plans for the garages three times. (But) you can do these things in Surfers Paradise. Here (in Sydney) it would be a major catastrophe.

“These units must have garages. People today are much wealthier, they have cars, they need cars to go to work, and for use on weekends.

“We have to stick with what the market wants. I am not the king. The market is king.”