Gold Coast’s New Supertower Era a Test of Nerves

“The developer will have to be very generous to the builder, or the builder will have to have big balls.”

So says Scott Hutchinson of the realities of delivering a 101-storey dual tower development on the Gold Coast in the lead-up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

Not that the chairman of Hutchinson Builders—Australia’s largest private construction firm—is averse to towering challenges such as the $700-million One Park Lane project, which has been approved for the edge of the Southport CBD.

Having delivered “dozens, maybe 50” highrise projects across the city—as well as the 90-storey Brisbane Skytower—he knows more than most what it takes, particularly under the prevailing industry challenges.

“Things are okay at the moment,” Hutchinson says. “But it’s the calm before the storm … as the Olympics [pipeline] comes on it’s going to explode in 2027-2028, we all know that.

“There’ll be a lot of work around and we don’t know where the costs will go. It’s just whether things blow up or not … these things are all about risk. And once you get over 60 storeys it’s a different animal.”

With a small window of opportunity, the proponents behind what would be the southern hemisphere’s tallest tower are “confident they can get it completed by the end of 2028”, according to a spokesperson.

However, industry sources estimate a 100-storey-plus construction—depending on the size of the basement—would take at least four years.

Early discussions are under way with builders, including Besix Watpac—the Australian arm of one of the consortium of contractors that constructed Dubai’s 828m-high Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.

▲ A rendering of the approved 101 and 60-storey towers at Southport from across the Broadwater.

The vision for One Park Lane was first revealed in August of 2022 by a Melbourne-based syndicate of private investors, headed by developer Anthony Goss and project partner Baracon.

Under the approved plans, the development comprises two slender towers of 101 storeys and 60 storeys rising from a 1507sq m site at 1 and 6 Park Lane, next to the Southport bowls and tennis clubs.

The scheme designed by BKK Architects features a skybridge connecting the two towers with a restaurant, function space and bar.

The largest of the two towers is planned to reach a height of 393.5m, which is well above the country’s two tallest towers—the nearby Q1 (322.5m) in Surfers Paradise and Melbourne’s Australia 108 (318.7m).

Overall, the project will deliver 197 apartments—including a luxury three-storey penthouse and two double-storey sub-penthouses—more than 11,500sq m of office space and 12 levels of basement parking for 426 cars.

Initial site works for One Park Lane are slated to get under way in early 2026.

Soheil Abedian, the developer of the Gold Coast’s 80-storey landmark Q1—once the world’s tallest residential tower and still Australia’s highest building—believes the green light for the Southport project has put the city on the cusp of a new supertower era.

“One hundred per cent without a doubt,” he says. “And I welcome it.

“The progress in the world cannot be stopped. We always will increase whatever we have done in the past to something better and more sustainable.

“And with the shrinking availability of developable land on the Gold Coast, it is inevitable that we go up to accommodate the increasing population.

 “So I believe [One Park Lane] will be good for our city and I hope that they will be successful … nothing makes me more happier than our city progressing on every level.”

▲ A rendering of the sculptural podium of the approved Gold Coast supertower.

But like Hutchinson, he notes that in the two decades since Q1 rose on the Surfers Paradise skyline the development landscape has become a vastly more challenging for such ambitious projects. 

“The technology has become better … so it can be done,” Abedian says. “But the productivity has drastically declined and that is something the developer has to take into consideration.

“Just to give you a comparison, we built Q1—50m down to the rock and 80 storeys up with 570 apartments—and it took us just over three years. Now 20 years later we are doing 37 storeys with 97 apartments and it is taking us three-and-a-half years.

“And with the Olympics coming on board and everything else … you don’t need to be Einstein to calculate the difficulty our industry is facing now.”

One Park Lane development manager Brett Rogers of Baracon says the approval is a major milestone.

“This has been a massive task and process to work through; it’s a step forward not just for One Park Lane but for the Southport CBD,” he says.

“We’ve worked closely with the council, the Queensland Government, neighbouring landowners and the community over a number of years to reach this point.”

Rogers says only three submissions—two backing the project and one technical query—were submitted during the planning process.

“With development approval now secured, we are ready to move to the next phase bringing much-needed housing and jobs to the Gold Coast and setting a new benchmark for quality, community-backed development in the CBD,” he says.

“We’ve seen an overwhelming response from buyers eager to secure their place in Australia’s tallest residential address.”

▲ A rendering of a section of the skybridge connecting the two towers at Southport.

Southport councillor Brooke Patterson says the approval marks an important moment, signalling strong confidence from the private sector.

“This is a bold project that reflects Southport’s evolution as a true city centre,” she says. “One Park Lane will bring new residents and workers into the heart of Southport, helping to create the critical mass that drives local business activity and supports vibrant commercial, retail and dining experiences.

“It’s exciting to see private investment of this scale come forward with a clear focus on design quality, community engagement and alignment with council’s vision for the CBD.

“Now we can look forward to seeing construction get underway in the next few months.”

The site for One Park Lane is across the road from Carey Park, which is earmarked for the proposed $350-million, 12,000-seat Gold Coast Arena, also touted to draw “the eyes of the world” and stimulate investment and development.

Patterson has previously criticised the Queensland Government’s declaration of the Southport CBD and its surrounds as a Priority Development Area 12 years ago, saying it had backfired and led to landbanking rather than delivering on its promise of a “definitive centre for commerce”.

“The PDA has not worked and it will be revised,” she declared outside a council meeting in July. 

Significantly, in a bid to re-activate the precinct’s so-called undeveloped “bomb sites” for urban renewal and break a decade of stalled development, the City of Gold Coast Council is now preparing a raft of planning changes—including cutting the currency period of development approvals from five years to just three years.

“The city is committed to getting Southport to where it should be,” Patterson said. “Southport’s potential will be realised.”