International hotel and time-share operator Wyndham Hotel Group have aquired 40 apartments in Azzura’s new Surfers Paradise apartment building.  The building, which will be rebranded, adds the property to the 20 that Wyndham currently own across Australia and the 7100 the group has under franchise or management agreement worldwide.

The move is a boon for the Gold Coast generally, as well as Azzura, which still had a number of the building’s 192 apartments for sale, following sluggish results since completion last year.

Since being frozen – along with the other assets in City Pacific’s First Mortgage Fund over two years ago, new fund manager, Balmain Trilogy have sold the 11,000sqm beachfront Pacific Beach site to a Chinese-back developer for $81.8m.

The developer, Ridong (Gold Coast) Development, has now settled on the purchase and are reported to already be working on plans for a twin tower development for the Surfers Paradise allotment.

At the behest of the project financier, the Commonwealth Bank, City Pacific’s development arm, CP1 has placed the 2.49ha Paradise Resort site, at the northern end of Surfers Paradise, on the market.

Initially a joint venture with Azzura, CP1 took control of the ambitious 4 tower project in May.  Billed as the nation’s first fully themed ‘entertainment resort’, the project may still go ahead in its current form if another developer buys the site and decides to proceed with the existing plan.

Purachsed for $61m in 2004, CP1 are hoping to realise a price in excess of $80m for the site.

Promoted as “The first fully integrated themed entertainment resort destination of its kind in Australia” and consisting of three five-star and one six-star hotel, 1500 apartments, 10,000 sqm of water, restaurants, bars, retail, a slew of family-oriented features and architecture from all corners of the Mediterranean, Azzura Corporation’s ‘Pacific Resort’ is reportedly the largest development of its type ever undertaken in Australia. The development will be a joint venture between City Pacific’s CP1 and family company Azzura, who will be responsible for the design and construction.

The development will comprise of four residential towers, ranging from 29 to 60 storeys, but it is the centrepiece that Azzura believe will make Pacific Resort truly unique. To emphasise the family-oriented nature of the development, the heart of the resort will be a huge water park, consisting of 10,000 square metres of water and, among other things, a pirate ship, play castle, water slides and massive movie screen. Surrounding this central area will be four differently themed areas, each taking architectural cues from the Mediterranean coast.

Throughout the Greek, Turkish, Spanish and Italian precincts, Azzura plan to incorporate restaurants, bars, shopping boutiques, health spas and a kids club. Situated in the Budd’s Beach area of Surfers Paradise and bordered by Ferny, Norfolk, Oak and Birt Avenues, the apartments will offer ocean, river and city views and still be within walking distance of downtown Surfers Paradise and the beach.

The first tower has just been launched, and is expected to be completed in around 2.5 years, with the subsequent three towers to follow in six-month intervals. Initial pricing for the first tower ranges from around $7,500 to $9,500 per square metre and sales thus far have been quite strong.

If you would like further information on the project, please post a comment/question or email gcreradmin@gmail.com.