Hilton Surfers Paradise is the first leisure-focused hotel and residences development by Hilton Hotels & Resorts in Australia.

It is also the first international five-star equivalent hotel to be built on the Gold Coast since 2000.

Newly appointed General Manager, David Kelly, brings with him more than 20 years experience in the hospitality industry.

At least 15 of those years have been spent with Hilton Worldwide, both in Australia and internationally.

Kelly was most recently the General Manager at Hilton Cairns, where he undertook major refurbishment projects and successfully restructured the business.

Prior to this he was Director of Business Development for Hilton Sydney during the hotel’s refurbishment and subsequent re-launch.

He also spent four years with Hilton in New York.

Kelly says it is a great honor to be appointed as General Manager of the newest and most eagerly-awaited upper upscale hotel to be built on the Gold Coast in years.

“Hilton Surfers Paradise is set to deliver a new standard of contemporary holiday accommodation on the Gold Coast,” he says.

“The development of a hotel and residence concept caters for customers need for additional space and more flexible accommodation options, without sacrificing upscale service and five star facilities.

Hilton Surfers Paradise will be the first hotel and residences offering by the leading accomodation chain in Australia, with 250 one, two and three-bedroom apartments available for holiday-makers.

It consists of two towers, with Boulevard Tower opening its doors to both residents and guests in December and Orchid Tower, consisting of additional residences and a dedicated Hilton Hotel, scheduled to open in mid-2011.

Graeme Juniper, whose Juniper Group is developing the 77-level tower overlooking the beach, said he was selling down the group’s Sunshine Coast assets and looking for opportunities on the Gold Coast.

“Our experience with developing and working with the Gold Coast City Council has been good, so we are looking for more opportunities on the Gold Coast,” he said.

“Our experience is that they’ve been most co-operative.

“We have all worked together to get the right outcome.”

The group has put the remainder of its prime retail complexes in Zanzibar at Mooloolaba up for sale.

It has also sold out its $60 million Coconut Grove project in Port Douglas.

Mr Juniper said the group would look for a range of developments on the Coast.

“We’ve done everything from small unit developments to multi-level towers,” he said. He declined to reveal what his company’s next Gold Coast project would be.

“That takes all the surprise out of it,” he said.

“Every week we are evaluating sites as part of an ongoing program.

“We’ve been doing it for years.

“We wait until something sticks its head up and we, as an organisation, feel it’s something we can do justice to.”

Established in 1992 the Juniper Group has compiled a $1 billion mixed-use property portfolio.

Construction on the group’s 245m Soul tower began in 2007 and will be completed next year.

Over its opening weekend of operation, an estimated 4000 people rode the wheel, which sits above the transit centre in Surfers Paradise and offers views of the ocean, Coolangatta, Mt Warning and the hinterland.

Owner Ken Jackson was deilghted with the number of people who had enjoyed the new attraction, and said he planned to open a rooftop cafe, mini-golf and reptile park at the site before Christmas.

”Everyone came off smiling, so it makes you feel good,” said Mr Jackson.

The wheel operates daily from 10am to late.

Fibre optic-based telecommuncation services are integrated with wireless services to deliver high speed Internet and managed voice services to the Hilton Hotel, Residents and Retail tenants.

Click here to learn more about the services available for residential customers from Pivit at the Hilton Surfers Paradise.

MC Projects, the building arm of Vivid Progress, will launch Vivid development at Beach Parade today.

The four-storey development is on a 1012sq m site on the corner of Beach Parade and First Avenue opposite the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Vivid Progress, linked to Ju You, Kwang Lee and Myoung Park of Upper Coomera, paid $1.95 million for the two-title site in February last year.

Vivid has six two-bedroom units on the lower two floors, four three-bedroom units on the top two floors and a 23-car basement car park.

Units are priced between $550,000 and $1.1 million and are 112sq m to 220sq m.

Garry Green of the Garry Green Group said Vivid was the first unit development for MC Projects on the Gold Coast.

“They have built some luxury homes here but this is the first unit development,” he said.

He said a lift helped set the development apart from many other unit complexes in an area dominated by three-storey walk-ups and high-density buildings.

“We believe a lot of our sales will come from buyers within 1.5km of the complex,” he said.

“We think people will be attracted to the ground floor units which, when you take into account the external courtyard areas, are almost 200sq m in size.

“Conceptual drawings have been done for the top-floor units to have the option of utilising 25sq m of space on the roof.”

Mr Green said should the units sell well MC Projects would look for other opportunities in the area.

“They are testing the market with this one,” he said.

Since April purchasers have secured or placed deposits on 27 apartments including a mix of two and three-bedroom apartments worth an average $1.5 million.

Tim Willing, from Brookfield Multiplex, says buyers came from Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne and overseas including China, India, Singapore and Dubai.

“Two of our last four sales have been at the top end of apartments currently available, both three bedroom residences priced between $2 million and $3 million,” he said.

“Our first tower, Boulevard Tower, is already sold out with settlements expected in December 2010 and three-quarters of apartments have now sold in the second tower, Orchid Tower.”

Construction of the Boulevard Tower, which will feature 186 apartments, is on track for completion late this year, while Orchid Tower which will comprise 224 residences and a 169-room Hilton hotel, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2011.

Facilities available at the hotel include a luxury day spa, signature restaurant, executive lounge, gymnasium and swimming pool and a retail precinct at street level.

Hilton Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast) – construction update…

Construction has topped out on the roof of the Boulevard tower of the Hilton Surfers Paradise Hotel and Residences on the Gold Coast – reaching 32 levels and 186 residences.

At the same time, work is moving forward on the second and tallest tower, Orchid Tower, which is currently at level 14 and due for completion in late 2011.

It will feature 57 levels and include luxury residential apartments and a Hilton Hotel.

The basement car park excavation has reached the B5 level, which is the lowest basement in the total of 6 levels.

With only 37 opportunities remaining within the development, this is the final opportunity to secure a private Hilton residence. Click here for more details on Hilton Surfers Paradise.

This is the largest package of early works contracts released so far, and will provide a shot in the arm for the local construction industry.

The works support stage one of the project, a 13-kilometre light rail corridor connecting Griffith University and the new 750-bed Gold Coast University Hospital to Broadbeach, passing through the key centres of Southport and Surfers Paradise.

Bligh says the project is the first light rail network in any regional Australian city and is part of managing the enormous growth that has occurred on the Coast.

“These major tenders confirm the project will be delivered and we will build a transport network that will take 75,000 cars off Gold Coast roads when it is completed in 2014,” she says.

“This will provide a fully integrated public transport system and a more affordable and reliable alternative to car travel for all Coast residents, boosting public transport use from 4 percent to 10 percent.

“Let me be perfectly clear – it is full steam ahead for rapid transit. It is becoming a reality and that’s great news for the Gold Coast.”

Albanese says the project is part of the Rudd Government’s unprecedented $37 billion investment in transport infrastructure.

“Our record investment is aimed at building more sustainable communities, a more productive economy and supporting the economic recovery,” he says.

“This project ticks all the boxes – it will slash greenhouse gas emissions 114,000 tonnes within its first decade of operation and generate more than 6,300 direct and indirect jobs for locals.

“After a decade of neglect, the national government is now back in the business of building our cities, and these tenders show we are serious about better infrastructure for the Gold Coast.”

Bligh says the road-works package will be delivered using a competitive early contractor involvement (ECI) approach.

“The project team has identified two government-funded packages valued at approximately $110 million that will lay the foundations for the future light rail system,” she says.

Advertising for the two road works will commence over the next week with the packages divided geographically into two areas: road works north (Southport); and road works south (Broadbeach).

The works would include road widening, the relocation of public utilities and accommodation works such as the reinstatement of driveways, fencing and car parks.

“These works are vital in preparing the stage one corridor for the laying of the light rail tracks and the construction of stations which will be conducted by the appointed operator from 2012-2014,” Bligh says.

“We are seeking Main Roads pre-qualified and experienced contractors to bid for the road-works packages and I would encourage all interested contractors to visit the e-tenders website www.tenders.qld.gov.au for more information.”

The latest quarterly report by Colliers International highlighted Surfers Paradise, Southport and Labrador as hot spots in 2010, with house and unit prices set to soar between seven and 10 per cent.

Helensvale, Varsity Lakes, Robina and Tugun, located close to major shopping centres and the Pacific Motorway, also made the list of best buys.

Colliers research director Aaron Maskrey said Gold Coast property prices were set to rise rapidly this year, as the beachside region bounced back in the wake of the global financial crisis.

“After the challenging year of 2009… due to the global economic conditions impacting on the Gold Coast property market, hot spots for 2010 will focus on areas where recovery will most likely thrive,” he said.

But property analyst Michael Matusik said the price recovery on the Gold Coast could be limited, as the market had performed as poorly as expected in 2009.

“The Gold Coast market, and in particular Surfers Paradise, has been getting a caning of late,” Mr Matusik said.

“There is no question that the Gold Coast is doing it tougher than the rest, with our data [which is based on cleaned up resales] showing that apartment values fell nine per cent during 2008 and a further four per cent last year,” he said.

“According to the latest Queensland government valuations issued in March, ocean-front land has fallen by 30 per cent on the coast.

“But ocean-front apartment values in Surfers Paradise at least actually rose last year – up by 8.9 per cent.”

Mr Maskrey said the property compass has pointed towards suburbs to be serviced by the Gold Coast’s planned Rapid Transit System, although the first stage of the $949 million project is not due to be completed until 2014.

Median prices in each of the listed hot spots ranged from $320,000 for units to $515,000 for houses at the end of 2009 according to the report.

But Mr Maskrey said the completion of the Rapid Transit System and developments in Surfers Paradise, including the Soul and Hilton towers, could soon see property prices jump up to 10 per cent as local residents are attracted back to the tourist hub.

However, local buyers will face competition from foreign investors.

During December and January, the Juniper Group reportedly secured seven sales amounting to $10 million at its 77-storey, $850 million Soul development in the heart of Surfers Paradise, for Chinese, Indonesian and New Zealand investors.

Overseas buyers injected $407 million into the state’s residential market last financial year, of which 45 per cent was spent on the Gold Coast.

Mr Maskrey said first-home buyers may find better value for money in Helensvale where townhouses and units were priced in the $300′s.

“Helensvale is home to a Westfield Shopping Centre and has easy access to the M1 and a railway station,” he said.

Even with the turbulent market of the past eighteen months, new valuations are expected to push the average land value in some seaside suburbs, including Mermaid Beach and Surfers Paradise over the $1 million mark. Suburbs like Robina and Coomera can also be expected to show strong growth.

Utilized to calculate Council Rates, rate payers will likely see a rise of their annual charges with the new valuations expected to start from June 30 2010.

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