Gurner Launches $600m 'FV' Development Amid Concerns of an Apartment Oversupply

After two-and-a-half years of construction, Gurner has officially unveiled the first two towers of its $600 million Brisbane development.

The launch of FV comes a week after BIS Economics forecast high-rise apartment construction will halve over the next three years. In its residential property forecast 2017-2020 report, BIS indicated that the resurgence in prices in the current financial year is likely to be short-lived as a looming oversupply of apartments in our major cities will dampen price growth.

Gurner rebuffed claims that the local market was oversupplied, “With so much pressure on house prices in Australia, Brisbane provides an incredibly affordable option for first home buyers and owners. Brisbane is 50% more affordable than Melbourne and 60-70% [more affordable] than Sydney – it is now something people just cannot ignore.”

Notwithstanding concerns of an oversupply or weakening markets, Gurner has sold all apartments of the FV development, “People have been saying the Brisbane market is oversupplied for years, however, for us to be able to sell all 981 apartments and now look to release a number of these apartments into the rental pool to a registration list that is already oversubscribed, all evidence points to the market being in very good shape as people look to upgrade from older, inferior apartments.” Gurner said.

[Related reading: Gurner Secures $300m In Sales For Prominent Fortitude Valley Project]

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At a media event this week, Gurner revealed that an additional $8 million-plus had been spent to further upgrade the apartments, lobby and amenity area, in an effort to ensure this project would be “something Brisbane can be proud of for many years to come and push the limits of what is possible in apartment living.”

“When we first unveiled our ambitious plans for FV, we had a lot of doubters and naysayers. People laughed at us and said we would never get the project off the ground.

“All that speculation just made us more motivated to deliver something truly incredible and special to the market, and I believe we have achieved that and more.

“I am definitely a perfectionist so we spent many millions of dollars throughout the construction process to deliver even more value into the design. We are incredibly proud of the result and can’t wait to see what residents think when they begin moving in next month,” Gurner said.

In addition to the FV Private Club, estimated to have cost more than $20 million, the developer also upgraded a number of inclusions and materials throughout the buildings, including upgrades for all owners to floorboards, the largest ever LifeFitness gym equipment order in Queensland, extra landscaping, premium retail fit-outs, acoustic upgrades, and additional finishes throughout lobbies and amenity level.

Designed by Elenberg Fraser, FV is situated within a rapidly evolving part of the Fortitude Valley and in total across all three buildings, will deliver over 3,600 sq m of retail, 4,300 sq m of resident amenity within the FV Private Club and 981 residential apartments.

The first two buildings, “Flatiron” and “Valley House”, include 1860 sq m of retail space and over 2,500 sq m of communal amenity, including four pools – one of which stretches 65 m around the nose of flatiron in a ‘U’ shape – a moonlight cinema, three VIP spa and dining areas, a commercial-sized Life Fitness gym and yoga studio, additional private dining spaces and resort-style sun decks, among other amenity.

Construction first commenced in April 2015 with Brookfield Multiplex (now Multiplex) awarded what was at the time considered one of Brisbane’s largest construction contracts, rumoured to be in the vicinity of $150 – $160 million.

Construction across the first two stages has generated 550 immediate jobs and a further 2,000 jobs off-site.

[Related reading: Gurner Awards $150 Million FV Contract To Top Building Company]

Gurner signed Winning Appliances as the key anchor tenant, with the retailer moving from their existing Brunswick Street showroom into a new 1770 sq m showroom housed in the apex of the triangular Flatiron building earlier this year.

Gurner also recently signed Mantra Group’s Peppers brand as the sole management rights operator for the project in what represents the largest off-the-plan management rights deal in Australia to-date.

FV will be operated as FV Peppers Residences, a long-term apartment leasing and management facility.

Mantra Group Chief Executive Officer Bob East said the opening of FV Peppers Residences heralds the arrival of the Peppers brand in Brisbane and will be the Group’s largest property in Australia.

[Related reading: Gurner Announces $600m Monster Management Rights Sale]