Tall & Urban News

Developers Sought for Gold Coast Waterfront “Urban Village”

Gold Coast Photoshop
Gold Coast Photoshop
13 March 2019 | Gold Coast, Australia

A 25-hectare waterfront site approved for an 11-tower village on a Gold Coast floodplain has been brought to market by vendor-diversified local property company JLF Corporation.

The Clear Island Waters site has preliminary approval for 1,550 dwellings from Gold Coast City Council, which includes almost 10,000 square meters for office, retail and a clubhouse, which would deliver a gross realization of more than AU$2 billion (US$1.42 billion).

The area is the last major development site to be approved in the Merrimac floodplain, which Savills sales executive James Stevenson said is “due to the extensive planning measures proposed by the proponent.” The site is owned by a subsidiary of Gold Coast development company JLF Corporation, headed by CEO John Fitzgerald.

“The development team worked closely with Gold Coast City Council’s hydraulic division to provide a flood mitigation solution that creates a five-hectare refuge podium in the event of a 1,000-year flood.”

The master plan allows for towers ranging in height from four to 19 stories, while still retaining more than 80 per cent of the site for parkland, paths and lakes. The approval provides for a gross floor area of 172,658 square meters.

Real estate investment bank Moelis Australia and Savills have been appointed to manage the expressions of interest campaign.

Stevenson said the site offers scope for a developer to create a dynamic “village” in one of the Gold Coast’s few million-dollar suburbs. “Seventy-eight per cent of the suburb is owner-occupiers,” he said.

The Gold Coast known as a holiday destination, but according to Stevenson “data proves the majority of coastal property is owned by investors. We expect the future partner or purchaser will be a master-planned community developer who appreciates the value uplift of integrated amenity catering to an active, wealthy demographic and their specific unmet needs.”

For more on this story visit The Urban Developer.