SULTAN OF SLOW
Prime site still vacant despite council urgings
SEVEN years after Mayor Tom Tate gave the Bruneian Government a ‘hurry along’ to build on a prime Gold Coast site, the land remains empty.
A Brunei Government arm bought the $30 million property at 3241 Surfers Paradise Boulevard in 1997, but hasn’t touched it since, leading Cr Tate to issue an ultimatum directed to the Sultan of Brunei of “use it or lose it,” in 2012.
SEVEN years after Mayor Tom Tate gave the Bruneian Government a ‘hurry along’ to build on a prominent Gold Coast site, the land remains empty.
The $30 million corner property at 3241 Surfers Paradise Blvd is zoned for high-density residential living, but is currently only home to a car park and grassed area – as it has been for decades.
Yesterday Cr Tate’s office said they would continue to “liaise with the Sultan of Brunei with a view to seeing this property best utilised for the benefit of the Gold Coast community.”
The 7558sq m L-shaped block of land hugs some of the Coast’s most soughtafter beachfront on The Esplanade – right in the heart of the Glitter Strip in Surfers Paradise.
Nicknamed the Imperial Wing site in the late 80s, the site remains undeveloped after decades of ownership by Japanese and Australian investors.
A Brunei Government arm bought the land in 1997, but hasn’t touched it since, leading Cr Tate to issue an ultimatum directed towards the Sultan along the lines of “use it or lose it”, in 2012.
At the time, he suggested he donate the property to council and invited the owner to invest in the city.
“I think he’s had long enough to do something with it,” Mr Tate told The Australian in 2012
“How about bequeathing it to the council and I’ll dedicate the park in his honour? It’s a win for him. The Sultan has vast holdings around the world so he probably doesn’t even know he owns it.”
In response to media reports, a lawyer’s letter stated the owner was not the Sultan, but instead the government-owned Brunei Investment Agency.
The property was worth $15 million then, a figure which has doubled in the past six years according to a property value mid last year.
Recently, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, reported to be worth $27.7 billion, has come under global condemnation for a new set of archaic laws punishing adultery and homosexuality with death by stoning.
It has led to worldwide proposed boycotting of the Sultan’s hotels, including The Dorchester in London and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.