"Urban Light House" apartment tower planned for Old Burleigh Road, Broadbeach
The Brisbane-based property developer, West Homes, is set to offer some of the biggest apartments on the Gold Coast at their first Broadbeach apartment development, Aurora Apartments.
They've had the local architecture firm Inarc Design create the 22-level tower of just 20 apartments at 75 Old Burleigh Road, a site they secured late last year.
Each apartment will have nearly 400 sqm of internal living space, unprecedented even for the whole-floor apartment trend that has swept the Gold Coast over the last 12 months, as developers pivoted toward more high-end, owner-occupier friendly stock. One apartment, on level three, will have 430 sqm.
Inarc Design describe the sculpted tower as an "urban lighthouse."
"With an eclectic array of housing topology around the site, the tall, slim and elegant vertical ‘urban lighthouse’ structure complements the verticality of the surrounding Norfolk Pine, while the tower’s massing is metered and softened through cascading planters along the eastern and southern façade.," Inarc noted in their design statement submitted to the Gold Coast City Council.
"The residences have been designed as homes rather than short-term accommodation, featuring expansive open-plan configurations, with a full variety of amenity."
West Homes Managing Director Brett Kennedy said they are trying to target that sophisticated, high-net worth buyer, and have stepped up to offer that next level of luxury.
"It's what we like to develop," Kennedy told Urban.
"We previously developed a full floor apartment project at 286 Marine Parade in Labrador, where the eight full-floor apartments were all sold before practical completion," Kennedy said.
"Now we're stepping it up again.
"Aurora will be even higher on quality, everything from the tiles to the tapware, the appliances, will all be high-end, exactly what buyers would expect to find in these luxury apartments."
Kennedy expects there to be solid interest from locals and Brisbane, but believes half of the building will be bought by holidaymakers or future downsizers from Sydney and Melbourne, some of who will look to relocate to the Gold Coast.
A fairly uncommon practice on the Gold Coast, West Homes are targeting a high energy rating, something that's not standard practice for Gold Coast towers. Aurora will have a number of sustainable initiatives, including EV charging stations, solar power collectors which will power all of the communal areas, and a water capture system which will water each of the communal and private gardens. There will be two garden beds per floor.
"Even the exterior glass is a high environmental rated glass, innovative in how it benefits residents in both hot and cold weather."
There will be a fitness and general recreation area on level two, which will have an outdoor barbecue kitchen, a gym with a sauna and steam room, and a lap pool.
JD Realty's Elie Fakhri is handling the marketing.
About the developer
West Homes was founded around seven decades ago by Alan May, initially as a land subdivision company around the Port Macquarie and Western Sydney areas, before turning to development and construction.
In 2007, after spending five years working in Papa New Guinea, Kennedy re-ignited the company, created high-end homes and townhouse projects across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
