Tim Gurner plans $1.25bn luxury Gold Coast ‘island’ escape
Richlister developer Tim Gurner is taking on the booming Gold Coast luxury market with a $1.25bn project designed to make residents feel transported to their own private island.
Plans submitted to council outline Mr Gurner’s most luxurious and largest project to date, consisting of four towers overlooking the canal-facing Budds Beach at Surfers Paradise.
La Pelago was designed by local firm Warren and Mahoney alongside international landscape architecture firm SWA to integrate a lush, tropical theme into each of the apartments, hotel rooms and amenities.
Mr Gurner said the plans had been years in the making and while he had been tight-lipped on exactly what to expect, noted a focus has been placed on urban regeneration.
“We’ve been fortunate to ride a significant upswing in luxury sales across our projects like St Moritz and Victoria & Vine in Melbourne, and large-format place-marking sites like FV in Brisbane,” said the chief executive of development company Gurner. “La Pelago is the next evolution in this journey.”
The architecture firms were instructed to integrate lush, tropical plants and design to make people feel transported to a private island, drawing on resort buildings of Dubai, Singapore and Miami.
Four towers ranging from 29 to 57 levels were designed to offer an alternative to the high-rises that dominate the Gold Coast skyline. Between 95 and 350 residences will be on offer in each building and the project will also include 200 hotel rooms and 5500sq m of retail, commercial and conferencing amenity.
Warren and Mahoney design principal Barrington Gohns said the design respected the crisp, natural island experience and used integrated landscape and pools, lots of white, timber, and glass in its form, with bespoke elements in each “island”.
An international campaign was held for a five-star hotel provider, with the choice expected to be announced in coming months. Mr Gurner foreshadowed it will be a new name in the Australian market.