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<p>The green light has been given to a $120-million hotel development at Palm Beach on the southern end of the Gold Coast.</p><p>No hotel operator has been named but the developer is spruiking it as a luxury “first-of-its-kind” hotel in the area.</p><p>It will comprise 126 rooms across six storeys and feature a rooftop pool, gym, spa, and in-house dining.</p><p>Steer Developments —headed by Robert Steer—is behind the 2000sq m project earmarked for a beachside site at 1081-1089 Gold Coast Highway, which is currently occupied by a Centrelink office building.</p><p>“While the northern end of the Gold Coast is flooded with hotels, the southern end is ripe for a luxury offering,” Steer said.</p><p>Palm Beach emerged as a developer hotspot during the pandemic-driven property boom.</p><p>Plus Architecture was tapped to design the hotel development.</p><p>“Being such a significant project, our team took a considered approach to create a standout development in an increasingly discerning market,” director Danny Juric said.</p><div id="5RgGHrXdpgmQczh5E7r7ZI"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/iNhi31r45Q6UYAdwdkGvy/3dedbd5900279c571938ddb09787068b/Untitled_design__97_.jpg" alt="Render of the proposed hotel development at Palm Beach." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/iNhi31r45Q6UYAdwdkGvy/3dedbd5900279c571938ddb09787068b/Untitled_design__97_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Render of the proposed hotel development at Palm Beach.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year with completion slated for the first quarter of 2025.</p><p>“We have always appreciated the Gold Coast’s lifestyle and are excited to contribute to its beauty and make an everlasting impact on the southern Gold Coast,” Steer said. “It’s about the entire experience.</p><p>“Along with Mondrian set to open in Burleigh, the timing is perfect for an additional prestige hotel at Palm Beach.”</p><div id="carousel-root" data-reactroot=""><image-carousel-remove-button><div class="rm-carousel-wrapper"><button id="rm-carousel" class="rm-carousel-btn">Delete</button></div></image-carousel-remove-button><div class="slider-wrap"><image-carousel><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design (93).jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6wlmHBzUpG7TxSaUwTBzKF/958389835b4402dcf8c479babeaedd6f/Untitled_design__93_.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6wlmHBzUpG7TxSaUwTBzKF/958389835b4402dcf8c479babeaedd6f/Untitled_design__93_.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design (92).jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1EWbG3U98g4avyDr1jAoSw/c5e6caf7f0d62ccc8d575d9891c576de/Untitled_design__92_.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1EWbG3U98g4avyDr1jAoSw/c5e6caf7f0d62ccc8d575d9891c576de/Untitled_design__92_.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design (96).jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/mperuXOWC3Nfll3BwvMip/9ae222f10340848b6cbfc6120785285c/Untitled_design__96_.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/mperuXOWC3Nfll3BwvMip/9ae222f10340848b6cbfc6120785285c/Untitled_design__96_.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design (94).jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5bbjOIZ4xi0gwXRHrgtL4/7eddab0346f1ac32079b2bad568c245d/Untitled_design__94_.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5bbjOIZ4xi0gwXRHrgtL4/7eddab0346f1ac32079b2bad568c245d/Untitled_design__94_.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div><div class="slider-el"><img style="height: 100%;" title="Untitled design (95).jpg" src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/34UPOfPrLM9fWOpWkQuT39/60ad06326b89c86cf43396d1a540a30d/Untitled_design__95_.jpg" data-mce-src="http://images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/34UPOfPrLM9fWOpWkQuT39/60ad06326b89c86cf43396d1a540a30d/Untitled_design__95_.jpg" data-mce-style="height: 100%;"></div></image-carousel></div></div><p><br>Vitale Property Group led by Chris Vitale is developing the $450-million, 25-storey twin-tower Mondrian on The Esplanade at Burleigh Heads. It will comprise 84 residential apartments as well as 208 hotel rooms to be operated by Accor and SBE.</p><p>Steer Developments, in collaboration with Brisbane-based Churchill Development Group, is also undertaking the $55-million transformation of the popular Ashmore Seafood and Steak restaurant on the Gold Coast. <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/churchill-development-group-ashmore-markets-gold-coast-approval" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/churchill-development-group-ashmore-markets-gold-coast-approval" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Approval was granted by the Gold Coast City Council last year for the planned two-storey foodie haven</a> to be known as Ashmore Markets.</p>

The green light has been given to a $120-million hotel development at Palm Beach on the southern end of the Gold Coast.

Descon Brooke Residences Condev EDM.jpg

<p>Descon Group Australia has completed one of the projects it took over after the collapse of Condev last year and is nearing completion on another.&nbsp;</p><p>Descon signalled it had finished Brooke Residences in Robina on the Gold Coast after taking over 12 months ago.</p><p>The first residents have now moved into their apartments at the nine-storey, 95-unit residential apartment building, which is part of SPG Land’s $162-million Cambridge Residences precinct.</p><p>The second site it took on after was another Gold Coast project, Allure on Chevron Island, which Descon took on for developer Macquarie York in 2022. It is set to complete in the coming weeks.</p><p>Descon called the Brooke completion an “exceptional milestone” which it achieved with minimal disruption to the original construction program.</p><p>It is also some welcome good news for a sector suffering from fixed-price contracts and growing inflation, driving up the cost of materials and all leading to a maelstrom of insolvencies during the past few months, with <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/risky-business-insolvencies-tipped-to-be-20pc-higher" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/risky-business-insolvencies-tipped-to-be-20pc-higher" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more to come</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Condev <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/crunch-time-inside-the-condev-crisis" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/crunch-time-inside-the-condev-crisis" target="_blank">went into administration in early 2022</a>, hot on the heels of the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/probuild-collapse-the-projects-left-behind" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/probuild-collapse-the-projects-left-behind" target="_blank" rel="noopener">administration of ProBuild</a>, with projects worth up to $1 billion hanging in the balance.&nbsp;</p><p>The quick-fire insolvencies shook the industry and the builder blamed labour shortages, price hikes and major flood damage which led to delays and its eventual collapse.</p><p>At the time it was placed into liquidation, it had 18 projects under construction in south-east Queensland.</p><p>These included <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-starts-construction-arm-post-condev-collapse" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-starts-construction-arm-post-condev-collapse" target="_blank">Aria Property Group’s Rivière project</a> at Brisbane's Kangaroo Point, which was completed in August, One Cannes at Surfers Paradise and Shoreline Queens Beach at Scarborough.</p><div id="30zBWlQEqpb72TxV4v36Dg"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/77dL8TGU6g1JdHJ7jxxxZj/8fc8a096f156d2253617f04cf3291483/In-article__13_.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/77dL8TGU6g1JdHJ7jxxxZj/8fc8a096f156d2253617f04cf3291483/In-article__13_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The future of developments including Shoreline Queens Beach in Scarborough were left in limbo by the Condev’s collapse.<br><br> </span></div></div><p>Descon Group chairman Danny Isaac said the Brooke Residences were sold out and the group was pleased to have been part of the industry response to the Condev collapse.</p><p>“While the significant headwinds in the market are yet to ease, the co-ordinated industry effort in seeing key projects like Brooke Residences completed is ensuring that supply continues to reach &nbsp;the market at a time it is needed most,” Isaac said.&nbsp;</p><p>“The most challenging area of the market continues to evolve around escalating subcontractor costs &nbsp;and lack of reliable supply, and we will continue to manage this during the sector-wide volatility.”&nbsp;</p><p>Descon is also scheduled to complete work on its Southport project Waverley Residences in mid-2023 followed by Akin in South Brisbane.&nbsp;</p>

Two Queensland projects were taken over by Descon Group Australia after their futures were made uncertain following the collapse of Condev last year...

<p>The green shoots of new development are emerging rapidly among the pineapple and macadamia farms surrounding the small towns dotted throughout the Glass House Mountains region north of Brisbane.</p><p>Sprawling rural properties are making way for new residential subdivisions and housing estates as development has ramped up off the back of the pandemic-induced treechange.</p><p>Capitalising on the surge in growth, Cornerstone Group has recently turned dirt on an $18-million healthcare project at Beerwah in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.</p><p>To be known as the Beerwah Health Hub, it will comprise 4000sq m for healthcare services—including general practice, allied health, dental, optometry and radiology—as well as a childcare centre.</p><p>It is the diversified healthcare real estate fund’s sixth healthcare development.</p><p>The other developments include Chermside Health Hub, North Lakes Specialist Medical Centre and Moreton Health Hub in Queensland as well as Canberra Specialist Medical Centre in ACT and Nepean Health Hub in Penrith west of Sydney.</p><div id="7v8JvQ0dc5a7FdoJGdQSKq"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1JiKNH9GqTPoWQ3562fdqy/725afee2f1be2e540ad461a7504190fb/Untitled_design__90_.jpg" alt="Render of Cornerstone's $18-million Beerwah Health Hub under construction in the Sunshine Coast hinterland." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1JiKNH9GqTPoWQ3562fdqy/725afee2f1be2e540ad461a7504190fb/Untitled_design__90_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Render of Cornerstone’s $18-million Beerwah Health Hub under construction in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Cornerstone Group director Simon Heazlewood said he was excited to break ground on the Beerwah Health Hub is an area that “has been underserviced in regards to quality primary healthcare”.</p><p>“Beerwah is strategically located between north Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast in an area where we are seeing tremendous growth,” he said.</p><p>“Our new health hub is primed to bring high-quality services to the Beerwah community, Glass House Mountains, Landsborough and other surrounding hinterland towns, as well as the emerging residential communities of Beerwah East, Aura and Caloundra South.”</p><p>About 70 per cent of the lettable space in the under-construction facility has been pre-committed, including the 105-place, 720sq m childcare centre on the first floor.</p><p>Construction of the Beerwah Health Hub is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Another healthcare project on Bribie Island is due to begin in coming months.</p>

Capitalising on the pandemic-induced treechange, Cornerstone Group has recently turned dirt on an $18-million healthcare project at Beerwah in the Sunshine Coast hinterland…


<p>Plans have been filed for a four-storey mega self-storage complex at suburban Salisbury on Brisbane’s southside as demand for storage space across the country continues to outstrip supply.</p><p>Activity in the sector has ramped up off the back of expanding e-commerce, pandemic-induced lifestyle and work changes as well as US-based real estate giant Blackstone's move into the rising Australian asset class.</p><p>Blackstone acquired Melbourne-based Fort Knox Self Storage in 2021 and earlier the same year purchased the KeepSafe portfolio of self-storage sites in Perth.</p><p>Since then, the country’s two major self-storage players—National Storage and Abacus—have continued to bolster their portfolios to strengthen their positions.</p><p>The development proposal lodged with the Brisbane City Council is for a National Storage facility comprising 908 storage units ranging from 4.5 to 27 square metres.</p><p>It would replace an existing warehouse and showroom on the 6020sq m site at 312 Evans Road.</p><p>According to the development application, the proposal would rise slightly above the site’s 15m height limit but “achieves a built form and scale that is consistent with the envisaged character and existing surrounding context”.</p><p>“The proposal adopts a high-quality architectural style … that will integrate well with the surrounding use over the site,” a submitted planning assessment report said.</p><p>“[It] achieves a well-articulated built form through the inclusion of variations in the building form, recesses, projection and variation in materials, colours and textures.”</p><p>The DA said the opposite side of Evans Road comprised of low density residential zoned properties and a sport and recreation zone.</p><p>“Given this, a self-storage facility is ideal as the proposal provides a built form and buffer to the low-density residential zone and has limited vehicle movement to and from the site,” it said.</p><div id="4SAMwuTGKSepobrIkG9eE6"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7TV0eebYk5UbY66xlE9mJ/713df8579c46ab88215c80afffef058d/Untitled_design__91_.jpg" alt="Architectural drawing of the proposed four-storey self storage facility earmarked for a site at Salisbury on Brisbane's southside." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7TV0eebYk5UbY66xlE9mJ/713df8579c46ab88215c80afffef058d/Untitled_design__91_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Architectural drawing of the proposed four-storey self-storage facility earmarked for a site at Salisbury on Brisbane’s southside.<br><br></span></div></div><p>A state of the industry report released by the Self Storage Association of Australasia in December indicated a surge in demand was driving record performance in the sector but there was still “considerable untapped storage demand”.</p><p>It said the average facility occupancy rate was now sitting at 91 per cent.</p><p>“The state of the housing market, as well as the continued disruption from Covid and the rise in working from home, have led people to seek self-storage as they downsize, declutter, move interstate and make space for permanent home offices,” the report said.</p><p>Brisbane and Perth had been the standout performers during the 12 months to December, with revenue per available square metre per annum (RevPAM) growth of 21 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively.</p><p>“This growth is attributed to the high levels of interstate migration to these markets, underpinned by the affordability and liveability of these cities compared to more expensive southern cities,” it said.</p><p>Across the Australian and New Zealand markets there are now more than 2200 self-storage facilities—an increase of 9.5 per cent during the past two years.</p><p>The report said growth was expected to “normalise in the near term” with changes in discretionary spending and a softer housing market dampening some demand.</p><p>But going forward, it noted several factors—including continued high levels of interstate migration, the return of overseas migrants, an increasing retirement rate and increasing rates of death and divorce—were expected to drive demand.</p><p>“These strong fundamentals are set to underpin the return to stabilised growth,” it said.</p><p>Meanwhile, Abacus also has filed plans for a four-storey self-storage facility on a 5674sq m site at Morayfield, north of Brisbane.</p><p>As well, the property fund manager has moved to create a direct rival to the $2.8-billion National Storage REIT with <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/abacus-files-queensland-plans-as-self-storage-empire-expands" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/abacus-files-queensland-plans-as-self-storage-empire-expands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plans to spin off its Storage King facilities</a> into a $3-billion listed entity to be known as Abacus Storage King (ASK) REIT.</p><p>It would comprise a 127-asset portfolio, including 108 trading facilities with more than 568,000sq m of space and 19 developments.</p><p>Abacus initially acquired 25 per cent of Storage King in 2018 and two years later took full control, paying $50 million for the additional 75 per cent stake of the self-storage landlord.</p>

Plans have been filed for a four-storey mega self-storage complex at suburban Salisbury on Brisbane’s southside as demand for storage space across the country continues to outstrip supply...

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<p>One of Australia’s most prominent resorts, co-owned by Star Entertainment Group and Far East Consortium, has been listed with an asking price of more than $200 million.&nbsp;</p><p>It comes after rumours last year that investors were circling the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort at Main Beach, a Gold Coast pocket luring big investment in 2023 as <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/gold-coast-the-spit-marina-mirage-luxury-development" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/gold-coast-the-spit-marina-mirage-luxury-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the next uber-rich enclave</a>.</p><p>The Gold Coast generally is being touted as one of the hottest hotel investment markets in Australia this year, according to real estate services company JLL.&nbsp;</p><p>Star appointed Sam McVay and Dan McVay of McVay Real Estate, Adam Bury and Taylor O’Brien of JLL, and Karen Wales and Steven King of Colliers to manage an international expressions-of-interest campaign, which closes next month.&nbsp;</p><p>The joint venture is also developing Brisbane’s $3.6-billion Queens Wharf Resort and casino project.&nbsp;</p><p>“Every astute investor with an interest in prime Australian real estate should consider this investment opportunity,” Colliers Australia head of hotels Karen Wales said.</p><div id="01LapkyZuV7LpmDrj2Q9lL"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4NeFOfMe4Zri6SEUE7gxV1/c3fa28d00cc2d370233fff10368b9e29/Sheraton_Mirage_MID.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4NeFOfMe4Zri6SEUE7gxV1/c3fa28d00cc2d370233fff10368b9e29/Sheraton_Mirage_MID.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The property last changed hands in 2017 for $140 million.<br><br></span></div></div><p>The notable Gold Coast hotel is on 3.45ha of land, including a large amount of prized beach frontage.</p><p>Star and Far East Consortium acquired the site for $140 million in 2017, and the Star tipped $40 million of equity into the deal.</p><p>Corporate high-flyer Christopher Skase, who later died a fugitive from Australian law, was the original mastermind behind the building and development in the 1980s.</p><p>The Gold Coast remained one of the fastest-growing regions across Australia, according to JLL executive vice-president of investment sales Adam Bury, and was forecast to hit 1.2 million residents by 2050.</p><p>“Progressive refurbishments have ensured that all rooms and facilities within the hotel remain at the highest of standard,” Wales said of the Sheraton.</p><p>“In addition to these dedicated rooms there are five additional outdoor areas within the hotel grounds, which can hose sizeable cocktail and banquet events.”</p><p>The hotel opened in 1987 with extensive facilities operated by Marriott International under the Sheraton brand.</p><p>JLL reportedly banked $1.93 billion of hotel deals in 2022.</p><p>Last year CBRE tracked 53 hotel transactions valued at more than $10 million—a record number of deals, which was 39 per cent above the 10-year average.</p><p>That momentum has continued into 2023 with the recent sale of the first <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/twiggy-forrest-waldorf-astoria-circular-quay-gold-fields-house-acquisition" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/twiggy-forrest-waldorf-astoria-circular-quay-gold-fields-house-acquisition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Waldorf Astoria </a>hotel to Tattarang property company Fiveight.&nbsp;<br></p>

One of Australia's most prominent resorts co-owned by Star Entertainment Group and Far East Consortium has been listed with an asking price of more than $200 million...

myer centre.jpg

<p>The retail property landscape of Australia’s CBDs is changing forever as the footprint of traditional department store chains continues to contract.</p><p>Certainly, a new shopping era is dawning.</p><p>And if there were any lingering doubts, they have been quelled by the imminent exit of department store giant Myer’s flagship Queensland store from its namesake Myer Centre in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall.</p><p>“Myer has made the decision to depart the Myer Centre Brisbane at the end of its lease in July 2023,” the centre’s owners Vicinity and ISPT said in a statement on Thursday.</p><p>“The decision comes after months of negotiations and follows several store closures around the country as part of its consolidation strategy.” &nbsp;</p><p> In the end, it said, Myer had chosen not to exercise its option for lease renewal closing the door on its 35-year anchor tenancy.</p><p>Myer chief executive John King indicated a suitable deal could not be agreed upon during the renegotiation but flagged that the retailer was seeking to continue to have a presence in Brisbane's city centre.</p><p>“Whilst we remain committed to the Brisbane market, we have been unable to negotiate a reasonable commercial outcome with the landlord and as such will continue to look for an alternative CBD location,” he said.</p><p>With the Myer Centre store spread across four levels—and about half of its lettable floor space—its exit will leave a sizeable hole and the big question now is who or what will fill the void.</p><p>Vicinity and ISPT are remaining tight-lipped on their plans.</p><p>All they are saying is that they are “investigating a number of options” for the centre, including “a downsized contemporary department store and plans without a department store which we can now progress with certainty”.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>“We look forward to delivering a reimagined destination in the heart of Brisbane’s evolving CBD and anticipate sharing our plans shortly.”</p><p>Globally, the landlords of major retail assets have been moving away from traditional department stores as foot-traffic anchors in favour of creating cultural and&nbsp; entertainment hubs with experiential tenants to cater to changing consumer trends.</p><p>Nearby in the Brisbane CBD, a new major luxury shopping precinct is nearing completion at the $3.6-billion riverfront Queen's Wharf integrated casino mega-project. Its three-storey, 6000sq m T Galleria Emporium was due to open last year but construction delays due to record rainfall pushed it back until later this year.</p><p>Among almost 40,000sq m of retail, food and entertainment space planned for the development, it is being delivered as part of a deal struck between global retail giant DFS—part of the Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Group—and Destination Brisbane Consortium, the joint-venture behind Queen’s Wharf.</p><div id="6zA5XV278zmkOfa6XlQJN0"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6Ctr6LkJ5LbFqhT3eGvzAI/ce6df4286a55c9a39518e20fb9756ad5/myer-centre.jpeg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6Ctr6LkJ5LbFqhT3eGvzAI/ce6df4286a55c9a39518e20fb9756ad5/myer-centre.jpeg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ All aboard! The Dragon rollercoaster in the Myer Centre, Brisbane, around the time it was opened, in 1988.<br><br></span></div></div><p>Brisbane’s six-level Myer Centre was built in 1988 and until 1991 it was the country's largest CBD retail development. It has a gross lettable area of more than 63,000 sq m occupied by about 180 retail outlets.</p><p>Superannuation fund-backed ISPT paid $366 million in 2012 for a half stake in the asset at the George Street end of Queen Street Mall. It acquired an additional 25 per cent stake from Vicinity in 2016, taking its ownership share to 75 per cent.</p><p>Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said Myer’s decision to move out of the landmark retail property was “a sad day” for generations of Brisbane shoppers but a great opportunity for the city centre.</p><p>“With the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, now is the perfect time for the centre’s owners to reimagine one of Queensland’s premier retail spaces,” he said.</p><p>"The Myer Centre once had live music on its lower levels as well as a fun park at the top and has always evolved and moved with the times.</p><p>“I think this is a fantastic opportunity for the centre to be reinvigorated into a vibrant, modern retail experience for residents and visitors and I look forward to working with the owners on their future plans.”</p>

The department store giant—spread across four levels—will leave a sizeable hole in the retail property landscape and the big question now is who or what will fill the void...

Sammut Gold Coast Hero.jpg

<p>Sydney-based developer Sammut Group and investor partner Alceon are defying nationwide odds, inking an $11.52-million deal for a full-floor apartment in their yet-to-be-completed 37-storey Gold Coast beachfront tower.</p><p>It’s their second full-floor sale in less than a month after a New Zealand buyer paid $10.75 million for an apartment in February.</p><p>Only seven of the 53 apartments in the $200-million development remain, including an 1140sq m penthouse.</p><p>Lead agent and Highland Property Group chief executive David Highland said marketing of the penthouse would begin soon with the expectation it could bring up to $30 million.</p><p>“If you look at the sales in the past 30 days, they’re the highest square metre rates on the Gold Coast,” Highland told <em>The Urban Developer</em>.</p><p>And that’s where the developer is bucking the trend.</p><p>Tightened monetary policy, rising inflation and interest rates, higher construction costs and a shrinking pool of contractors after the collapse of a string of builders have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/development-site-sales-australia-collapse" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/development-site-sales-australia-collapse">left some developers rethinking</a>&nbsp;their commitment to the area.</p><p>But Cronulla-based Sammut Group pressed ahead with its first Gold Coast project on the beachfront site at 43 Garfield Terrace. It contracted construction giant Multiplex, who expects to complete the tower by early 2025.</p><div id="6YqzexV0TcbZWj4iz76BQ1"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1ZpDxe6mT4ZxOCnKCPfq97/8486ebec2b2c58ce387aa5db1f83dda5/Sammut_Gold_Coast_1__Mid.jpg" alt="For the second time in a month, a buyer has paid more than $10 million for a full-floor apartment in Sammut’s beachfront tower." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1ZpDxe6mT4ZxOCnKCPfq97/8486ebec2b2c58ce387aa5db1f83dda5/Sammut_Gold_Coast_1__Mid.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ For the second time in a month, a buyer has paid more than $10 million for a full-floor apartment in Sammut’s beachfront tower.<br></span></div><div><br></div></div><p>Speaking of the latest full-floor sale, chief executive Allen Sammut said with just a handful of&nbsp;apartments remaining, buyers were recognising the rare opportunity to secure a spot in the&nbsp;highly sought-after luxury development.</p><p>With minimum floor plates of 287sq m and entry-level prices of $5.6 million, the apartments are definitely for the well-heeled and those arguably less affected by 10 straight interest rate rises since May last year.</p><p>Highland said in many cases buyers were looking for a second or third home. Interest had come from Sydney, Melbourne, parts of Brisbane, as far as New Zealand and in some cases, expats wishing to return to Australia.</p><p>“I would say the Gold Coast market is holding up, in some ways better than in parts of Sydney,” he said. “And the fundamentals are that there’s a lot more money that’s gone up there, both through Covid and post-Covid.”</p><div id="3HZDEpH9saWAyHF9kVSxMd"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6LDwCrSdvRoWnz2540qpOw/af9dc2309f495c015ad4b5fc9f1c8f92/Sammut_Gold_Coast_2__Mid.jpg" alt="Selling agents say the Gold Coast property market is staying strong, particularly with high-end apartments and beachfront views such as this one. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6LDwCrSdvRoWnz2540qpOw/af9dc2309f495c015ad4b5fc9f1c8f92/Sammut_Gold_Coast_2__Mid.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Selling agents say the Gold Coast property market is staying strong, particularly with high-end apartments and beachfront views such as this one.</span></div><div><br></div></div><p>Figures released last week by Colliers International support that argument.</p><p>The global real estate services company said its research showed national house prices had fallen more than five times as much as those on the Gold Coast.</p><p>Colliers market overview report indicates Gold Coast’s median house price slipped by $15,000, or 1.5 per cent, to $925,000 at the end of 2022—down from the $940,000 reported at the peak of the market in June last year.</p><p>The modest price drop on the Gold Coast compares with a record fall of 8.4 per cent in CoreLogic’s national daily home value index, from the peak of the market in May 2022.</p><p>Colliers’ Gold Coast director-in-charge Steven King said the latest data, supported by continued growth in the city’s commercial property sector, showed Gold Coast prices were holding firm amid volatile conditions nationally.</p><p>“The latest population forecasts, the strength of the Gold Coast’s employment market&nbsp;and the massive investment in infrastructure across the city is providing the local&nbsp;property market with remarkable resilience,” King said.</p><p>Highland agrees. “The infrastructure is obviously evolving and it’s come a long way from where it was, but it’s now a destination that high-net-worth individuals want to be involved in, both professionally and personally.”</p>

Sydney-based developer Sammut Group and investor partner Alceon are defying nationwide odds, inking an $11.52 million deal for a full-floor apartment in their yet-to-be-completed 37-storey Gold Coast beachfront tower.

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<p>Brisbane City Council has confirmed it will resume 2217sq m of land on the former ABC site at Toowong from Monarch developer Consolidated Properties Group.&nbsp;</p><p>CPG and Qualitas bought up the 1.2ha site at 600 Coronation Drive, in a $35.5-million deal with Sunland in 2021, with an understanding that this resumption would be going ahead.&nbsp;</p><p>The developer kicked off the sales campaign for its <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/consolidated-properties-group-600-coronation-drive-toowong-development-application-approval" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/consolidated-properties-group-600-coronation-drive-toowong-development-application-approval" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$400-million Monarch two-tower riverfront apartment project</a> last weekend.&nbsp;</p><p>The project comprises 224 apartments, which includes eight rooftop penthouses and nine sub-penthouses as well as the renovation of the historic 1865 Middenbury House, which is slated to open to the public as a restaurant or retail offering.&nbsp;</p><p>CPG chairman and chief executive Don O’Rorke said it was disappointing to lose the riverfront land but said they were “committed to supporting the Brisbane City Council in their vision for the green bridge”.&nbsp;</p><p>“It undoubtedly provides a much-needed connection between the riverfront communities of Toowong and West End,” he said.</p><p>While negotiations on the price tag for the resumption of the land appear to be ongoing, it represents a 18.5 per cent portion of the $35.5-million site.&nbsp;</p><div id="4UWaf2FRo5syk7j4lcQpn5"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6XBfSPFHWRSM2MMW1cV4AU/8c988015e7b261b3f8ab3df760a46faf/Green_Bridge_Toowong_MID.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6XBfSPFHWRSM2MMW1cV4AU/8c988015e7b261b3f8ab3df760a46faf/Green_Bridge_Toowong_MID.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The Toowong landing of the green bridge will connect with the expanded Bicentennial Bikeway. </span></div></div><p><br>Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the application for the resumption of the land at the former ABC headquarters would go to the council for endorsement next week.&nbsp;</p><p>“Construction is under way on the Kangaroo Point and Breakfast Creek green bridges, which will be great assets for our city and important pieces of infrastructure during the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Schrinner said.<br>&nbsp;<br>“We put the remaining two West End green bridges on hold after the devastating February flood so we could concentrate on Brisbane’s rebuild and recovery.<br>&nbsp;<br>“However, it is important we secure this part of the former ABC site now, so we are ready to build the Toowong to West End Green Bridge in future with the support of other levels of government.”</p><p>CPG’s sales display suite opened at the weekend and chief operating officer James MacGinley said the repurposed site showcased the riverfront views.</p><div id="KkMRrU58dEbJev0bE29aV"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4IdNYTb2niXMQZD6zk5HHu/fddde09ae0d1cae54e1b77f2c1e88684/Monarch_CPG.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4IdNYTb2niXMQZD6zk5HHu/fddde09ae0d1cae54e1b77f2c1e88684/Monarch_CPG.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Consolidated Properties Group and Qualitas won approval for the Monarch development in July 2022. </span></div></div><p><br>“The sales display building is an amazing asset to have at our disposal and we are very fortunate that such a unique, well-positioned structure exists on the site,” MacGinley said.&nbsp;</p><p>“It will perfectly showcase the display kitchen, bathroom and living areas of the Monarch Residences and most importantly, the incredible river views.” &nbsp;</p>

Brisbane City Council has confirmed it will resume 2217sq m of land on the former ABC site at Toowong from Monarch developer Consolidated Properties Group...

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<p>Brisbane developer Graya has won approval for Ripple, its first foray into the luxury Gold Coast apartment market.</p><p>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.</p><p>The <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/palm-beach-gold-coast-graya-tower-development" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/palm-beach-gold-coast-graya-tower-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Plus Architecture-designed 19-apartment tower</a> includes two ground floor terrace-style beach houses and two penthouses with private rooftop terraces, plunge pools, and multiple entertaining spaces.</p><p>The 45m beach frontage and orientation of the building will furnish each apartment with panoramic views along the coastline, according to Rob Gray.&nbsp;</p><p>“Palm Beach still has a suburban beachside community feel,” he said.</p><p>“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.”</p><div id="3gclszI0bX19QoxtbQcFDE"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6J44Mbl9gtgGxKQIiQibmI/11fcaf16461e97c75f35c0954d79a57d/Ripple_MID.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6J44Mbl9gtgGxKQIiQibmI/11fcaf16461e97c75f35c0954d79a57d/Ripple_MID.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The penthouses will feature private plunge pools, while a communal pool will be on the ground floor overlooking the beach. </span></div></div><p><br>Gray said the area had only recently developed the amenity required to attract the high-end apartment buyers.&nbsp;</p><p>“The southern Gold Coast now has some of Queensland’s best restaurants, cafes, bars and recreational offerings all within a short distance.”</p><p>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.</p><p>The plans also included a sauna, barbecue area and a pool overlooking the beach at ground level.</p><p>But the Graya team will turn its shovels to another project down the road first.</p><div id="42aKpunVnIL7Kzse8yvbWi"><div id="5SkJ5KcByZjjWyoli9swEt"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3pkIYOJbG7yKvMDnTW4daI/fa4c3d22613884adea7b4efdffac7b3e/Kloud_Graya.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3pkIYOJbG7yKvMDnTW4daI/fa4c3d22613884adea7b4efdffac7b3e/Kloud_Graya.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Graya will launch the Kloud project to market this year off the back of strong levels of enquiry, according to Andrew Gray.</span></div></div><div><br></div></div><p><br>Co-founder Andrew Gray said they would break ground on the nearby <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/graya-kloud-palm-beach-gold-coast-queensland-development-application" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/graya-kloud-palm-beach-gold-coast-queensland-development-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kloud development on Jefferson Lane </a>at Palm Beach first, with a release pitched for mid-2023.</p><p>“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.&nbsp;</p><p>“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.</p><p>“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.”</p><p>Meanwhile further north the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/koichi_takada_burleigh_residential_tower" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/koichi_takada_burleigh_residential_tower" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Koichi Takada-designed boutique residential</a> tower planned for Burleigh Heads has also been approved.&nbsp;</p><p>Devine Group’s 18-storey high-rise would comprise 28 three and four-bedroom apartments on a 1012sq m site at 216 The Esplanade.</p><p>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.&nbsp;</p><p>“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.</p>

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

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<p>Plans for a 12-storey build-to-rent apartment tower draped with a “green veil” have been filed for a site opposite a Brisbane shopping centre and close to one of the city’s major hospitals.</p><p>The proposal comprises 130 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, including 15 units designed to cater for residents with disability.</p><p>It has been lodged on behalf of Stalcaire Pty Ltd, an entity linked to local businessman Ray Armitage.</p><p>“The proposal is for an integrated residential outcome, comprising a build-to-rent product inclusive of NDIS-compatible units,” the development application said.</p><p>“The diversity of these apartments provides considerable social benefits to the community.”</p><p>Among the benefits cited by the DA were the provision of increased opportunities for social interaction and inclusion between different user groups, the potential for onsite care and support by family members, the opportunity for increased independence and enhanced quality of life.</p><p>The application proposes a flexible approach to the accessible units “such that they could either be used for NDIS recipients or as mainstream multiple dwelling units”.</p><div id="1ty3DOxSqnwTPJql0hgkKx"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7kg7SkMs5n3DTexZWnE7eq/e19e15d09c950785554007e8a16425c1/Untitled_design__84_.jpg" alt="Render of the proposed 12-storey build-to-rent tower at Woolloongabba." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7kg7SkMs5n3DTexZWnE7eq/e19e15d09c950785554007e8a16425c1/Untitled_design__84_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Render of the proposed 12-storey build-to-rent tower at Woolloongabba.<br>&nbsp;</span></div></div><p>Earmarked for a site spanning 2026sq m across three lots at 62-68 Carl Street, Wooloongabba, the proposed build-to-rent tower would be across the road from Buranda Village shopping centre, close to the Princess Alexandra Hospital and just south of the Gabba stadium precinct, which will be home to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.</p><p>The plans also comprise 510sq m of communal space, including a rooftop garden. As well, there would be 167 carparking spaces.&nbsp;</p><p>“The development is well-timed in terms of other approvals and infrastructure works in the vicinity, including the Buranda Village redevelopment, Hanlon Park redevelopment and, further afield, the recent announcements relating to the plans for the Gabba stadium for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics,” a submitted planning assessment report said.</p><p>“The applicant intends to hold the land for an extended period of time, thereby supporting the proposed build-to-rent accommodation model.</p><p>“Given the applicant’s long-term aspirations their overarching goal is to develop and maintain an outcome that ensures a great sense of community is delivered, well supported and strengthened over time.”</p><p>The Cottee Parker-designed scheme is for a tower elevated on columns to provide an open landscaped ground level and visual urban marker.</p><p>“The building has been carefully curated and considered and the design provides several key benefits to the local community,” the development application said.</p><p>“The landscape design extends the public realm under the building and provides opportunities for shaded communal breakout spaces for residents.”</p><div id="37aPlZZPc7k9mIJwflbHjE"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5eA1Q6dfTK99Wi3n4RuB2z/84b5933edb93e19b78fa0236de4e6945/Untitled_design__85_.jpg" alt="Render of the proposed 12-storey build-to-rent tower at Woolloongabba." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5eA1Q6dfTK99Wi3n4RuB2z/84b5933edb93e19b78fa0236de4e6945/Untitled_design__85_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Render of the proposed 12-storey build-to-rent tower at Woolloongabba.<br><br></span></div></div><p>The tower’s facade also would integrate significant vertical landscaping providing “a green veil that trails down the building and responds to the sub-tropical Brisbane environment”.&nbsp;</p><p>The development aims to respond to Brisbane’s sub-tropical climate, and deliver a clean and sustainable building with the incorporation of solar panels, rainwater tanks. Other energy-efficient best practices also have been incorporated into the tower design to “deliver a clean and sustainable building”.</p><p>Other existing and approved developments surrounding the Carl Street site range in scale from eight to 13 storeys.</p><p>Opposite the proposed development, retail giant Vicinity Centres was recently given the green light for <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/shopping-centre-giant-gets-green-light-for-gabba-transformation" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/shopping-centre-giant-gets-green-light-for-gabba-transformation" rel="noopener">a $750-million transformation of the Buranda Village shopping centre</a>, a multi-staged project including four towers up to 15 storeys with 627 apartments and three commercial towers.</p>

Plans for a 12-storey build-to-rent apartment tower draped with a “green veil” have been filed for a site opposite a Brisbane shopping centre and close to one of the city's major hospitals.

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<p>Diversified property group ID_Corp has unveiled plans to launch a new land lease community venture, Next Living.</p><p>The over-50s gated community product will be rolled out through ID_Land’s existing pipeline across Victoria and Queensland.</p><p>ID_Corp managing director Matthew Belford said Next Living would target downsizers for more than 1000 residences in its first five years on the market at Gisborne and Clyde in Victoria, and Walloon in Queensland.&nbsp;</p><p>Belford said the strategy was to deliver housing options that were affordable across a range of sectors in the property market, and Next Living allowed the company to capture a new demographic within the residential market.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re proud to be launching Next Living and supporting further expansion for the ID_Corp group of companies, while reaching a new audience demographic in the process,” Belford said.</p><p>“The addition of Next Living to our portfolio will complement our existing development, homebuilding and investment divisions, utilising sites within our current pipeline to the deliver our first Next Living land lease communities.</p><p>“Next Living will target downsizers ready to embrace the freedom of land lease community living, in locations that present the opportunity to be close to family members in existing and future ID_Land communities.”</p><div id="2Xq8j4oDvvey3iA2yeusz2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/K87JEj8DNkkCVCN6iIwkv/d20292997ea29b6ebc6c657fd53d79fc/Next_Living_MDI.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/K87JEj8DNkkCVCN6iIwkv/d20292997ea29b6ebc6c657fd53d79fc/Next_Living_MDI.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ ID_Corp managing director Matthew Belford says now is the right time to diversify the portfolio to corner an untapped demographic in the residential market. </span></div></div><p><br>It’s a market that is expected to boom with Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealing that the number of Australians aged over 65 will rise from 18.6 per cent in 2023 to 20.7 per cent in 2033.</p><p>The land lease arm joins ID_Corp’s $3.5-billion portfolio, which also includes property development, construction and funds management.&nbsp;</p><p>Next Living will provide a variety of home builds, residents’ clubhouses, community managers and maintenance staff on site.&nbsp;</p><p>“Since launching ID_Land in 2009, we have never stopped looking for the right opportunities to further diversify our company’s offering in-line with our long-term strategy,” Belford said.&nbsp;</p><p>“Next Living marks the next step in the ID_Corp expansion, and we look forward to officially launching to market.”</p><p>Belford said a key drawcard of Next Living’s projects would be the comfortable, lock-and-leave style living for those ready to enter the next phase of life.&nbsp;</p>

Diversified property developer ID_Corp has added another feather to its cap with the launch of a land lease over-50s product to complement its $3.5-billion portfolio...

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<p>The Brisbane Line was a supposed proposal from a wartime government advocating the surrender of entire swathes of northern Australia in the event of an invasion.&nbsp;</p><p>But the expendability of northern Australia seems to have been a premature idea in more ways than one, given the astronomical growth of cities and industry above ‘the Brisbane Line’ in recent years.</p><p>As other areas of the nation suffer from house price declines and interest rate increases, a focus on onshoring and low house prices mean that northern Australia is becoming a hotspot for developers across the board.</p><p>House prices have proven to be declining at a far slower rate, or not at all, in northern areas of Australia than the rest of the country.&nbsp;</p><p>CoreLogic data for February found that regional Western Australia is at its peak in terms of house prices, and Port Douglas was named number one in regional Queensland with the highest 12-month house value growth of 15 per cent.&nbsp;</p><div id="4gZ7iMIandoBd1OWQE8rYL"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5ODa1rDZKBGMBDh2vwQYfz/4e3e8ea80ca8f1f17d57c3f9ebeb0dae/Enclave_urbex_Cairns_in-article.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5ODa1rDZKBGMBDh2vwQYfz/4e3e8ea80ca8f1f17d57c3f9ebeb0dae/Enclave_urbex_Cairns_in-article.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Urbex’s residential development 7km from Cairns is a 58-lot “green oasis”. </span></div></div><p><br>Urbex Realty general manager Craig Covacich says that while sales volumes in south-east Queensland and Victoria softened 70 per cent, the regions, including Townsville and Darwin, softened by only 20 per cent.&nbsp;</p><p>“Prices have remained stable, and demand has remained constant in both Mackay and Townsville whereas we are experiencing a softening in our enquiry and sale rates and values in Brisbane,” he says.&nbsp;</p><p>Urbex last year made plans for an <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urbex-to-file-plans-for-800-lot-townsville-subdivision" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/urbex-to-file-plans-for-800-lot-townsville-subdivision">800-lot subdivision of 80.27ha site in Townsville</a>, throwing its weight behind the region.&nbsp;</p><p>“We are not experiencing a decline in values in Townsville and Mackay in the new housing market either.&nbsp;</p><p>“At the moment our experience is that regional housing values are holding as the underlying demand is underpinned by a demand to live outside of the capital cities and remote working remaining a viable option across some sectors of the labour force.”</p><h2>Housing</h2><p><br>Cairns was particularly hard-hit during the pandemic as the tourism industry failed, with 9000 tourism jobs and billions lost to its economy. According to the Reserve Bank, a full recovery in tourism <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/dec/the-recovery-in-the-australian-tourism-industry.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/dec/the-recovery-in-the-australian-tourism-industry.html">will not occur</a> until at least mid-2023.</p><p>But this has not stopped developers from investing in Far North Queensland.</p><p>The 56ha Cutters Rise is a major development about 20km south of Cairns at Gordonvale, developed on land belonging to the family of real estate professional Renee Straguszi.</p><p>“Oftentimes we’re the ones suffering up here,” says Straguszi.&nbsp;</p><p>“We missed two property cycles over the last 10 years, so what Covid did for us was bring us up to where the prices should have been anyway.&nbsp;</p><p>“But in comparison to the prices down south, they are still very affordable.”&nbsp;</p><div id="6Qob1SC7TUK3BzZgpaPLqJ"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jnYY2HkifiGg5fAzcOdfj/75ebdf57f39abfd2bb50265abbac99a8/Casa_Mia_in-article_TUD_plus.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jnYY2HkifiGg5fAzcOdfj/75ebdf57f39abfd2bb50265abbac99a8/Casa_Mia_in-article_TUD_plus.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Casa Mia is the retirement living stage of the Cutters Rise development in Cairns's southern corridor. </span></div></div><p><br>Seachange and treechange motivations were key drivers of sales for Cutters Rise during the pandemic and demand has not slowed, Straguszi says.&nbsp;</p><p>“With higher buyer enquiry from locals and a lot of southern enquiries still it’s keeping the market steady. But listings are getting tighter and tighter so not as many people are selling.”&nbsp;</p><p>With the local government spending billions on infrastructure around the southern corridor of Cairns, it’s ideally placed for residential growth.</p><p>“Our smallest lot is 600sq m and we also offer quarter-acre blocks of flat useable land, in an area where there is so much infrastructure going up, new supermarkets, police stations, petrol stations, childcare and we have our retirement project Casa Mia being built as well.&nbsp;</p><p>“The council is very behind Cutters Rise and Casa Mia because there hasn’t been a lot of major development in the southern corridor for many years.”</p><div id="6TKNe4lpeCipdzIMunYE6c"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1bCtXieJzVpU5doH9x3pGY/b80a34bd60c83a9c2bc00c5560e1ae4c/Cutters_Rise.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/1bCtXieJzVpU5doH9x3pGY/b80a34bd60c83a9c2bc00c5560e1ae4c/Cutters_Rise.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Cutters Rise is on former farmland belonging to the Straguszi family, who acquired it for sugar cane in 1935. </span></div></div><p><br>Straguszi says that at the launch of stage one of Cutters Rise in 2020-21, the sales team were “inundated” with enquiries.</p><p>“I don’t think we’ll see much of a decline in sales prices here in Cairns, it will stay steady and it’s all dependent on the person buying the property and what situation they’re in. We’re seeing record sales in apartments in Cairns, extremely low vacancy rates, there is a housing shortage.”&nbsp;</p><p>According to the data from CoreLogic, Cairns house prices have risen 0.5 per cent month on month, and 4.1 per cent over the past 12 months.&nbsp;</p><p>This is in comparison to Brisbane inner-city’s 0.7 per cent monthly decline and 7 per cent decline over the same 12 months.&nbsp;</p><div id="YBkyoLyhNrP3DXEjUXEFE"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jxh24KSLo02T062pVZDBI/8544525e89d822c23a548f42dda9d63c/Cairns_esplanade.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/jxh24KSLo02T062pVZDBI/8544525e89d822c23a548f42dda9d63c/Cairns_esplanade.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Cairns house prices have stayed consistent after a steady period of growth. </span></div></div><p><br>But the strength of northern markets is not linked solely to housing.</p><p>Sentinel Property Group has major assets in central and northern Queensland as well as Darwin and Port Hedland.&nbsp;</p><p>Sentinel chief executive officer Warren Ebert said the north and central Queensland assets were some of the group’s best performers.&nbsp;</p><p>“An average income in Mackay is about the same in Sydney but houses are a quarter of the price,” Ebert says.&nbsp;</p><p>“In Queensland and Darwin, wages are very high in those mining industries and they have high disposable incomes.&nbsp;</p><p>“They go and spend that extra on cars, boats, and shopping. Of our highest turnover centres, those in Townsville and Mackay are numbers one and two.”</p><h2>Industrial and defence</h2><p><br>Billions of dollars are flowing into northern Australia from the federal government through infrastructure projects plus energy and defence spending make it ‘a land of opportunity’ for developers.&nbsp;</p><p>In Queensland, the Port of Townsville is spending $262 million widening its channel to accommodate larger vessels and the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct is being supported by $74 million of infrastructure spending.&nbsp;</p><p>In Cairns, $265 million has been allocated to the improvement of Captain Cook Highway links between the port and the city.</p><p>Meanwhile in Western Australia, the federal government allocated nearly $500 million in funding to boost the output of critical minerals used in electric vehicles and batteries, and this month the government announced a $565 million investment in Port Hedland’s expansion, which it says will create hundreds of jobs.&nbsp;</p><div id="5ghdf3PNA2swvMMoZOzCSn"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5kX1VhkWZ9Lp2SzDaCDVRU/538f6e95a5d3a6adc5e03ab503532f2d/Downtown_Darwin_TUD_plus.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5kX1VhkWZ9Lp2SzDaCDVRU/538f6e95a5d3a6adc5e03ab503532f2d/Downtown_Darwin_TUD_plus.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Darwin has bucked house price trends and will receive $2.2 billion in government infrastructure investment in the coming years. </span></div></div><p><br>“Over the last few years the government has realised we have to be more self-reliant,” says Sentinel’s Ebert.&nbsp;</p><p>Other sectors that aren’t necessarily as prevalent in other areas of the country are also proving a boon.</p><p>“In addition, you have another [army] brigade moving to Townsville in the next three years, with 1500 personnel, multiply that by 3 or 4 as they will be bringing family members with them, that’s another 5000 permanent added to the population.</p><p>“The defence base in Townsville is the largest in Australia. Defence isn’t going away—it’s only getting bigger and bigger.”&nbsp;</p><p>Meanwhile, private industry continues to see value in northern Queensland. Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) has chosen the Lansdown precinct as the future home of its proposed $2.1 billion Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub project.</p><p>All these things add up, explained Ebert, to a major opportunity for developers, one which Sentinel has capitalised on.&nbsp;</p><p>However, it is not without its challenges, including making places with an average annual temperature of 30 degrees and 60 per cent humidity attractive to southerners, as well as a dearth of construction workers.</p><p>“Back in normal times, when things would slow down you could get tradies to move up north for work, but it’s not slowing down south so you’re not getting tradies up there,” Ebert said.</p><p>Regardless, the wealth and spending annexed in the north of Australia makes it a major opportunity for developers after the grind of southern markets.</p><p>“The wealth for Australia is being made in northern Australia,” says Ebert, “and that looks unlikely to change in the coming years.”<br><br></p><hr><p><strong><br>You are currently experiencing&nbsp;<em>The Urban Developer</em>&nbsp;Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals.&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans"><strong>Click here to learn more.</strong></a></p><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><div data-rmiz-wrap="visible"><div><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div></div></div></div>

Northern Australia, from Port Hedland to Darwin, Cairns and Townsville, is proving resilient in challenging economic times, and developers are looking at the opportunities available in a neglected market...

QUEENSLAND