Nineteen First Avenue: The luxury Broadbeach apartment tower catering to the work from home trend

When offices emptied in the midst of the pandemic, seemingly only one thought passed through the minds of city dwellers. "Why don't we live on the Gold Coast?"

Recently released census data from the ABS showed the population of the Gold Coast grew from 555,000 to 625,000 over the five years to 2021, an increase of 12 percent. And that figure is expected to be considerably higher as the mass migration continued throughout 2021 and 2022.

At the time of the 2021 census, over 40,000 people in the Gold Coast worked from home full time, which equated to nearly 14 per cent of those surveyed.

The previous census data, from 2016, showed just 15,000 worked from home, which was less than six per cent of the Gold Coast population at the time.

And while COVID lockdowns are a thing of the past, local developer Ayrton Mansi from Amansi Projects believes there is still a high level of expectation working from home is here to stay, and he's made sure he's accomodating those buyers at his recently launched luxury Broadbeach tower, Nineteen First Avenue.

The 37-level building, which will home just 33 apartments, features an extensive work from home level, complete with work suites, a full boardroom, lounge, library, and even an outdoor entertaining space, which has the potential to be booked for both work functions and private parties.

Mansi believes it is essential to provide these unique spaces in high calibre projects like Nineteen First Avenue on the Gold Coast.

“This wouldn’t have been a feature we would’ve remotely considered five or so years ago,” Mansi says.

“It’s very much a sign of the times - but a great one, in my opinion. People are placing a greater emphasis on their work life balance and that’s what this work from home level offers without compromising on the legitimacy of their work.

“If they need to have clients over for a meeting, perhaps, they simply book the boardroom; if they want to entertain them, the outdoor space is perfect.”

NPA Director Andrew Erwin says he's been waiting a while to see a dedicated work from home level as extensive as the one at Nineteen.

“More and more people are working from home these days, coupled with the growth of the gig economy, but usually it's a makeshift office set up in their lounge or bedrooms," Erwin says.

“This is a purpose built WFH level with all the creativity, opulence and practicality of a city styled workplace, it just happens to be in your building so your commute is literally just a trip down the lifts.”

Erwin says the inclusion of the WFH floor is in direct response to feedback from buyers who are usually relocating from interstate or looking for a second dwelling and workspace.

“People are moving to the Gold Coast for lifestyle reasons but there’s been a bit of a lag when it comes to accommodating their work needs,” he says.

“Sure, the laptop on the balcony is great for a while but it’s not practical long term and right now, the alternative is heading back to the office. This gives people the flexibility of both worlds so I expect interest to be high.”

The building comprises 33 full floor apartments plus a two level penthouse with four bedrooms, private plunge pool, sunken lounge and fire pit.

The full floor apartments have ‘house like’ proportions sitting at 280 square metres and have been purposely designed to feel like a resort, despite being a residential only building.

Danny Juric, Director at Plus Architecture, says the design was heavily influenced by the natural movement and rhythm of the ocean.

“The action of the waves hitting the sand creates dynamic, overlapping forms and is denoted at the lower levels, while at the higher levels, this transitions into a calmer tower form with façade elements that reference the geometry generated by the wind hitting the water to create a gentle ripple," Juric says.

“The approach we’ve taken with the shared spaces of Nineteen First Avenue is to imagine what it would be like to have a holiday year ‘round."

Descon has been announced as the builder for the project and construction is expected to commence imminently, with completion slated for early 2025.