A ‘hole lot’ of history
The owner of Southport’s hole-in-the-ground tower site, once earmarked for the Gold Coast’s tallest building, is getting serious after an initial move to find a buyer.
The Singaporean owner of the property, at the western end of the CBD, moved four weeks ago to test the market’s appetite for the property.
Cienna, an arm of the Lee Kim Tah group, put little For
Sale signs on the hoardings that surround the 8m-deep site.
Flash-forward to this week and an agent has now been appointed to formally test the market.
Brad Merkur, of RWC Gold Coast, is seeking expressions of interest in the site, which fronts Nerang, Young and Garden streets.
Cienna has owned the bulk of the 4400sq m site for more than 20 years, paying $7m for it in two deals a decade apart.
The group has been developing in Sydney for more than 20 years, with its projects including hotels and apartment buildings.
Mr Merkur yesterday said the Southport site had become a distraction for Cienna.
“The group has decided that it is the right time to divest the Southport holding, a move which will allow it to fully focus on the Sydney market.”
The ‘hole’ has existed for more than 30 years, originally being excavated to make way for a tower basement.
The site was grabbed by a mortgagee in 1991 and ended up with a company believed to be linked to late pop star Michael Hutchence.
Ownership later moved to a Brisbane developer who mooted a tower before selling to Cienna.
Nine years ago, Cienna unveiled bold plans for a twintower project that included a building of 88 floors.
Preliminary approval was won for the project but Cienna later aborted its ambitions.
Five years ago, the group was forced to shore up the walls of the hole after they started to crumble and two men fell into it.
Mr Merkur said that the site was in the Southport priority development area, which opened wide options for any new owner.
Expressions of interest in the property close on April 25.