Article: Coast 3-tower project woos Chinese

Coast 3-tower project woos Chinese

Nick Nichols, business editor   |  April 2nd, 2011

A CHINESE developer plans to leapfrog the train wreck that is the Gold Coast highrise market and take a proposed $900 million three-tower development directly to Asian buyers.

Ridong Gold Coast Developments, which has cemented plans for the massive 1.3ha Pacific Beach site, has also revealed exclusively to the Bulletin that it has been negotiating with four ultra-luxury hotel brands to occupy one of the towers.

The Coast has been targeted by a stable of premium brands, including the Hyatt, Shangri-La, Peninsula and Setai chains, which want to establish a five- to six-star property on the Glitter Strip.

It would be the first beachfront hotel built on the Coast since the Sheraton Mirage in 1988 and is tipped to surpass Sunland’s Palazzo Versace as its premier hotel.

“There has been enormous interest from these chains because of the uniqueness of the site,” said the Ridong spokesman.

Ridong, a company controlled by Sydney-based businessman Riyu Li, bought the Pacific Beach site for $81.8 million from Balmain Trilogy’s Pacific Mortgage Fund.

Mr Li has embarked on a fearless campaign to develop the site despite the turmoil wreaked on the city by a string of receiverships.

Last year, Mr Li engaged a crack team of architects to firm up plans and has settled on a design by US-based Chad Oppenheim.

Ridong’s proposal for the Old Burleigh Rd site would comprise one hotel tower and two apartment towers, up to 45 storeys, offering a broad range of products.

While the project would add more than 500 apartments to the Coast’s overstocked highrise market, Ridong expects to lure more than half its buyers from overseas.

The Ridong spokesman said Mr Li had extensive links to the Chinese business and investment community and had fielded “strong interest to invest in this venture”.

“There will be a variety of products on the site offered at a variety of price points to ensure the project is as attractive as it can be.”

Gold Coast Tourism has cautiously welcomed the project, which is one of at least three new hotels mooted over the next five years.

“This confirms that the fundamentals the Gold Coast offers in the international marketplace stand up to hard scrutiny,” said GCT chief executive Martin Winter.

He said despite the oversupply of serviced apartments on the Coast, new hotels were needed to meet demand from an expected surge in independent travellers from China.

“There is a growing demand for luxury accommodation within the Asian market,” he said.