pommepal

Storm brewing on the horizon…

storm clouds 041_3264x2448Today we visited a friend for lunch. She lives on the 15th floor of a hi-rise apartment building. What a view, I had to take some photos. But my camera battery was dead! Oh well I always have the phone in my bag. As we watched storm clouds roll in and torrential rain began to fall. I’m so happy as the garden and all the newly planted seedlings will get a soaking.

Notice tiny, one and two story beach houses dwarfed by the surrounding hi-rise buildings? storm clouds 043_3264x2448These are the original style of residences that were all along the coast 50-60 years ago. Not many left now. They are being snapped up by developers, because of their position I’m estimating they will sell for over a million dollars each.

But look to the north of these buildings…

storm clouds 042_3264x2448This building, still under construction, is called “The Jewel” It towers to 48 floors and 170 metres high. How annoying for the other buildings behind it as they have now had their view of the ocean blocked by this looming, black monster. The 3 separate complexes are due for completion by the end of this year.  But this is actually quite small as  at present the tallest residential building on the Gold Coast, built in 2005, is Q1. It rears into the sky with 78 floors

This is a photo from when I did a post about this iconic building in 2015, come back with me here to take a look…

Q1 Surfers Paradise-2_2905x3873

 

But it, in its turn, will soon be dwarfed by 2 more buildings that are in the proposed pipeline, one will be 103 floors and the other 104 floors.

I wonder where this race for height supremacy will end…

43 comments

  1. Skyscrapers are still the most efficient form or architecture. I now that does not make them any more appealing to those of us who must live with them. San Jose happens to have a ceiling on height because of the airport. It is silly that such a world class city has such a dumpy and flat skyline! I would not mind big skyscrapers there because the city has been ruined anyway.

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    • Our hi-rise buildings are all built in a strip along the beach front. So far they have not encroached into the suburbs. But I get your point about the efficiency of them land wise. But the amount of extra people living in the area is a huge strain on all the resources and infrastructure not to mention all the extra cars on the roads… 😱

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      • Oh, gads. I SO know. That is how all our forests got ravages a century ago; to supply the lumber for building all those homes. Now the region is just way too crowded. In a way, I would prefer that all the people who do not mind living in a big city would just migrate to San Jose so that they would not ruin another area. I love San Jose, but it is already ruined. I do not want them to move onto the next region.

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          • When so many of my friends were moving from here to the Seattle region in the early 1990s to get away from all the mess here, I did not, not only because I did not want to go, but because the pattern looked all to familiar. People from the San Jose region should have realized that the same was in the process of happening in Seattle, which it did. Those who moved to get away from here wanted what they had here, and they eventually got it. It is now just another region that once was something better.

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            • I think that is what happens to every area that is popular, it gets loved to death. A new light rail system is coming into my area in a couple of years, I dread to think how that is going to increase the influx of tourists

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  3. Heavens! And literally. Am in total agreement with Jo on this. But also take Tony’s point about efficiency. I suppose the question is, how many of the units in these towers are for single home owners who actually need a home, and how many are holiday homes. Fantastically moody photos though, Pauline.

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    • A big percentage are holiday accommodation. Some of them the whole building is holiday rentals. The friend we had lunch with has just bought her studio apartment, in fact she bought 2. One to live in and one to rent as holiday accommodation, a great idea I thought. Had to get a photo Tish, not often we get those moody, threatening skies.

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  6. Interesting to see the different stages of housing. It must feel quite claustrophobic to live in the original homes and be surrounded by a high rise wall. Those residents in turn must feel threatened by the big black towers going up in front of them – apart from anything else, house prices might be affected by loss of ocean view. Suspect Tish is right also. Here, new builds are often snapped up “buy to let”. Or they are student apartments. Ordinary folks trying to buy an affordable home rarely get a look in.

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    • Interesting comment Anabel. I think I would feel quite claustrophobic and many of the new hi-rises are bought by asians, many of them to supply accomodation for their children over here for study courses and often money is no object, they just want something secure and in a good area. Hard for first home owners to get a foot in on the Gold Coast now

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  7. If done well and planned from the start they can be beautiful. Look at places like Singapore and Dubai. But they can also be horrific if the planning and execution are poor. These do appear a bit monstrous and out of place but someday may seem more beautiful if others develop around them. Not for me thanks but there are those who will love them. Sadly probably true that they will go to wealthy vacationers rather than homeowners.

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    • It is all rather slap dash here, no real planning Tina, and they are quite expensive. But I have some friends living in a hi-rise apartment and they really like them. But I would miss my garden….

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  8. Gosh I had no idea the buildings on the Gold Coast got that tall. I rarely get further north than Tweed Heads – and I’ve haven’t even got that far north for over five years. The traffic must be really busy up there now.

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  9. The view is surreal – those towering and ultra-modern skyscrapers are truly scraping the sky —- and then there is a somewhat-intact original area. I hope I hope I hope that the neighborhood remains – those areas have a stronger and more original soul! It looks like a Monopoly board!

    The view reminds me a lot of Panama City /(republic of panama) every time I return, there are more giant sleek buildings – lovely view, but give me the earthy neighborhoods!

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    • G’day Lisa, good to hear from you. Those old houses won’t be there much longer, I think they already have a demolition order on them. I love the “earthy” neighbourhoods too, but not many of them left either as all the smaller houses with gardens are being replaced with huge “Macmansions” built on the full section from boundary to boundary. If we ever sell that sadly will be the fate of our house and garden.

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  11. I was watching a programme about housing developments recently and one of the planners made the remark “No-one is entitled to a view” in reference to people protesting that their views over the countryside would be affected by the new builds. I think it is a shame though that people buy a house because of a view and pay extra for that location only to have it taken away from them, thus devaluing their property. I dislike high rises. I don’t object to apartment buildings if properly built i.e. soundproof, but I prefer them to be much more restricted in height. I also feel sorry for those people living in the midst of all those blocks, their right to light must be greatly affected and it looks like they will inevitably be squeezed out. The money they get probably won’t buy them a house with a sea view any more.

    BTW Great photos, you must have a good phone camera 🙂

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    • All this building higher and higher does create problems. Surfers paradise beach is in shade by about 3pm. Unless you pay mega millions to be right on the beach front you can never guarantee you will always have a view. But living in a well built hi-rise has lots of advantages. But to me the cons far out way the pros. Ie no garden, isolation, no real sense of privacy. But who knows what the future holds, maybe we will be in one eventually…🤔

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