Developer Tim Gurner is sounding out plans for a hotel and up to 600 apartments on the site of Ralan Group’s failed Sapphire Project at Budds Beach.
The $600 million Surfers Paradise project, Gurner’s first on the Gold Coast, will be located on a 1.3-hectare site at 112 Ferny Avenue.
The site, bordered by the Ferny, Norfolk, Pine, Oak Avenues, had originally been earmarked for Ralan’s approved twin-tower development until the Sydney-based developer collapsed in July 2019 with debts of more than $560 million.
Ralan, led by director William O’Dwyer, purchased the supersite in 2015 for just under $20 million through Melbourne-based finance and investment house Wingate, a partnership that had been established in 2010.
The non-bank lender and its high-net-worth investor base had the largest exposure of any creditor to the developer through senior and mezzanine debt funding.
Prior to the company’s collapse, Ralan had sold half of the project’s 1,000 apartments and collected $71.3 million in deposits, of which almost all were released by investors as unsecured loans.
In 2019, Wingate was forced to appoint Deloitte as receivers and managers of Ralan Budds Beach No 1 Pty Ltd, the entity which owns the site and which entered into contracts with purchasers for the suspended Sapphire project.
Wingate will now partner with Gurner, after the site was sold through Knight Frank, on a completely redesigned project.
“The partnership with Wingate is a 50-50 joint venture—allowing us to closely collaborate on all facets of the project,” Gurner told The Urban Developer.
▲ Ralan’s neighbouring Surfers Paradise project, Ruby, was acquired by hotelier Jerry Schwartz in late 2019. Image: Supplied
The project is expected to launch towards the end of the year, following a 12-week national design competition with Gurner expecting to submit plans for the site in May.
“We have already commenced the design competition with leading architects from Australia and across the globe, allowing us to carefully select the firm we believe will best execute the level of luxury this project demands,” Gurner said.
The project will mark Gurner’s second large-scale Queensland development following its $500 million, 1,000 apartment FV project in Fortitude Valley in 2019.
The developer also has plans for a boutique hotel and luxury residences project in Port Douglas and is eyeing potential sites for the rollout of its boutique hotel brand, Club Maison.
Gurner said the move coincided with his belief that the Gold Coast is about to have its largest market run in history.
“We have been looking at the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast for a considerable amount of time, but we wanted to find a site that would allow us to do something really special
“The Gold Coast property market has witnessed strong price growth through 2020 with some pockets experiencing growth of over 10 percent year-on-year, fuelled in part by the growing ‘sea change’ demand following the pandemic.
“This trend has been mirrored across the rental market with Gold Coast’s vacancy rates falling below one percent, with little existing supply to meet the ever-growing demand,” Gurner said.
Over recent months the Gold Coast has led a modest rebound in the new apartment market, with higher off-the-plan sales rates and tight stock conditions equipping the coastal city with better prospects than Sydney and Melbourne.
The city has also experienced a resurgence in development applications, with a number of projects lodged in recent weeks.
Article Site: theurbandeveloper.com
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