The Mermaid Beach apartment wave continues, with new development plans lodged for Albatross Avenue
Low-rise apartments continue their descent on the popular Albatross Avenue, with Mermaid Beach maintaining its place as a hotspot for developers.
The new plans come from Burleigh Heads-based developers, Highlife Homes, headed by James George, who founded the company, steadily progressing from renovating new homes, to luxury homes and duplexes and then to townhouse developments.
Render of the proposed Albatross Avenue development. Credit: Raunik
The group has lodged plans for an 809 sqm site at 68 Albatross Ave, with plans for a four-storey, eight-apartment project, offering a mix of three-bedroom residences, designed by architects, Raunik Design Group.
Taking inspiration from its coastal location, the building incorporates materials, colours and textures prevalent to the beachside locality, including light-toned timber look features, timber soffits, feature stone cladding, glazed balustrades and landscaped planters which soften and juxtapose the concrete render.
The development also seeks to provide a higher-end product, in a bid to allow local residents to “age in place” within the local community as they downsize from traditionally larger family homes to a more compact, lower-maintenance dwelling typology, without necessitating moving out of the Mermaid Beach locale.
Render of the proposed Albatross Avenue development. Credit: Raunik
Each floor will house two apartments, with the homes adopting an open plan layout, with the living, dining and kitchen adjoining to generously-sized terraces and balconies, oriented toward the east.
Crowning the building will be a rooftop terrace, for the use of the penthouse residents.
Designed for outdoor entertaining, the space is equipped with a barbecue area, as well as a dining space with a lightweight pergola, outdoor seating, a spa and a plunge pool.
Highlife’s project will join a string of projects taking up a spot in the coveted Gold Coast pocket.
Just down the road, Hutchinson Builders recently started work on the Niecon project, Ventura Residences, which will deliver 45 apartments come mid-2023.
The Ventura Road development, just 250 metres from the Mermaid Beach sand, has been a hit with owner-occupiers, who have snapped up all of the two-bedroom apartments on offer, with a handful of three and four-bedroom north-facing apartments, which feature city skyline and ocean views, as well as two exclusive villas still remaining.
Hutchies are also behind the $200 million Hirsch & Faigenject, Yves, with the development a rare high-rise offering in the area.
The three-tower development at 7-9 Mermaid Avenue has been designed by the renowned architecture firm Rothelowman, delivering 145 luxury residences, with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments, in addition to the premium offerings of two four-bedroom, half-floor sub-penthouses and a single full-floor penthouse.
More than half of the apartments in Yves were snapped up in the first two months of marketing, unsurprisingly with locals dominating the purchasing, with select two, three and four-bedroom apartments remaining.