Developers eye Surfers Paradise apartment development site, once proposed for luxury Markwell tower

Gold Coast apartment seekers, who are getting frustrated as developments continue to sell out prior to launch, are expected to have more of an opportunity when the construction of Markwell finally gets underway.

The Surfers Paradise Boulevard site, where the 47-level, 210 apartment Markwell was given development approval for in 2015 by its owners Citimark Properties, is set to be sold, with developers already showing interest on the dress circle address just 200 metres from the beach.

The approved plans for Markwell, located at 2983-2991 Surfers Paradise Boulevard, have been designed by BDA Architecture and include 552sqm of retail space.

There will be a mix of two-bedroom, two-bathroom and three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments, the latter targeting the downsizer.

It's a rarity for such a prime piece of real estate to come with development approval, GV Property Group Director Antonio Mercuri, who is handling the marketing with CBRE.

“While the demand is at an all-time high, there’s a scarcity of sites available, and even less on-market with DA approval, making parcels of land like this one an incredible and rare opportunity,” Mercuri said.

Mercuri said now is the time to invest in the Gold Coast, with a strong market outlook market post the pandemic peak.

“We’ve seen a significant influx of interest and sales in the Gold Coast market in recent months.

"With international travel still limited and many interstate Australians looking for a sea change after a challenging couple of years, the Gold Coast market has never been stronger."

CBRE Gold Coast Managing Director Mark Witheriff said it's exciting to see a site of this calibre on-market at a time of tremendous confidence in the Gold Coast market.

"Markwell provides an opportunity to develop in the enormously popular Surfers Paradise hub, which usually attracts some 5.1 million visitors from around Australia and across the globe and has a growing resident population.”

Located on the corner of Markwell Avenue and Surfers Paradise Boulevard, the site is primely positioned in close proximity to the Q1 precinct and the new light rail. The site was last transacted in June 2015 for $11 million to Citimark Properties and now has a potential gross realisation value of circa $200 million.

Citimark Properties are offloading the site as they shift their focus to their other projects across their portfolio, which includes a soon-to-be-launched Chevron Island development, Mirador.

"Six years on, we look forward to seeing Markwell come to life, led by its new owners," John Bowman, development director at Citimark, said.