Building giant hits tower’s go button
MELBOURNE’S biggest high-rise developer is planning to build a giant $500m supertower on the Surfers Paradise beachfront.
Pacific One will be a 56storey residential unit tower on a 3259sq m site on the corner of Frederick St and Garfield Tce.
Nearly three years after abandoning ambitions for the site, Central Equity chairman and co-founder Eddie Kutner says “the time has come” to build the company’s first tower outside of Melbourne – and he promises more are on the way.
“There is a permanent change that has come over the Gold Coast and we want to be a big part of it,” he said.
“I’ve been coming to the Gold Coast since the ’60s so I’ve seen it grow and this has been a long time coming.
“Central Equity is viewing southeast Queensland as a long-term proposition.
“We can see the city is really coming of age and it’s not just going to be one or two
good years, so we’re establishing ourselves as a permanent operation on the Gold Coast.”
Council approved the project more than four years ago and the developer now plans to launch it to the market before Christmas. Construction will begin in mid-2022.
Ray White Surfers Paradise Group has been appointed to market the tower.
“It’s perfect timing, as the demand in the city’s residential property sector is showing no signs of slowing,” head of projects Caitlin Rosenboom said.
Central Equity, founded in 1987, bought a Garfield Tce site in 2007 and spent $18m and 14 years amalgamating a further 19 titles.
Its initial plans for a 17storey mid-rise were scrubbed
by the global financial crisis but it tried again in late 2016, filing plans for The Luxe, a 47storey tower.
By April 2018 the city’s real estate market had cooled and Central Equity put the site on the market, announcing it was abandoning its plans for the Gold Coast and refocusing on Melbourne.
But with the Gold Coast’s market booming in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is now pushing ahead with the development.
Company co-director Karl Kutner said Pacific One would offer a range of units for buyers.
“The diversity is what makes a building,” he said.
“Pacific One is in the perfect location and will appeal to everyone.”