Gold Coast nightclub districts face demolition under twin tower plan
EG Funds says it will deliver twin-tower high-rises and an entertainment district in the heart of the Gold Coast in an attraction uniquely suited to Surfers Paradise.
The funds manager has sought development approval for 71-storey and 55-storey gold towers, designed by Elenberg Fraser, in the centre of the beach city’s entertainment district on Orchid Ave and Surfers Paradise Boulevard.
An artist’s impression of the proposed EG Funds towers at Surfers Paradise. Picture: Stefan Jannides.
Nightclub districts would be demolished and replaced with the major new entertainment development centred on the Wanderlust Pool Club, a podium-level club with bars, pools, dance floor and jacuzzi rooms.
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Around the recreation zone on the 5255sqm site there would be 770 apartments, including 270 for short-term letting, and a 400-room hotel.
EG Funds development director Grant Flannigan says the entertainment, residential and accommodation facilities will be a successful addition to the area.
“We believe Surfers is the perfect place for a development of this type,” he says. “If it can’t be delivered in Surfers, there is almost nowhere else it could be.”
He said the developers will seek to extend the nightclub district into the daytime economy and broaden its appeal.
Flannigan says the proposal is part of the Yield-Plus Infrastructure fund of 17 projects comprising potential development sites that generate yield and are close to infrastructure.
The superannuation-backed fund has owned the site, adjacent to the Gold Coast light rail, for a decade.
“The YPI is a rezoning fund, it does then go on to develop projects and the YPI fund has produced a number of residential projects around Australia,” Flannigan says.
“We’ve got to get through the (development application) process, then we can have more certainty about it.
“The fund has a track record of delivering these projects.”
The development also includes separate residential amenities, a pool club, restaurants, ground-floor shops and a landscaped public plaza.
The Gold Coast has benefited from a boost in public transport and sporting venues with an estimated $2.4 billion in infrastructure ahead of the Commonwealth Games next year.
International developers have also swooped on the Gold Coast, including high-profile Chinese developer Wanda, which reported sales of gross floor area in its $1bn Jewel development had reached 37%. This was up from 31% reported to the end of December.
Rival theme-park operator Songcheng has also invested $55 million in a Nerang site with plans for a major entertainment attraction. It is also eyeing what could become Australia’s biggest land deal, undertaking due diligence on amalgamated cane fields across the city’s north.
Chinese developers Juhe Capital Holdings has acquired land in Hope Island for a 75-unit residential development.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
