Beloved cafe strip to make way for 47-unit boomer tower
MELBOURNE: A beloved cafe strip is set to make way for a proposed baby boomer apartment tower.
The one-story building, fronting the Gold Coast Hwy and Sunbrite Ave is home to the Little Mermaid Cafe, bike shop, gym and an adult shop, will be replaced by a seven-storey mixed-use complex under fresh plans lodged with the Gold Coast City Council.
The proposal has been put forward LGDC Brodesville, an entity linked to businessmen Adam John Lacey, 47 of Mermaid Beach, and Brisbane’s Damian Winterburn, 44.
According to documents lodged with council, the boutique mixed-used project will feature commercial and retail offerings on its ground floor, with five levels of residential units.
The ground level will feature four tenancies, with a mixture of food and drink, as well as retail opportunities, along with a pedestrian plaza and infinity pool overlooking Sunbrite Ave.
“Level 1 of the development will accommodate a modest office component and associated parking positioned toward the highway frontage,” a report lodged with council reads.
“Above this, the building will comprise five levels of permanent residential apartments, delivering a mix of two and three-bedroom dwellings and a total yield of 47 apartments.
“The proposal will contribute to housing diversity in Mermaid Beach and aligns with the City’s strategic intent for sustainable urban growth in well-connected locations that are supported by existing transport and commercial infrastructure.”
The unnamed building will have a total of 111 bedrooms.
The project has been designed by leading firm BDA, which is also based a handful of streets away on Peerless Ave.
An attached existing building, home to a Liquorland and Domino’s take away shop will remain.
The proposal will go before the council’s planning committee later this year.
It is the latest new mixed-used development to be proposed along the corridor of the light rail’s Broadbeach to Burleigh stretch, replacing ageing low-rise buildings.