SUNLAND STOCKS UP IN SYDNEY, BUT GOLD COAST STILL IN SIGHTS

SUNLAND Group (ASX: SDG) has laid the groundwork for an $80 million residential development in Sydney, but the company also continues to push into the recovering Gold Coast housing market.

The Brisbane-based developer this week snared a 3ha site in Warriewood from high rise king Harry Triguboff for $18 million.

The deal was sweet for Triguboff. The billionaire apartment developer paid just $5 million for the site in 2009, selling it after a high rise project he planned for it was rejected by the local council.

However, Sunland has earmarked the property for 81 townhomes to be launched in 2016, adding to a $127 million master-planned community the company launched last month at North Kellyville in Sydney.

Sunland continues to be buoyed by the Sydney market, despite the challenge in finding suitable sites in the face of strong competition from other developers.

The first stage of Dahlia Residences in North Kellyville sold out in the first week of release.

While its returns from the Gold Coast market may not be as strong, Sunland is also ramping up its activities on the tourism strip where this week it received development approval for a new $18 million residential community at Hope Island.

The exclusive Quays Hope Island project will comprise 40 premium three-bedroom townhomes, some with waterfront views over the Hope Island Grand Canal.

The homes, to be priced from $425,000, will target first-home buyers and empty-nesters. Construction is due to start in the first quarter of 2015.

The latest project is part of $1 billion in developments planned by Sunland on the Gold Coast which is its traditional home base.

Across its national portfolio, the company has more than $3.2 billion in works planned over the next three to five years.

This includes the 40-storey Abian tower in Brisbane’s CBD and Grace on Coronation, the proposed three-tower redevelopment of the old ABC studios in Toowong.

The Toowong project comes on the heels of a strong take-up of apartments at Abian, where Sunland has sold more than 80 per cent of the apartment stock off the plan.