Jason Kennedy and Kazumi Nakagawa to build tower

Developers Jason Kennedy and Kazumi Naka­gawa intend building the 23-level Vi Residences on a north-facing Queensland Ave site over Federation Park.

Mr Kennedy yesterday said Vi was designed to be the cream of the crop in the latest round of high-rise construction on the Coast.

“It will meet the expectations of buyers who want the very best in quality, privacy and location,” he said.

Vi will have 34 apartments and be capped by a three-level, 900sq m penthouse that will include a rooftop area with pool, spa, and dining and teppanyaki areas.

A residents’ floor on the tower’s podium will house a 25-metre, two-lane lap pool, spa, gymnasium, steam and change rooms, cinema, and 20-seat formal dining room with kitchen and bar.

Every owner will have at least three basement carparks and ‘‘copious’’ storage.

Barry Lee, chairman of DBI Design, said Vi Residences would be the most sophisticated and exclusive boutique apartment project since the completion of The Ocean Isles at Main Beach in 1991.

Mr Kennedy, who moved to the Gold Coast from New Zealand as a 12-year-old in 1979 cut his teeth on a 110-unit project at Loganholme when he was 19. For the past 15 years Ms Nakagawa has been a silent development partner.

Mr Kennedy undertook a luxury beachfront apartment project at Mermaid Beach in 2006 before sensing the market was overheating and backing out of the industry until 2013.

“Vi is in part a response to my experience with that Mermaid building,” he said. “A lot of the would-be buyers wanted to be closer to Broadbeach so they could walk home after dinner.

“Other buyers, who were coming from large homes, wanted bigger apartments with separate living areas.”

Vi, 100 metres from Broadbeach’s dining heart and 150 metres from the beach, will have 14 floors each with two apartments, five single-floor apartments and the penthouse.

Mr Kennedy said prices were yet to be set but marketing would start by Christmas and construction next year.