Gurner to open QLD office to service over $2 billion local pipeline
Multi-billion-dollar developer GURNERTM has solidified its Queensland presence with a high-profile local senior team and a new office location, building on the developer’s Melbourne Head office and recently announced Sydney expansion.
GURNERTM has recently appointed Rob Cooke as Chief Delivery Officer and Jaime Cali as its Queensland Project Director, who joins the team after five and half years as Project Director of the Destination Gold Coast Consortium.
Rob Cooke has been an industry leader for over 30 years, working at Far East Consortium for 20 years and prior to that employed at Multiplex. Rob joins the GURNERTM team to work across all major projects as the brand continues to push into large-scale mixed-use precincts across Australia.
While Jaime Cali in her previous role led the development of the Consortium’s $2 billion dollar masterplan and the delivery of the first two stages at The Star Gold Coast.
Jaime will join three other local GURNERTM team members in Queensland at a recently established Brisbane head office, to be led by GURNERTM founder and CEO, Tim Gurner, and Chief Delivery Officer Rob Cooke, as the brand rapidly expands its Queensland pipeline.
The developer’s national pipeline now well exceeds $10 billion with over $2 billion of that now focussed in Queensland across six residential towers and existing investment assets.
That pipeline includes GURNERTM’s city-shaping $1.5billion La Pelago island precinct, which is expected to hit the market sometime in 2023, consisting of four residential towers and hotel.
The pipeline also includes a recently acquired Burleigh development and a 250+ apartment project in Fortitude Valley next to GURNERTM’s completed half-a-billion-dollar FV asset, which was completed in 2017 and consists of 1,000 apartments over three 30-storey towers.
GURNERTM is also looking at further acquisitions in Brisbane, Gold Coast and surrounding locations, to continue to bolster the QLD business.
“Queensland is a big part of our brand’s history and will continue to be a huge strategic focus for us in the next two to five years," Gurner says.
“We are very excited to establish the office in Queensland and ensure we have the absolute best local team to ensure we can deliver these projects to the exacting standards by which the GURNERTM brand has become so well known.
“We believe the Gold Coast in particular is going through a once in a generation reinvigoration and we plan to be at the forefront of this with a presence across residential, hotel, hospitality and wellness brands.
“Our aim is for Queensland to represent roughly 10-15% percent of our pipeline in the coming years so this investment into a best-in-class local team means we can continue to raise the bar for luxury residential design in Australia.
“It is a very interesting time in Queensland with construction pricing causing a lot of angst in the industry. We are aware of what is going on and that upheaval in the market is one of the big reasons for our focus on the region.
“We have been through this cycle before in Brisbane with FV and so we are aware of how it plays out and confident that the market will calibrate and construction prices will drop again, as there is absolutely no work in the pipeline beyond mid-year for anything major scale residential, with a large number of jobs pulled or not going ahead.
“That huge drop in supply combined with the incredible demand from state migration is setting up Queensland to be a great place for us to invest into the future."
GURNERTM Chief Delivery Officer Rob Cooke said the team are looking to create in Queensland is going to set a new benchmark for the state.
“We are investing heavily in our team and the state as we strongly believe that COVID has really changed the outlook for Queensland with immense immigration from the southern states as people prioritise this lifestyle and weather.
“We are putting together a world class team in Queensland that will be lead by Jaime who is best in class, and a great asset for the future of the business.”
GURNERTM Queensland Project Director, Jaime Cali, said, as a Queensland local, she has witnessed the area’s transformation over the past decade.
"I've never been more excited about the future of this city than right now," Cali said.
“Joining GURNERTM at this pivotal moment as the team prepares to launch and deliver La Pelago is an exciting milestone. I’m excited to bring my expertise to the team and help lead the creation of this once-in-a-lifetime precinct.”
The GURNERTM team is currently finalising plans for its $1.5billion La Pelago precinct, which has been designed by international architects, Warren & Mahoney, and is centred around the concept of a luxurious ‘private island resort – a truly unique offering for Australia and the Gold Coast’.