An artist impression of the Kirra Beach Hotel development by KTQ Developments.
Hot on the heels of recent sellouts of multi-million-dollar apartment complexes on Queensland’s Gold Coast, the entrepreneur owners of the swish Elements of Byron resort are looking to redevelop the Kirra Beach Hotel into a luxury unit complex.
The Brisbane-based KTQ Group wants to develop 118 units on the site of the historic Kirra Beach Hotel fronting Miles Street and Marine Parade on the southern Gold Coast.
The centrepiece of the first stage will be the luxury apartment project, which will capitalise on demand in southeast Queensland from owner-occupiers and downsizers, and will be launched within the next few months. Prices are yet to be determined.
Competitor Gold Coast projects such as the $70m Flow Residences at Rainbow Bay, which launched in late June, have recorded unprecedented sales with only one apartment remaining. The Flow Residences sold for an average of $3.5m apiece.
“We have owned the Kirra Beach Hotel site for a decade and believe now is the time to execute what has been a very thoughtfully designed plan for Kirra,” KTQ Group managing director Peggy Flannery said.
“The same dedication that created Elements of Byron is being carefully applied to Kirra, which is an equally unique and unrepeatable proposition.
“Our approach is very much people-focused, whether we are creating an idyllic resort or an urban lifestyle development.
“We see our project at Kirra as a key element in the southern Gold Coast’s evolution as a world-class tourism destination and as one of the coast’s most desirable places to live.”
The tourism outlook is also positive.
The 193-villa Elements of Byron in the idyllic NSW northern township of Byron Bay has experienced record occupancies with strong forward bookings for the next four months.
Elements of Byron has very little remaining availability from this month through January. Occupancies are up nearly 20 per cent on the same time last year and are the highest since it opened four year’s ago.
“Demand has been incredibly strong from NSW residents over the past two months and has accelerated further now that some restrictions are being lifted, particularly from Queenslanders,” KTQ development director Jeremy Holmes said in a statement.
Mr Holmes said the conference market, which had collapsed following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and a three-month shutdown period, had now been replaced entirely by the higher-yielding luxury leisure market.
“Given that people can’t travel overseas they have instead been looking for a luxury experience within Australia, and Elements is perfectly positioned to provide this unique leisure experience,” he said. “Guests are happy to spend what they may have spent on an overseas holiday.
“Byron Bay in particular has been the most popular travel destination in Australia during COVID and the opening up of the Queensland border will drive record occupancies for the foreseeable future.’’
Elements of Byron’s occupancy percentage forecast for the final quarter of 2020 is in the high 90s, compared with the low 80s for the corresponding period last year.
