Holm Turns Shovel to Casuarina Apartment Project

The young and the old will meet a couple of blocks back from Casuarina Beach early next month when two joint venture partners break ground on a four-storey residential tower along the northern New South Wales coast.

Eighty-one-year-old John De Martini, the son of northern Italian immigrants, and 40-year-old builder-turned-developer Godfrey Esmonde are teaming up to build Pama Casuarina, a $30 million project delivering 47 apartments in the sought-after beachfront town.

In a clear sign of the town’s popularity, 34 of the apartments—or 73 per cent—have been sold and with construction slated for May 8, all of those have been pre-sales.

It is the second time Holm Developments and DeMartini Fletcher Property Development have worked together.  Most recently they completed the eight-apartment residential block known as V Clayfield, north of Brisbane.

“That project worked well,” said Holm founder and director Esmonde.  “And so we decided to do another one together.

▲ The Casuarina apartment complex plans storage for surfboards.

“There's a bit of an age difference between us, but that gives us experience.  On John’s behalf it is a more tempered approach to things and for me there’s an enthusiasm and excitement for the stuff.”

The partners acquired the 4083-sq-m lot at 5 Grand Parade, Casuarina in November of 2021, paying $8.69 million.  Not long after, Azure Development Group paid nearly $21 million for the neighbouring 7354-sq-m parcel at 6 Grand Parade.

Esmonde says the partners have contracted Hutchinson Builders to undertake construction of the Plus Architecture design.  He concedes in builder and contractor-strapped south-east Queensland that can be challenging.

“Look, I think we involved [Hutchies] early in the process,” Esmonde said.

“And you know everyone wants a builder, but what Hutchies wants is certainty of a project. I can't speak for them, but they would have had a number of projects on the books that don't eventuate, especially on the Gold Coast.

“And I think it was attractive because they were aware of the strong financial position our project is in, that the sales were on the board, and that ANZ financing was there.”

▲ It is the second time Holm Developments and DeMartini Fletcher have worked together.

The mix of two, three and four-bedroom apartments are going for between $1 million and $3 million.  The 34 pre-sold apartments were all contracted in just 13 months.  Two were sold last week.

“A lot of them have been sold to people from the Gold Coast who just don't like the Gold Coast anymore,” said Esmonde.  

“Burleigh is not what it used to be, and the population of the Gold Coast has exploded.”

He pointed to stronger controls on density in northern New South Wales which he said was attractive to many buyers.

“That brings it back to what the southern Gold Coast used to be,” he said.

“The quieter end of town.”