Southport ‘hole in the ground’ sold by Cienna Group to new buyer with development plans

A huge change is coming for Southport’s most infamous “bomb site”, which was once owned by INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence. FIND OUT MORE

Southport’s most infamous “bomb site”, once owned by INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence, has sold, with its new owner vowing to finally develop the land.

The giant 4400 sqm parcel fronts Nerang, Young and Garden streets and has sat empty for 35 year, sold to an undisclosed buyer for more than $15 million after a bidding war with three parties.

The deal, brokered by Ray White Gold Coast’s Brad Merkur, is yet to go unconditional, with the site expected to settle later this year.

“There were three serious contenders, all of whom were quite close,” he said.

“The party who purchased it is intending to develop it, they are not at all a landbaker.

“It’s in Chinatown, it will deliver a big uplift for the are and when the developer is done, there will be a big upside for Southport’s CBD which will get moving again.

The giant empty hole in the ground on the corner of Southport's Young Street and Regent Lane. It's sat empty for more than 30 years. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“It’s great to see some action in Southport and on the back of the sale of the Sundale Motel site, there is plenty happening.

We are getting a lot of offers.”

The site had been owned by developer Cienna for more than 20 years, having spent more than $7m across two deals to secure it.

The company secured preliminary approval in 2015 for a twin tower project which would have seen an 88-storey supertower and a 40-storey high-rise built in the heart of Southport.

However nothing came of the project.

Mr Merkur earlier this year said Cienna was selling the site to focus on its Sydney holdings.

The site’s connection to Mr Hutchence only became public after he was found dead in a Sydney hotel room in late 1997.

The musician and father of one’s death was later ruled by the NSW Coroner to be a suicide by hanging.

Michael Hutchence with singer Kylie Minogue.

In 1998, months after his death, Hutchence’s secret multimillion-dollar Gold Coast property portfolio became public after an investigation revealed the singer was technically bankrupt at the time of his death.

The investigation revealed Hutchence had initially been believed to have spent $2.25m in January 1994 to buy 378 Marine Parade, Labrador home of the area’s longstanding Paradise Lanes bowling alley, a 2281sq m, four-bedroom house on the Isle of Capri’s La Spezia Court and the Southport site.

By the time a legal battle was resolved nearly a decade later, his Coast portfolio was valued at more than $10m.

Cienna development, an 88 storey/40 storey two-tower development planned for Southport

The potential redevelopment of the long empty site will be music to the ears of city leaders who are pushing ahead with a new masterplan for Southport.

Mayor Tom Tate and area councillor Brooke Patterson are pushing for it to be completed by early 2026.

One critical focus the masterplan is expected to address is the lack of development and the number of “bomb sites” littered throughout the suburb.

Developers and city leaders have long been disappointed by the lack of major projects completed in the decade since Southport was given Priority Development Area (PDA) status by the state government in the hopes of kickstarting billions of dollars in major projects and jobs.

Cienna development, an 88 storey/40 storey two-tower development planned for Southport

Instead, some developers gained council approval for development applications to lift the value of the site, before selling.

“Hindsight dictates we should have done a masterplan back then when we did the PDA,” Mr Tate said at the time.

“At the time I thought the market would dictate the amount of development and investors would have fun with it but what actually happened was that once the land owners got an increase in the value of their sites without doing anything, they didn’t go ahead.”

Originally published as Southport ‘hole in the ground’ sold by Cienna Group to new buyer with development plans