Tropicana site on market
THE Taiwanese owner of a near 40-year-old motel that sits on land known as the Blade Runner site fronting the highway at the northern end of Mermaid Beach is selling up.
Fong Da Australia acquired the two-title site, on the corner of Mermaid Ave, in 2106 for $6.85 million and it has been put on the market as major activity on nearby sites is in the pipeline. Land across the highway, abutting Pacific Fair, is to become home to four towers courtesy of developer George Mastrocostas’s Aniko group.
A site directly opposite the Tropicana in Mermaid Ave is under contract and, subject to its sale settling, is earmarked for two towers with more than 500 apartments.
The 1593sq m Fong Da property, when it was bought, carried an approval for a 32level sharp-edged building – a design that spurred the Blade Runner description.
The seller was a company linked to Mermaid Beach residents John and Matthew Barrett and another associated with Victorians Jeffery and Christine Barrett.
Fong Da is selling the Tropicana holding via expressions of interest that close on March 2.
The move comes as the sites of highway-front motels built decades ago have become popular with developers, especially in the light-rail era.
CBRE’s Mark Witheriff yesterday said there was demand for all types of apartments on the Gold Coast and the Fong Da holding offered developers a chance to capitalise on that demand.
“There are limited parcels of land of more than 1000sq m in Mermaid Beach and only a small strip of high-density sites.”
CBRE’s John Nucifora said the high-density zonings made the area very popular with developers, as was highlighted by groups such as Mosaic embarking on second towers.
The Tropicana was developed by Dennis and Kyriak Coroneos after they assembled the site in 1986 and 1987 for about $850,000.
Fong Da unsuccessfully tried in 2017 to exit the property.