Tower reveal: Sydney developer lodges plans for Palm Beach apartment tower
Plans have been submitted to the Gold Coast City Council for a new residential apartment development in Palm Beach.
The boutique project at 1245 Gold Coast Highway, dubbed Aqualina, has been lodged by the Sydney-based development firm Emicon, ran by the Saab family.
Aqualina is Emicon's first project on the Gold Coast, and the first outside of New South Wales. They've previously created apartment projects in Parramatta and Umina Beach on the Central Coast, with a number of projects in the pipeline across Sydney.
Emicon was incorporated in November 1994. Prior to this the company had been operating under its previous name of E & G Saab Constructions for over 20 years.
The Gold Coast tower, designed by BDA Architecture, will only home three bedroom apartments, just two on each of its eight levels.
The design was inspired by the natural environment of Palm Beach, from the soft edges of the water to the colours of the headlands, the BDA Architecture submission read
"Inspiration also comes from the curved edges of surfboards and the local architectural vernacular.
"The architecture of the proposal is tailored to the coastal, sub-tropical location of Palm Beach."
The Design Summary
This project offers the opportunity to design an innovative architectural building and provide a higher residential density development along the beach-front of Palm Beach. The nine storey residential apartment building provides a sculptural façade which draws inspiration from the surrounding landscape environment.
The Site
The site is located at the Northern End of Jefferson Lane, with access currently located off the Gold Coast Highway, between 15th & 17th Avenue, Palm Beach. The site is 756m² in area and has unobstructed beach-front views. A two storey apartment block currently occupies the site. The site is bounded to the north by a two storey holiday home with a mix of 2, 3 and 9 storey residential buildings further to the north. The site is bound to the south by a two storey block of units and has close walking distance to public transport along the Gold Coast highway corridor.
Overview
Positioned along Jefferson Lane at Palm Beach, the project will enjoy the amenity of the beach-front and close proximity to shops, cafes and restaurants in the Palm Beach precinct. The site has unobstructed views to Burleigh Headland and south to Coolangatta coastline. This project offers high quality residential apartments with two units per floor level. The apartments provided are large liveable apartments that can cater for families and focus on maximising natural ventilation and natural light.
All apartments are provided with large featured balconies that can be used as an outdoor living room. The two units per floor level provides a low density of only 16 apartments and 48 beds. The ground floor contains vehicle access from Jefferson Lane with visitor parking at grade with access to a two level basement car park, which provides car parking in excess of the planning code requirements. The remaining ground floor houses a clearly defined lobby space and community recreation facilities which contains a pool, pool deck and barbeque area.
Conclusion
This project offers high quality contemporary design that respects the surrounding environment. The imaginative and innovative detailing and built form demonstrates a positive outcome which will enhance the beach-front edge in the Palm Beach precinct.
