SKF development completes sellout of Mermaid Sanctuary project with a land sale record
Brisbane-based SKF Development has achieved a $24 million sell-out of Mermaid Sanctuary, a rare land offering on the central Gold Coast that has delivered a land sale record for Mermaid Waters.
The 12-lot waterfront subdivision, located on the sprawling 1.2ha site that was once home to Gold Coast development pioneer and philanthropist Jock McIllwain, drew significant interest from local, interstate, and international buyers looking to secure a landholding in one of the city’s most sought-after coastal suburbs.
Located on an exclusive peninsular on the shore of Lake Wonderland, Mermaid Sanctuary achieved a land sale record of $3 million for the lakefront precinct.
Released to the market late last year, Mermaid Sanctuary delivered 12 homesites, generously sized from 628sqm to 1,009sqm, in an exclusive master-planned enclave on McIlwain Drive.
Development of Mermaid Sanctuary was completed early this year and ten homesites have now sold with two lots awaiting settlement, marking a new chapter for the site that for many years was the private residential address for Mr McIlwain, an engineer who helped shape the Gold Coast through key civil projects from Cavill Avenue Mall to the Isle of Capri and the canal estates of Mermaid Waters.
The former city councillor, who passed away in 2016 aged 89, was a close friend of the renowned father of the modern Gold Coast, Sir Bruce Small.
Mr McIlwain, a great supporter of the arts and culture on the Gold Coast, played a role in many of the city’s transformational waterfront developments including Lake Wonderland at Mermaid Waters where he would later make his home.
“The success of Mermaid Sanctuary pays tribute to Mr McIlwain’s lasting legacy that has made the Gold Coast what it is today,” said SKF Development director Eric Zhao.
“Mermaid Sanctuary achieved a very high inquiry rate from buyers, many of whom were looking to upsize to a waterfront location which is extremely rare to find on the central Gold Coast today.”
Among the buyers to stake their claim in the Gold Coast’s development history are local and Brisbane business owners, property developers and property industry professionals.
Prices achieved at Mermaid Sanctuary ranged from $1.2 million to $3 million, with land sales reaching a high of about $3,000 per square metre among the last sites sold.
The $3 million record represented a 35 per cent price premium compared to similar waterfront lot sold during the same period for a site located across Lake Wonderland.
Each site at Mermaid Sanctuary offers wide lot frontage that allows maximum design flexibility for a new home, while each offers the option of adding a pontoon for direct water access.
The luxurious private community features 24-hour CCTV, security patrols, professionally created and maintained landscaping, including signature 30-year-old Canary Island date palms, a generous internal road with custom granite bands and high-quality LED street lighting to complement the modern home designs planned for the community.
A Brisbane team of professionals was enlisted by SKF Development to undertake the landmark project. Myers Ellyett Architects was responsible for the concept architectural design of Mermaid Sanctuary, while landscape architecture was delivered by Citicene Landscape Architects and civil works were undertaken by local contractor Alder Civil.
SKF Development is a highly experienced residential and commercial developer with a south-east Queensland portfolio currently totalling $100 million.
The company recently announced a major infill development, Ashgrove Sanctuary, in Brisbane that will deliver 18 residential lots on the site of a former caravan park with a large proportion of the site devoted to a nature reserve with more than three thousand new plants to be planted as part of the project.
On the Gold Coast, the company is undertaking Baileys Reserve, an 83-townhouse development at Upper Coomera, building on the company’s successful recent industrial development in Coomera.
SKF Development is also the company behind the Area 51 Indoor Entertainment Centre at Logan, which is the largest of its kind in Australia.