Barry’s blitzing them

Developer leaving more established names in his dust as he makes towering mark in high-rise game

STEP aside Jim, Soheil and Harry – Barry’s leaving you in his slipstream.

Barry Morris, who made a major commercial-residential mark in Canberra before heading north, unobtrusively has picked up the mantle of being the city’s most active apartment tower developer.

The Mermaid Beach resident has bustled past longtime high-rise heavyweights Jim Raptis and Soheil Abedian and his listed Sunland Group.

He could even, modesty permitting, say he’s been busier in the tourism capital in the past few years than the nation’s high-rise king, Harry Triguboff.

Barry, either solo or in tandem with Canberra partner Graham Potts, has built six towers.

He has a $600 million “pipeline” in his own name, with three towers under way and another three on the market. There are at least another three sites in his pocket.

The “already built” numbers pale against the records of Jim, Soheil and Harry but their efforts have spanned at least three decades. The first Morris-linked tower was completed only 11 years ago.

Jim’s Raptis Group was sidelined by the GFC but he privately has slid back in the game with towers called WaterPoint at Biggera Waters and Signature at Labrador.

The once prolific Soheil and Sunland haven’t built a Gold Coast high-rise since completing the two Circle on Cavill towers a decade ago.

Harry, who wrapped up his Brighton on Broadwater project last year, is in limbo until he starts new tower Ocean in Surfers Paradise in the next few months. Meanwhile, it’s been a case of Barry, with an almost rigid focus on the beachside Broadbeach-Burleigh strip, motoring ahead.

Since he and Graham Potts completed debut tower Verve at Broadbeach in 2006, five more towers have been completed.

Qube at Broadbeach, with 202 apartments, is the biggest of those Barry has under way.

It seems that since starting Qube the economics graduate has become very analytical and, according to a Morris offsider, has refined his high-rise formula.

That, in a nutshell, means concentrating on projects that are more than boutique but not too big – say 100 apartments.

The theory is that you only need to sell 50 to be able to start construction, show pending buyers the project’s under way, and provide buildings of a size that customers like.

Of course, when it comes to apartment towers, location is paramount and the Morris modus operandi – especially the Broadbeach focus – is paying off handsomely.

Other developers share his enthusiasm for the familyfriendly suburb, with more than a dozen apartment towers under way, being marketed or in the pipeline.

By contrast, Main Beach is bereft of any high-rise development and Surfers Paradise is not exactly bursting with highrise activity.

BARRY HAS A $600 MILLION ‘PIPELINE’ IN HIS OWN NAME, WITH THREE TOWERS UNDER WAY AND ANOTHER THREE ON THE MARKET