Gurner has revealed plans for a $120-million apartment tower on the Gold Coast after staking a claim in what it is calling “the hottest market in Australia”.
The high-profile Victorian-based developer has put its foot on a beach side block at Burleigh Heads.
It is Gurner's second acquisition on the Gold Coast and a sign that the city is still riding a development boom despite soaring construction costs and land prices.
The 1012sq m site at 1929 Gold Coast Highway is earmarked for a Warren and Mahoney-designed 22-storey tower comprising 80 apartments, featuring Japanese design elements and a Singaporean-inspired outdoor landscape.
It is currently occupied by a walk-up block of seven units.
The latest Gold Coast property play by Gurner—which has a development pipeline exceeding $10 billion—continues a decade-long track record of partnering with leading Australian non-bank lender MaxCap.
“There is no doubt that Burleigh Heads is the hottest market in Australia right now, and it’s a place we have to be in,” Gurner Group chief executive Tim Gurner said.
“We are very excited to be starting 2022 joining forces with MaxCap on such an important acquisition, as we continue to expand our Queensland footprint on the Gold Coast—it’s a market we have great confidence in, and one that will continue to play an important role in our company’s growth.”
The property is down the road from a 2024sq m double-block at 1873-1875 Gold Coast Highway secured by Morris Property Group late last year for $13 million—reflecting a land rate of about $6400 per square metre.
Both holdings were sold through GV Property Group’s Antonio Mercuri, who has transacted 30 development sites on the Gold Coast during the past 12 months in deals ranging from $2.2 million to $27 million.
The sales are expected to deliver a $2-billion-plus development pipeline of residential and commercial projects, including1700 apartments from Broadbeach to Coolangatta.
“Demand is still strong for the Gold Coast and a lot of interstate developers are keen to get their foot in the door up here,” Mercuri said.
“To have a developer of the calibre of Gurner put their name in the mix just reinforces that.
“The foundations are set for the next couple of years … there’s certainly no fear in the market of a complete cool-off but, if anything, maybe just a bit of a levelling out.
“Development sites are getting harder and harder to get … and while I think there is still some left in it in terms of pricing, there is always a line in the sand where developers can’t pay any more because it gets too risky.”
The Burleigh acquisition follows Gurner’s entry into the Gold Coast market in 2019 after it picked up an entire Surfers Paradise block from Ralan Group, which was already approved for 1000 apartments.
It is planning to build four towers up to 57 storeys on the 112 Ferny Avenue site in a $1.25-billion joint-venture with investment house Wingate.
Plans for the Burleigh site are expected to be lodged with the Gold Coast City Council in coming months.
MaxCap executive director Brae Sokolski said the joint venture aligned with the group’s philosophy “to partner with only the highest calibre developers in the Australian market”.
“We have high conviction in the long-term fundamentals of the Gold Coast market and this project represents another important strategic investment by MaxCap into the region,” he said.
