Society & Culture Gold Coast CBD/Inner City Watch

[Matchu]

So I'm thinking of uploading a project each day for the next few days. Here we have another inner city project in, you guessed it, Surfers Paradise that deserves to be mentioned. It is called Sapphire. Interestingly, it is proposed on the block just south of the Ruby project so they will be neighbouring towers if they both get built. I don't believe this one has been given approval by council just yet but I expect it will shortly. It will stand 71st/271m and will become the second tallest building on the Gold Coast when/if completed. Here it is:

I don't think it'll be long before the entire Surfers Paradise stretch of the Gold Coast Highway is virtually filled with high rises on every block. It will become a concrete jungle and hopefully that carries over to the actual CBD in Southport.

 

[Matchu]

Just to expand on the whole concrete jungle/inner city thing, this image should give readers a good idea of what is going on. The tower presented in this image is the Rugby project that just got underway but you can see a few empty blocks that have huge plans like the Sapphire project I detailed above. You can also see how close it is to the Southport CBD. It's really only separated by Macintosh Island (an island for extremely wealthy people) and Main Beach.

 

[Matchu]

Southport set to be new power tower hub with up to five new high rises planned to rise

Brighton on Broadwater - 55 levels
Cnr of Bauer & Queen St - 19 levels
Cnr of Scarborough & Queen St - twin towers planned (height unknown)
Cnr of Lather & Queen St - high rise planned
20 Scarborough St - high rise planned

Pretty exciting stuff. It's great to see Queen St having so much high rise development in the works. I think Queen St will eventually become a major street of the CBD so I say bring it on.

 

[Matchu]

Two updates for the CBD. First, Chinatown:

The lanterns are in place and you may be able to see a pair of small fenced off areas in the distance. That is where they are currently installing the Peifang gates that will look like this in the near future:

Also, a new 49 level tower called Grand Central is about to get underway on Scarborough St:

 

[Matchu]

Also, a new facade Australia Fair wants to install along Scarborough St. It will be lit up with LED lights. Good to see the CBD is slowly becoming more lit up at night.

 

[Matchu]

Southport's Queen Street declared the Coast's "golden mile" with five big projects planned

SOUTHPORT’S Queen Street has been dubbed the Gold Coast’s “golden mile” with five high-rise projects valued at more than $1 billion either proposed or approved in the past year.

One of the suburb’s oldest streets is being swept by a new wave of developments on the back of the light rail and the introduction of the Southport Priority Development Area (PDA).

The five Queen Street projects feature a mixture of high-rise and medium-rise projects including the redevelopment of the historic Sundale Motel, twin towers of up to 45-storeys on the corner of Scarborough Street and a 35 level high-rise on the corner of White Street.

The strip falls within the Southport PDA which means all the developments are almost certain to be approved.

Area councillor Dawn Crichlow said the street, named after Queen Victoria when the township was first surveyed in 1874, was getting a new lease of life.

However, despite the development, she said the street would retain its character as an area with plenty of greenery.

“Queen St is the Gold Coast’s golden mile and these projects are going to creates thousands of jobs which will mean lots of happy endings,” she said.

“A lot of the existing buildings there are tired and these new buildings are good quality designs but we included decent setbacks of around 4m to keep the feel of being a garden centre.

“These are all happening because of the light rail and the PDA and it is clear that people want to work, live and play in Southport and Queen St is one of the places they can do this.”

However, the addition of nearly 1000 extra apartments in the one street is putting pressure on the council to find a long-term solution to the area’s traffic woes.

Queen St is already regarded as one of the city’s most congested roads and is set to become a major issue at March’s council election.

Southport candidate Susie Gallagher is campaigning for a closer analysis of the traffic impacts of each development.

Ms Gallagher, who previously contested the seat in 2012, said she supported development and job creation but said roads were already struggling with traffic congestion.

“I am absolutely thrilled that developers are interested in Southport and these projects are breathing new life into the area, however I have concerns about the ease and speed at which some planning decisions are being made,” she said.

“I think there needs to be greater consideration for the impact of developments on traffic because these five projects could mean at least 1000 extra cars on Southport’s roads.”

The Bulletin revealed in October that the council had discussed introducing slip lanes into congested roads to help move traffic better and Queen St was named as a prime contender.

Knight Frank co-director Mark Witheriff sold the Oxford on Queen site last year and said the current hunger for development along the street was a result of both the light rail and the Southport PDA.

He said further redevelopment could be in the pipeline for Queen Street, either in the current or a future property cycle.

“Through a combination of the light rail and the PDA, the plans to get greater density, people and activity in Southport is clearly working,” he said.

“There is now a higher and better use for some of those 1960s-era buildings that are along there but the market will only allow for a certain number to occur in any one cycle.”

 

[Matchu]

Guess what appeared in Chinatown, Southport this week!

The grey tiling has begun as well:

It should be complete by next week and will look like this:

 

[Matchu]

If this doesn't get you excited about the Gold Coast CBD then nothing will. Azzura have just released new renders and information on their Imperial City project that had previously been submitted at 104 floors/335 metres (tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere). The new design will incorporate both residential and office elements. Releasing new renders and providing new information on the project (here) would suggest the company is going to re-enter their development plans to the GC council under the new city plans that allows an unlimited height level in the CBD boundaries. In case you don't follow, that means they may go even taller than 104 floors/335 metres. Anyway, here are the renders:

Exciting stuff!

 

[Experimental]

If this doesn't get you excited about the Gold Coast CBD then nothing will. Azzura have just released new renders and information on their Imperial City project that had previously been submitted at 104 floors/335 metres (tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere). The new design will incorporate both residential and office elements. Releasing new renders and providing new information on the project (here) would suggest the company is going to re-enter their development plans to the GC council under the new city plans that allows an unlimited height level in the CBD boundaries. In case you don't follow, that means they may go even taller than 104 floors/335 metres. Anyway, here are the renders:

Exciting stuff!

Hell yes!

 

[exile]

the way those renders show the buildings curving back inwards towards the bottom makes me so nervous hahaha.

 

[Experimental]

the way those renders show the buildings curving back inwards towards the bottom makes me so nervous hahaha.

Gave me the same feeling haha

 

[Matchu]

Looks like the new Imperial City proposal could have the tallest tower going as high as 120 floors which would be nearing 400 metres. You could probably see Brisbane's CBD on a clear day from that height.

 

[exile]

Looks like the new Imperial City proposal could have the tallest tower going as high as 120 floors which would be nearing 400 metres. You could probably see Brisbane's CBD on a clear day from that height.

wow. that's got another 80 or so meters on Q1.

 

[Matchu]

wow. that's got another 80 or so meters on Q1.

It may actually be even higher when you consider the site is probably 12 or so metres elevated from the sea level and the Q1 wouldn't be much higher than sea level. The site is located on the corner of Meron St and Ferry Road here:

You can already see from that picture that you would get amazing views of the Surfers Paradise skyline, the Broadwater, the Hinterland and possibly Brisbane. In fact, if I've worked it out correctly, the broadcast camera at Metricon would get a great shot of this tower when facing north/north-east towards the river end goals.

But will this ever be built? That's the question. Plenty of gigantic high rise proposals around the world are never built and some would say it's a miracle that the Q1 was actually completed. The Gold Coast does have the carrot of the Commonwealth Games in the near future and Ferry Rd will be upgraded to three lanes either way soon which will help. As always with this sort of stuff, we shall wait and see.

 

[Matchu]

Looks like the Sunshine Coast is following the Gold Coast's lead by centralising their city with the creation of a CBD. Just like the Gold Coast, the Sunny Coast was a collection of small towns thrown together to create a city but never really centralised everything into one area. Now it seems that problem will be solved with an area of Maroochydore becoming the Sunshine Coast's official CBD and the selected area (an old 50ha golf course) being declared a Priority Development Area by the State Government, just like they did with Southport on the GC. The plans include retail/office buildings, man made canals and an exhibition centre. They even have plans to install a light rail system.

The company making this a reality is called SunCentral and it's at least a 20-year project so a lot can happen between now and then. How will it affect the city? It's hard to tell but one thing that probably should be pointed out is that the new CBD area is only 5kms away from the Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex which is home to the Maroochy Aussie rules club and has been used as a preseason training venue by many AFL clubs in recent years. I think as many as six used it this preseason, which included Hawthorn. Perhaps 20 years down the track we'll see a push for pro sports teams on the Sunny Coast and the AFL already has an inner city location that they can run with for a stadium.

 

[Matchu]

Also, a new proposal for the Cienna high rise in Chinatown (previously proposed at 88 storeys) was submitted yesterday so we will stand by to see the new plans with unlimited heights now in place. Could be a game changer for the GC's CBD.

Stay tuned!

 

[Matchu]

ASF Consortium unveils plans for 66-storey gold tower in Southport

Another nice one proposed for the Southport CBD. It will be planted on the southern side of Scarborough St and will likely become iconic with it's golden colour. It would stand adjacent to the Southport Bowls Club and the Queens Park Tennis Centre which should mean uninterrupted Broadwater & Surfers Paradise views. The project is officially known as 'The Au' - a play on the periodic table. I can only imagine what this one would look like at night!

 

[Matchu]

Higher resolution pictures of The Au project:

 

[Experimental]

Wow! It's going to be finished before the Meriton! That construction company must be fast AF

 

[Matchu]

Wow! It's going to be finished before the Meriton! That construction company must be fast AF

Haha.

It's about time someone builds a gold tower on the Gold Coast.

 

[exile]

R.I.P that lawn bowls club's grass, based off that last image haha.

the gold is certainly... interesting haha.

 

[Matchu]

R.I.P that lawn bowls club's grass, based off that last image haha.

the gold is certainly... interesting haha.

It actually says in the article that the bowls club was offered water tanks by a previous developer for that site and they were happy with that. Both the bowls & tennis clubs are aware that high rise development is coming for Southport.

I'm just imagining the future Southport skyline and what it will look like from Marina Mirage. A gold tower will mix things up.

 

[Matchu]

New Gold Coast City Council is sworn in as Mayor Tom Tate reveals 'major project' plan

 

[Matchu]

Queensland Government refuses to quarantine Aquis licence for Cairns

THE  regional casino licence earmarked for the Aquis project is not guaranteed to remain in Far North Queensland.

The State Government has decided that if Aquis withdraws from the Integrated Resort Development process – as has been indicated – then the licence will be up for grabs for elsewhere in the State.

...

Now look at this from three weeks ago:

Casino developer Aquis Group joins Chinese companies to buy prime block in Surfers Paradise for $40m

The Gold Coast Bulletin understands the deal was struck for the 11,800sqm site, which is currently occupied by the Vomitron and Bungee Rocket, and is owned by Japanese company Orix.

The land is near the International Beach resort which Mr Fung also contracted to buy last year.

...

And these:

Casino for Surfers Paradise: Developer creates entertainment space for gaming centre

A DEVELOPER has rolled the dice by including a six-level entertainment facility that could be home to the city’s second casino, in a proposed super tower in Surfers Paradise.

...

But the revised plans show a 64-level, 223m building with 366 suites and 435 bedrooms, with dramatic design features revealing a two-storey podium and six-level midrise section that would contain a mysterious “tourist facility”.

Six empty floors could house casino in mystery new Surfers Paradise tower approved in council holidays

UNEXPLAINED delays, six “missing” floors and no public consultation haunt the closed door approval of a 64-storey Surfers Paradise tower that councillors suspect could eventually house the city’s second casino.

The unnamed building, earmarked for prime land on the corner of Cavill and Orchid avenues, was approved by four city councillors just days before Christmas and while the full council was in recess.

I could be guilty of joining dots here but something tells me there's good chance that casino licence could be heading to Surfers Paradise. If it did, the Gold Coast could potentially have a casino in Broadbeach, a casino in Surfers Paradise and a casino in Southport (The Spit). That could explain why Jupiters is spending close to $1 billion redeveloping their Broadbeach site. Would it really be that surprising to see the Gold Coast become the casino capital of Australia? It's already the tourism capital of the country and everyone knows tourism and casinos go and hand in hand. The competition between the three would result in some pretty cool things for locals.

The approved Cavill Avenue project (that sits right next to the Hilton) looks like this:

Aquis hasn't submitted plans for the bungee site they purchased three weeks ago but it's definitely a larger site than the one above in Cavill Avenue. The article also suggest the Aquis project may stretch over to another site which could mean a set up like Crown Casino in Melbourne where several buildings are connected by sky bridges.

Both sites already have light rail stations with in 50 metres of their front door.

 

[Experimental]

Queensland Government refuses to quarantine Aquis licence for Cairns

Now look at this from three weeks ago:

Casino developer Aquis Group joins Chinese companies to buy prime block in Surfers Paradise for $40m

And these:

Casino for Surfers Paradise: Developer creates entertainment space for gaming centre


Six empty floors could house casino in mystery new Surfers Paradise tower approved in council holidays


I could be guilty of joining dots here but something tells me there's good chance that casino licence could be heading to Surfers Paradise. If it did, the Gold Coast could potentially have a casino in Broadbeach, a casino in Surfers Paradise and a casino in Southport (The Spit). That could explain why Jupiters is spending close to $1 billion redeveloping their Broadbeach site. Would it really be that surprising to see the Gold Coast become the casino capital of Australia? It's already the tourism capital of the country and everyone knows tourism and casinos go and hand in hand. The competition between the three would result in some pretty cool things for locals.

The approved Cavill Avenue project (that sits right next to the Hilton) looks like this:

Aquis hasn't submitted plans for the bungee site they purchased three weeks ago but it's definitely a larger site than the one above in Cavill Avenue. The article also suggest the Aquis project may stretch over to another site which could mean a set up like Crown Casino in Melbourne where several buildings are connected by sky bridges.

Both sites already have light rail stations with in 50 metres of their front door.

Interesting read - thanks Matchu!

I was wondering how long it would take for the amusement park site to be sold. I didn't realise it already had! I'd love to see a Crown Casino style casino and hotel precinct in the heart of Surfers. What an awesome addition it would be!