Tower developer Gurner has swooped on a site in inner-city Melbourne’s affluent South Yarra with plans to build an $800-million luxury residential high-rise.
Touted to rival its own high-end beachside Saint Moritz development at nearby St Kilda, the proposal would comprise 160 to 180 apartments.
It is understood Gurner purchased the 4651sq m corner site at 424-426 St Kilda Road in a deal worth about $80 million.
The acquisition is the high-profile developer’s second in recent months, which have been tumultuous for its chief executive Tim Gurner after he publicly claimed workers had become “arrogant” since Covid and tradies had been “paid a lot to do not too much in the last few years”.
“Unemployment has to jump 40 to 50 per cent in my view. We need to see pain in the economy,” he said. “We need to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way around.”
The controversial comments went viral on social media with posts featuring a video of the millionaire developer’s comments at a property summit viewed by millions around the world.
Firebrand US democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortz hit back on X (formerly known as Twitter) saying: “Reminder that major CEOs have skyrocketed their own pay so much that the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay is now at some of the highest levels *ever* recorded”.
Gurner swiftly expressed regret for his comments, conceding they were “wrong” and “deeply insensitive to employees, tradies and families across Australia who are affected by these cost-of-living pressures and job losses”.
But the latest South Yarra addition to his company’s $10-billion-plus development pipeline indicates it is business-as-usual for the entrepreneur.
The acquisition is the second seed asset for Gurner’s build-to-sell fund, for which he secured $400 million last year from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC.
It follows the $200-million purchase in July of a 1195sq m site at 189 Kent Street in the heart of Sydney, which it has earmarked for an $800-million residential and retail development play comprising two 34-storey towers.
The South Yarra site is currently occupied by two six-storey office buildings joined by a five-level atrium, which will be demolished to make way for the upmarket residential tower.
“I have had my eye on this particular site for more than a decade, having cut my teeth with (Melbourne property mogul) Morry Schwartz on 401 St Kilda Road in 2008,” Gurner said.
“So it’s humbling to be able to come full circle with another site now directly across the road some 15 years later, still with the same aspirations to create a new benchmark for residential design just as 401 did at the time.”
He said it was a prime corner location and “we cannot wait to do it justice”.
“Saint Moritz showed us the depth of this end of the market and we are excited to evolve and elevate this concept and take it even further with this project.
“As with all our projects we will be delivering iconic architecture, curated residences and 6-star amenity, all with a world-class wellness and retail offering that will allow residents to live their best life.
“This is a longer-term play for us as the buildings currently house some long-term tenants, so we’ll see out those leases before launching when the time is right.
“ We are fortunate to be in an incredibly strong position with a large amount of capital ready to deploy in a market that is deeply dislocated so we are taking a counter-cyclical approach to deals that make sense for our business.”
