PRIME SITE
A DEVELOPER has jumped in ahead of an auction to secure the property that housed Surfers Paradise restaurant China House for more than three decades.
Demolition of the China House building is expected to start next week.
The 405sq m site fronts Surfers Paradise Blvd and sits between the Clock Hotel and Centrepoint Arcade.
Simon Robertson, of Ray White Commercial, said the buyer, from Queensland, has not indicated a planned use for the land.
The site is in the Surfers Paradise entertainment precinct and there is no height limit on any development.
Mr Robertson, who marketed the property with colleague Brad Merkur, would not disclose the sale price.
Industry sources indicated it was close to $4 million. ALISTER THOMSON COMMERCIAL assets on the Gold Coast with fast-food or quick service restaurants remain a strong draw for investors and developers with a number set to open over the next six months.
The spread of quick-service or fast-food restaurants on the Gold Coast shows no signs of slowing with the booming north leading the way.
Pimpama City will have KFC, Hungry Jack’s and Subway outlets when it opens later this year while a Carl’s Jr is set to open at Hope Island Marketplace in December.
An Oliver’s Drive Thru is also due to open later this month at the Pacific Motorway Service Centre off Exit 54 at Coomera.
Savills’ Peter Tyson, who is marketing the Red Rooster Centre at Burleigh, said assets with fast-food outlets as tenants are popular with investors for two reasons.
“Firstly, casual dining is becoming a mainstay in the country, and it is a growing market as a retail sector,” Mr Tyson said.
“These are household names and national brands.”
He said the second reason is because freestanding outlets are more “digestible” for investors.
“Many investors or self-managed superannuation funds have the capacity to spend $3 million to
$10 million – that will let them buy a freestanding fast-food asset.”
Mr Tyson said the Red Rooster Centre, at 3-5 Classic Way in Burleigh Waters, is attracting strong interest during the marketing campaign.
He said most inquiries have come from domestic private investors from southern states.
Gaurav Bansal, of Bansal Group, which owns the master franchise rights for Carl’s Jr in Queensland, said his business is planning to roll out 20 Carl’s Jr stores in Queensland.
He said he chose Hope Island Marketplace because of its location within easy reach of a number of affluent suburbs, including Helensvale and Paradise Point.
“What we are doing is putting in one for every four or five suburbs,” Mr Bansal said.
“Rather than having a stand-alone restaurant next to a service station, we prefer to be in a shopping centre anchored by a supermarket.”
Lennon Lin, whose Austin Property Development company is building Hope Island Marketplace, said Carl’s Jr is set to become an important part of the tenancy mix.
“Carl’s Jr is one of the largest burger chains in the US and it is being very well received here in southeast Queensland,” he said.
“Our team decided that it is the right brand to anchor the fast food part of the centre and we worked extensively with Gaurav Bansal and his team to find an optimal design.”
The leasing agents for Hope Island Marketplace are CBRE’s Rudi Scutti and Ashley Moffat, of LJ Hooker Commercial.