Inside the Gold Coast Turf Club's $370 million redevelopment plans

The Gold Coast Turf Club is set for a major redevelopment, which will include a number of apartments flanking the finishing post.

The $370 million plans for Sunlight Lifestyle Precinct, named after the 2018 Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Sunlight, come off the back of a separate $63 million application to build three new racing and training tracks. It will see eight new buildings constructed over a seven-year period.

There will be three high rise towers which will home the bulk of the 557 apartments, a number of low-rise buildings, and a five-level building with 63 service apartments.

The project is being developed by the Gold Coast Turf Club, in partnership with Tony Fung's Aquis Australia. It will cover 1.8 hectares on corner of Racecourse Drive and Crombie Ave, where currently there's a number of horse tie-up stalls which will be relocated to the south of the existing events centre.

“The precinct will be distinctive, innovative, engaging, entertaining, productive and emphatically Gold Coast in character.”
Gold Coast City Council

Woods Bagot have designed the project which will have a significant ground plane, with a number of retail and commercial tenancies.

A major focus has been the rooftop amenity on some of the taller towers.

Crowning the residential buildings currently dubbed Tower A and Tower B, which together have a combined 369 apartments, will be a swimming pool with day beds, and outdoor dining area with barbecue facilities, a sauna and spa, and an indoor function room.

Atop Tower C, the tallest tower at 19 levels, is a two-level space with an impressive day club vibe. A central pool is overlooked by cabanas, day beds and pavilions, while there's also restaurant dining, bar space, a second plunge pool, and a VIP lounge. Upstairs is more function space and a prep kitchen. Tower C will home 154 apartments.

In their Design Statement submitted to the Gold Coast City Council, Woods Bagot said the proposed development offers a unique opportunity to create an exciting sub-tropical, mixed-use precinct within the Gold Coast Turf Club Equine centre.

"Sunlight is conceived as a catalytic development within the wider Turf Club precinct and aims to create a unique lifestyle & tourism destination that contributes to the Gold Coast's economy.

"The development celebrates the sub-tropical climate & enviable lifestyle of the Gold Coast by integrating the indoors with the outdoors."

There are four three-level buildings which will have just eight apartments in each. They will be shielded from the track and have ground-floor amenity which meets a "sub-tropical boulevard."

"The buildings are arranged in a way to prioritise the public realm and create a variety high-quality, landscaped sub-precincts connected via a series of pedestrian links that are activated by both retail and amenity," Woods Bagot noted.

"The sub-tropical boulevard is the main pedestrian and vehicular linkage through the precinct, connecting the Northern & Western entries.

"The Boulevard is flanked with landscaping and public amenity and is activated by a mix of retail tenancies on both sides.

"Completely accessible, the Boulevard is intended to be used as a flexible space to accommodate potential uses such as street festivals and weekend markets."

The precinct will have two on-grade car parks in addition to a basement carpark - one to the west and the other to the south of the precinct.

Sunlight Lifestyle Precinct Fast Facts

Tower A (Residential) › 17 Storey Residential › 184 Apartments › 20,030m2 GFA

Tower B (Residential) › 16 Storey Residential › 185 Apartments › 19,902m2 GFA

Tower C (Residential) › 19 Storey Residential & Rooftop Function › 154 Apartments › 19,448m2 GFA.

Building D (Residential) › 2 Storey Residential & Ground Level Retail › 8 Apartments.

Buildings E (Residential) › 2 Storey Residential & Ground Level Retail › 8 Apartments

Buildings F (Residential) › 2 Storey Residential & Ground Level Retail › 8 Apartments 

Buildings G (Residential) › 2 Storey Residential & Ground Level Retail › 10 Apartments

Building H (Short Stay Accommodation) › 5 Storey Short-Stay Accommodation › 63 keys › 3,882m2 GFA