Surfers Paradise is getting a tower named after the thing the suburb is actually known for. Bastion Group has unveiled Surfer, a $180 million, 30 storey building on Vista Street whose form is drawn from the profile of a surfboard, and whose design team has been assembled around the same idea.
The tower is slender by necessity. It sits on roughly 1,231 square metres across three adjoining holdings at 25 and 27 Vista Street and 2959 Surfers Paradise Boulevard, a short walk from Northcliffe Beach, with an application lodged with the City of Gold Coast. On a footprint that size, height is the only direction available, and the result is a narrow shaft of stacked chevron balconies that reads as a single continuous line up the building.
Architect Joe Snell of Studio Snell leads the design, with landscape by Jamie Durie. Bastion has also brought in professional surfers Dane Henry and Milla Coco Brown to work on the wellness and lifestyle spaces, which the company says is about grounding the building in the way people who actually surf use their days rather than treating the theme as decoration.
Bastion Group founder and chief executive Alex Wood said the project was deliberately tied to the city’s identity.
Surfer will bring together world-class architecture, authentic surf culture and a lifestyle-driven amenity suite designed for a premium buyer seeking elevated coastal living. We’re incredibly proud to launch Surfer as a project that embodies the heart of the Gold Coast, surfing.
Alex Wood, Founder and Chief Executive, Bastion Group
The building holds 100 residences in two and three bedroom layouts, with outlooks running from the ocean across the skyline to the hinterland. The split between them is the most commercially interesting part of the scheme: 75 of the apartments are configured as short-stay accommodation aimed at investors chasing holiday-letting demand, and the remaining 25 are private residences pitched at owner-occupiers, which Bastion identifies as young professionals and young families. Prices start from $995,000.
That mix is a fairly direct read of the Surfers Paradise market, where short-stay returns and permanent residents have long competed for the same buildings. Splitting the tower rather than choosing one or the other lets the project serve both, though it does mean a quarter of the building is permanent homes and three quarters is effectively accommodation.
Amenity is pitched at the top of the market: a fitness centre designed by EMF, a resort-style swimming pool, and a residents’ retreat with private plunge pools, a lounge and a spa. At street level, a boutique retail precinct with a signature restaurant and cafe is intended to activate the Vista Street frontage rather than present a blank podium.
Mr Wood framed the approach as building for the long term. “We’re big believers in creating timeless projects that are unique to the Gold Coast through intentional and authentic design,” he said. “Each of our projects begins with a clear purpose to create places that will remain relevant, valued and enduring for generations.”
Surfer is the second act for a young developer. Bastion’s debut project, the $184 million Nera on Chevron Island, is approaching a sellout, and the company says the new project takes its development pipeline beyond $500 million. Bastion runs an integrated model, handling development, construction and long-term property management in house, which is the same argument other builder-developers are making to buyers at the moment: fewer parties between the sale and the keys.
Location is the other part of the pitch. The site is within walking distance of the bars, restaurants and beaches of Surfers Paradise, and the extension of the G:Link light rail has made Broadbeach and Burleigh Heads considerably easier to reach without a car, which matters for a building weighted towards short-stay guests.
Project Rundown
| Development Parameter | Proposed Development |
|---|---|
| Project | Surfer |
| Address | Vista Street, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217. The application covers 25 and 27 Vista Street and 2959 Surfers Paradise Boulevard |
| Development Value | $180 million |
| Height | 30 storeys |
| Site Area | About 1,231 m² across three adjoining holdings |
| Residences | 100, in two and three bedroom layouts |
| Split | 25 private residences for owner-occupiers and 75 short-stay apartments for investors |
| Prices | From $995,000 |
| Amenity | Fitness centre designed by EMF, resort-style swimming pool, residents’ retreat with private plunge pools, lounge and spa |
| Ground Plane | Boutique retail precinct with a signature restaurant and cafe |
| Developer | Bastion Group |
| Architect | Studio Snell (Joe Snell) |
| Landscape Design | Jamie Durie |
| Surf Consultants | Dane Henry and Milla Coco Brown |
| Planning Status | Development application lodged with the City of Gold Coast |
| Announced | 5 September 2026 |
Bastion Group is a Gold Coast based developer led by founder and chief executive Alex Wood, operating an integrated model that covers development, construction and property management. Its first project, Nera at Chevron Island, is a $184 million residential building now nearing a sellout, and Surfer takes the group’s pipeline of design-led projects planned for south-east Queensland past $500 million.
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