WORK has started on a $100 million apartment complex at Hope Island — seven years after developer Bob Laybutt began planning the project.
Mr Laybutt indicated achieving council approval for Tranquil Apartments had been difficult, which had delayed marketing of the development well past the boom times of the Gold Coast property market.
The land has been cleared and roads are now being constructed on the site where the four-block, five-storey gated complex will be built.
The first stage of the project will involve just 15 units, but Mr Laybutt hopes to have the whole development finished in five to seven years.
“We will tackle one stage at a time, selling them off and then moving on to the next,” he said.
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom units are being offered for sale from $299,000.
Mr Laybutt said the 5 per cent return they offered would make them attractive to investors, but he also expected strong interest from first homebuyers.
Besides the low price of apartments, the project’s selling points include its closeness to golf courses and the Broadwater, plus the entertaining areas and in-ground swimming pool that are included.
Colliers International residential project marketing director Tony Holland said most of the receiver stock at Hope Island had now been sold, clearing the way for projects such as Tranquil.
“Mr Laybutt will have this segment of the market to himself,” he said. “Most of the other apartment stock at Hope Island is now gone.”
There are still a few apartments for sale in nearby projects such as Stillwater at Hope Island Resort, but Tranquil is in a different price bracket from existing developments.
Mr Laybutt said he had always intended for the apartments to be affordable, but pricing had been adjusted down to meet the current market.
“The apartments are nearly 20 per cent cheaper than they would have been,” he said.
