Zupp’s ‘Gift’ to the Gold Coast Shifts Up a Gear

Up to 170,000 cars pass it everyday, which is somewhat fitting. Just off the Pacific Motorway halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the wheels are still turning on a $100-million-plus vision of the late John Zupp. The former Queensland king of the car dealers-turned-property player passed away aged 93 years in August. But his entrepreneurial spirit not only lives on but is shifting up a gear at Ormeau. The family-owned Zupp Property Group has filed plans for the next development phase of Interciti—Zupp’s brainchild business and innovation park in the Gold Coast’s northern growth corridor. With plans to accommodate almost a dozen or so low-to-midrise commercial buildings, the masterplanned precinct spanning 7.3ha is testament to the instinctive foresight, business acumen and community mindset that made Zupp a household name as a car dealer back in the 1970s and paved the way for his subsequent success in the property sector. The latest planned addition to the precinct is a flagship six-storey, A-grade office building—its largest so far—comprising a gross floor area of 5106sq m above two basement carparking levels. ▲ The late John Zupp, the former king of the car dealers-turned-property player who passed away aged 93 in August. It is earmarked for a 3500sq m site at 7 Zupp Drive—a new purpose-built road the company has constructed through the middle of the Ormeau holding as part of its Interciti masterplan. “You’ve got to have that vision,” Zupp Property Group chief executive Neil Ferguson says. “Or you just wouldn’t have places like Interciti. “No one would have regarded Ormeau as a traditional office precinct but we ’ re now actually serving that role and it will continue … the growth all around, it ’ s just enormous out that way. “John was always a big supporter of the Gold Coast and Interciti was his real gift to the city in a lot of ways. “Not a lot of people are willing to build anything except residential on the Coast but with the city’s growth people also have to have somewhere to work. “And that was always John ’ s view—that if we could take a risk and build something that people were excited to work in, that helps the Gold Coast community.” Zupp grew up on the Darling Downs and after leaving school worked with his motor mechanic father before the family bought a service station and moved to Ipswich. He established a small car dealership on an adjoining lot in 1948 and from there built an automotive empire as Big John Zupp—the man who would trade in “any old iron”—and known for its yellow elephant logo as well as catchy TV commercials. ▲ Zupp Property Group chief executive Neil Ferguson and the original landmark cylindrical buildings at Ormeau site. However, in 2007, Zupp took a detour into property development and investment after selling his chain of 32 franchises—that operated from 18 sites around Queensland, employed almost 800 staff and sold more than 18,000 vehicles a year—to what is now Eagers Automotive. In an interview with this reporter about a decade later, Zupp said: “Part of owning successful dealerships is to buy good quality properties. There was no reason for me to sell the properties … so I kept them. They gave us a great head start in the property business.” Zupp secured the Ormeau holding—spread across two titles at 270 Lahrs Road and 29 Eggersdoff Road—in 2014 with a winning bid of $8.325 million, after a number of deals fell over prompting the mortgagee in possession to take the property to auction. For years, its three existing cylindrical buildings sat partially complete and dormant, resembling an abandoned James Bond movie set and becoming a landmark for thousands of commuters. Originally developed by a local businesswoman for her “nutraceutical” manufacturing company and a naturopath school, Zupp poured $6 million into a major refurbishment and repositioning of the buildings, laying the foundation for his visionary Interciti business and innovation park. Within two years, the facility’s 3617sq m of office space and 3913sq m of technical/production/warehouse space was fully leased and work began on developing the balance of the Ormeau precinct. Since then, two new buildings have come out of the ground—a four-storey office building at 1 Zupp Drive and a two-storey commercial and retail building at 31 Zupp Drive. ▲ Renders of the six-storey office building proposed for the Interciti precinct at 7 Zupp Drive, Ormeau. “We’re building to meet the market,” Ferguson says. “We’ve never had any problem leasing up the space. It’s now a proven estate and the market’s there to support this next stage and several stages after that.” Initially, the plan was to invest $100 million in the masterplanned development, which was granted preliminary approval in 2021. But according to Ferguson, with at least 11 buildings now pencilled in on its precinct blueprint, the investment will “well exceed that by the time we’re done”. He says the latest building proposal at 7 Zupp Drive will be “a significant spend”. “It will be the biggest building in the precinct for the moment and we want it not only to set the standard for the northern part of the Gold Coast but the city as a whole.” If all goes to plan, construction is expected to begin early next year with De Luca Corporation tapped to deliver the project. The design concept for the building has been drawn up by architecture firm DesignInc. Its scheme comprises 15 tenancies across five office levels, featuring ground and top-floor landscaped outdoor terraces with barbecue facilities as well as 119 onsite carparking spaces, end-of-trip facilities and bike storage. ▲ One of the Interciti precinct ’ s buildings that have become a commuter landmark. Overall, the design intent is to provide “integrated, flexible, and innovative workspaces … to attract new businesses to the Gold Coast”. “This is a design to support local identity and make a positive contribution to the image of the Gold Coast,” an architectural statement said. In the wake of Zupp’s passing, his daughters, Toni and Terri, are now sharing the driver’s seat of the family business and continuing their father’s legacy. Ferguson says discussions with various parties are already under way with regard to future development within the Interciti precinct. Much of the demand for space to date has been coming from Brisbane’s southside, the Gold Coast and particularly the nearby Yatala industrial area. “So far, there ’ s been a bias towards office and a little bit of professional office/retail,” he says. “But the vision also has always been to have services that really cater for the young and dynamic population of the surrounding growing and thriving community.” And while Big John Zupp is sadly missed, he is fondly remembered and—as he would have wanted—his family company is “just getting on with business”. So, if you feel the urge, honk your horn as you drive past the Ormeau precinct to celebrate the life of a beloved Queensland dealmaker and visionary. You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

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