Bastion Group’s Surfer tower has been approved. City of Gold Coast signed off on the 30 storey, 100 residence building at 25 to 27 Vista Street, Surfers Paradise, on 25 September 2026, clearing the way for construction to begin in the first quarter of 2027. Bastion now puts the project’s value at $200 million.
Securing approval for Surfer is a significant step forward for the project and reflects the continued confidence in the Gold Coast market.
Alex Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Bastion Group
Brisbane Development reported when Bastion unveiled the project in September, describing a slender tower whose stacked chevron balconies are drawn from the profile of a surfboard. The approved plans, by Studio Snell, confirm that form: a tower rising 99.5 metres above a three storey podium on a 1,231 square metre corner site, a short walk from Northcliffe Beach.
The approval covers 100 residences, 94 of them with two bedrooms and six with three. Twenty five are approved as permanent apartments and 75 as short-term accommodation, a split aimed at both owner-occupiers and investors in the holiday letting market. At street level, the plans include a 116 square metre food and drink outlet and a small neighbourhood shop.
Surfers Paradise remains one of Australia’s most recognisable lifestyle destinations, and we’re seeing sustained demand for well-designed apartments in central locations with strong amenity and connectivity. This project responds directly to that demand, delivering a considered, design-led product in a location where new supply remains limited.
Alex Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Bastion Group
Residents would share around 650 square metres of amenity on level three, with a pool, gym, sauna, barbecue area and lounge and dining spaces. Below it, the podium is wrapped in green walls and cascading planting by landscape designer Jamie Durie’s Durie Design, with 44 car parks and 28 bicycle spaces tucked behind.
The design was refined during assessment. In response to Council’s information request, the original two-core, double-chute waste arrangement was replaced with a single core and a single chute fitted with a diverter, which sorts general waste and recycling into separate bins so residents can drop both on their own floor. The approval, made under delegated authority as a code assessable application, also required a referral to the State given the site’s position near the Gold Coast Highway.
Bastion will build Surfer itself through its in-house construction arm, Bastion Built, with work slated to begin in the first quarter of 2027, and its Bastion Living business will manage the building once it is complete. The group has also brought in emerging surfers Dane Henry and Milla Coco Brown to give creative input on the lifestyle spaces, which include an EMF gym, pool, private spa and plunge pool and an owners’ lounge.
Having an in-house construction arm allows us to maintain quality control, respond efficiently during delivery, and ensure consistency across our projects.
Alex Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Bastion Group
The approval follows Bastion’s $184 million Nera at nearby Chevron Island, which recorded an $11.5 million penthouse sale, and the recent launch of The Residences, as the group works through a Gold Coast expansion it values at $500 million.
Project Rundown
| Development Parameter | Proposed Development |
|---|---|
| Address | 25 to 27 Vista Street and 2959 Gold Coast Highway, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 |
| Application Number | MCU/2025/562 |
| Development Type | Material change of use for a multiple dwelling (25 units), short-term accommodation (75 units), food and drink outlet and shop |
| Approval | Approved by City of Gold Coast on 25 September 2026 (code assessment) |
| Project Value | $200 million |
| Site Area | 1,231 m² |
| Zone | High density residential zone |
| Height | 30 storeys / 99.5 m; three storey podium |
| Residences | 100: 94 two bedroom and 6 three bedroom (25 permanent, 75 short-term accommodation) |
| Commercial | Food and drink outlet (116 m²) and neighbourhood shop (23 m²) at ground level |
| Communal Space | 650 m² on level three: pool, gym, sauna, barbecue area and lounge and dining spaces |
| Car Parking | 44 spaces |
| Bicycle Parking | 28 spaces (22 resident, 6 visitor) |
| Sustainability | Living Greenery: Green walls, planter boxes and cascading planting across the podium, with landscape design by Durie Design. Movement: 22 resident and 6 visitor bicycle spaces; close to the G:link light rail corridor on the Gold Coast Highway. Waste & Recycling: A single waste chute with a diverter at its base, so residents drop both general waste and recycling on their own level and the system sorts them into separate bins; the diverter is a condition of the approval. |
| Construction | Scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2027 |
| Developer | Bastion Group (applicant Baharr Pty Ltd) |
| Builder | Bastion Built (Bastion Group’s in-house construction arm) |
| Building Manager | Bastion Living |
| Architect | Studio Snell |
| Town Planner | Urban Planning Services |
| Landscape Architect | Durie Design |
| Traffic Engineer | Pekol Traffic and Transport |
| Civil and Hydraulic | EDGE Consulting Engineers |
| Acoustic | Acoustic Works |
| Waste | Rhodium |
| Wind | RWDI |
Bastion Group is a Gold Coast developer led by founder and chief executive Alex Wood, working across development, construction through Bastion Built and asset management through Bastion Living. Its projects include the $184 million Nera at Chevron Island and The Residences, with Surfer part of a $500 million Gold Coast pipeline.
Hero render supplied by Bastion Group; other renders by Studio Snell from development application MCU/2025/562. Artist impressions only and subject to change.
