Brisbane developer Graya has won approval for Ripple, its first foray into the luxury Gold Coast apartment market.

Graya founders Andrew and Rob Gray in partnership with Mike Walsh spent about $3 million buying up two of the eight units in the existing building about 18 months ago at 2 Palm Beach Avenue at Palm Beach.

The Plus Architecture-designed 19-apartment tower includes two ground floor terrace-style beach houses and two penthouses with private rooftop terraces, plunge pools, and multiple entertaining spaces.

The 45m beach frontage and orientation of the building will furnish each apartment with panoramic views along the coastline, according to Rob Gray. 

“Palm Beach still has a suburban beachside community feel,” he said.

“It has a unique charm and a slower pace of life that many people find appealing. You just don’t get that on the northern end of the Gold Coast.”

▲ The penthouses will feature private plunge pools, while a communal pool will be on the ground floor overlooking the beach.

Gray said the area had only recently developed the amenity required to attract the high-end apartment buyers. 

“The southern Gold Coast now has some of Queensland’s best restaurants, cafes, bars and recreational offerings all within a short distance.”

The design of the building has also been heavily influenced by the beach, according to Plus Architecture, with the design aesthetics of the facade encompassing wave-like design features.

The plans also included a sauna, barbecue area and a pool overlooking the beach at ground level.

But the Graya team will turn its shovels to another project down the road first.

▲ Graya will launch the Kloud project to market this year off the back of strong levels of enquiry, according to Andrew Gray.

Co-founder Andrew Gray said they would break ground on the nearby Kloud development on Jefferson Lane at Palm Beach first, with a release pitched for mid-2023.

“Kloud will be the first of our bespoke unit developments released. It has an appealing price point for beachside apartments and has received a huge amount of interest,” he said. 

“The Ripple site has an existing unit block on it that is well tenanted and used for holiday bookings, so we have flexibility around when we commence that development.

“We build all our own projects, so we had to choose one project to focus on first. The market’s response to Kloud has given us the confidence to push forward now.”

Meanwhile further north the Koichi Takada-designed boutique residential tower planned for Burleigh Heads has also been approved. 

Devine Group’s 18-storey high-rise would comprise 28 three and four-bedroom apartments on a 1012sq m site at 216 The Esplanade.

A two-storey block of eight units would make way for the slender tower on the site, with plans for a communal recreation facilities and one apartment on level 1, two apartments per floor on levels 2 to 12, three whole-floor apartments on levels 13 to 15, and two double-storey apartments on levels 16 and 17. 

“The distinctive design of the building and its sculptural features are intended to position the building as a landmark in this visually prominent location and in turn as a catalyst to encourage higher quality development in the adjoining area,” the architectural design statement said.