The approval of a luxury residential development in Rainbow Bay that generated $70 million worth of sales in just two months, should have faced greater scrutiny from council’s planning committee, according to councillor Gail O’Neill.
The 12-storey Flow Residences sold 80 per cent of its 22 apartments within 24 hours, with prices ranging from $1.17 million, for a two-bedroom apartment, to $10.6 million for the penthouse.
Director of KM Sales and Marketing Jayde Pezet, who handled the Flow Residences, said he was “extremely optimistic” about the potential for more high-end developments along the “trendy but sophisticated” southern Gold Coast.
“It’s the Gold Coast’s time to shine and everything is adding up,” he said.
But Councillor O’Neill said the project’s impact on view corridors should have been discussed in council’s planning committee.
Project passed under special delegation
The code assessable application was approved on Monday via a special delegation of chair of the city planning committee Councillor Cameron Caldwell, CEO Dale Dickson, and Mayor Tom Tate.
Code assessable applications are not required to be voted on by councillors.
But Councillor O’Neill said the loss of views for nearby residents and possible disruptions to traffic safety meant Flow should have been at least discussed by councillors in the planning committee.
“[It’s] the chance for anybody living in that area, especially if they’ve got concerns about safety, it gives them a voice,” she said.
Councillor O’Neill said while “the proper processes have been followed” it highlighted the need for changes to the city plan.
‘Something the Gold Coast hasn’t seen before’
Mr Pezet said the apartments marked an increasing demand for more high-end developments along the southern Gold Coast.
“Rainbow Bay, as such, is a north-facing beach, very much the same as Byron Bay and Noosa and if we look at properties there, they’re so tightly held and have expensive square metre rates,” he said.
Complete with wine and surfboard lockers, Mr Pezet said the development was “something the Gold Coast hasn’t seen before” with “major interest” from Brisbane-based and interstate buyers for properties in the $3 million-plus range.
The Gold Coast has always had a little bit of a stigma about it with people from interstate but that’s certainly not the case at this point,” he said.
“Eateries that have now come to town, and a lot of interstate operators — that just adds to the appeal.
The development, from S&S Projects, is due to be completed by early 2022, supporting around 1,000 construction jobs.
This article is republished from www.abc.net.au under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.