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A year after placing the landmark D’Arcy Arms hotel on the market, BMD Group founder and Queensland rich-lister Mick Power has laid plans for a 33-level residential tower to be located on the iconic Surfers Paradise property.
The proposed tower is one of two planned by Power as a gateway to Northcliffe with a separate application for a 30-level tower to be located on a vacant site to the north of D’Arcy Arms.
The plans for D’Arcy Arms submitted by Microrose Pty Ltd, a private company controlled by Mick and Denise Power, comprise 72 apartments and 25 short-stay, serviced apartments.
However, the proposal also includes the resurrection of a hospitality venue on the 3,154 sqm site, maintaining a link to the site’s 34-year history as a popular local drinking hole.
According to the supporting documents filed with the City of Gold Coast, the proposed development aims to maintain the use of the site for commercial purposes and short-term accommodation while ‘significantly increasing the development intensity and providing for residential apartments’. Three ground-floor commercial outlets are proposed for the site to accommodate food and drink outlets.
D’Arcy Arms has been a mainstay of the Surfers Paradise hospitality scene since 1988. Power, who been a decades-long member and long-time sponsor of the nearby BMD Northcliffe Surf Life Saving Club, has owned the D’Arcy Arms property since 2004.
Last year, he placed the site on the market looking to capitalise on demand for development sites on the Gold Coast. In the past, he had toyed with the idea of developing the property himself or with a partner. It is unclear whether he intends to redevelop the D’Arcy Arms property this time around or if he is preparing the site for a future sale with approvals in place.
The site is located on a prominent site on the corner of the Gold Coast Highway and Frederick Street. The two towers proposed by Power sit alongside new developments proposed to their immediate north and south in what has become a highly active precinct for development interests.
A 17-level development comprising 35 apartments is planned on the southern corner site of Frederick Street and the Gold Coast highway which will also include a food and drink outlet.
Power’s second tower to the north of D’Arcy Arms will comprise a mix of 84 apartments with a suite of So-Ho units on the lower levels to cater for commercial uses.
Meanwhile, the proposal for the D’Arcy Arms site will include residents’ amenities on the third level podium, including a swimming pool, lounge areas, gym, landscaped seating areas and breakout spaces. Another communal recreation level is proposed on level nine comprising two entertaining rooms with breakout spaces available to residents and their guests.
The D’Arcy Arms application says the proposed development will deliver a mixed-use project that caters to the city’s growing population, leveraging off its position close to central Surfers Paradise and its location directly on the city’s light rail route.
“Surfers Paradise is currently transitioning from outdated and underdeveloped building forms to more intense urban development outcomes that are more reflective of the area’s envisaged developed outcome,” the application says. “The proposed development aligns with this transition.”
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