The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the Australian state of Queensland. It is the second-largest city in the state after the capital, Brisbane, with a population of 753,000 as of 2025. The Gold Coast has a very large skyline relative to the city's population; despite being Australia's sixth largest city, the city has the fourth-greatest number of skyscrapers in Australia, after Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. As of 2025, there are 12 buildings in the Gold Coast with a height of 150 metres (492 ft) or greater, with 6 more under construction. The city has been home to Australia's tallest building, Q1, since 2005; the residential skyscraper stands at a height of 322.5 metres (1,058ft), and is Australia's first supertall skyscraper.
The first high-rises appeared in the city in the 1960s and 1970s as it boomed as a leading tourist destination. An early residential tower was Breakfree Peninsula at a height of 137 m (449 ft), which was the city's tallest building from 1982 until 1992, when it was overtaken by The Grand Mariner, which was only 2 metres taller. In the 2000s, skyscraper development increased rapidly. Besides Q1, other new buildings during the boom include Chevron Renaissance and the Circle on Cavill complex. Development has continued into the 2010s and 2020s, with two of the city's five tallest buildings, Ocean and Epsilon, built since 2020. Under construction is Cypress Palms, a two-tower development, the taller of which will be the Gold Coast's second supertall skyscraper.
As a major tourist hotspot, most of the Gold Coast's high-rises are for residential and hotel purposes. The centre of the skyline is in the central suburb of Surfer's Paradise. The skyline is mainly located on a thin strip of land that runs north-south along the coast, bounded by the Coral Sea of the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Nerang River and its multi-branched canal developments to the west. This continuous line of high-rises extends northwards to Main Beach and southwards towards Broadbeach. Additionally, there are developing clusters in Southport and along the coast in Burleigh Heads.
History
Number of buildings by height on the Gold Coast by the end of each year. Click on the legend to toggle a specific height on or off. See or edit chart definition.
The coastal areas south of Brisbane, which became known as the South Coast, and eventually the Gold Coast, had been a destination for beach holidaymakers since the late 19th century. The area of Surfers Paradise was originally called Elston, but was changed to its current name in 1933 as the local council felt that it was more marketable.[1] The Gold Coast region grew as a tourist destination, and became known for its beach tourist resorts. The first high-rise to be built in the city is considered to be Kinkabool, a ten-storey apartment building, completed between 1959 and 1960.[2][3] This marked the beginning of a boom in high-rise holiday apartments and hotels.
The high-rise development boom continued in the 1970s.[4] Focus, completed in 1976, was the first building to have over 30 stories and exceed a height of 100 metres (328 ft) in the city. The building's circular form resulted in the lifts being centrally located and the fire stars being built in an unusual ‘scissor’ style. Each one of the 123 units offered a 270 degree view of the surrounding coastline and hinterland, while a helipad designed rooftop provided the highest vantage point in Surfers Paradise at the time.[5]
1980s–1990s
The city's high-rise boom persisted in the 1980s, spurred by Japanese property investment[6] and the opening of the Gold Coast Airport in 1981. Buildings that exceeded 100 m (328 ft) in height became increasingly more common, such as the Atlantis Apartments complex, Surfers Aquarius, and Breakfree Peninsula, which overtook Focus to be the Gold Coast's tallest building at 137 m (449 ft) in 1982.
Breakfree Peninsula was surpassed a decade later by The Grand Mariner at 139 m (456 ft), completed in 1992. The Grand Mariner is known for its distinctive purple exterior, which included "barossa purple, beulah pink, tanunda pink, mariner pink, and blue mood" at the time of completion. It underwent a facelift in 2015, reducing the number of colours to four and making the building take on a lighter appearance.[7] An economic recession in the 1990s led to a slowdown in high-risedevelopment for the rest of the decade,[8] and up until the early 2000s.
2000s–2010s
Gold Coast's skyline in 2012
By the mid-2000s, another real estate boom on the Gold Coast was taking shape.[9][10] The city's tallest buliding, the supertall skyscraper Q1, was completed in 2005. It was the tallest building in the southern hemisphere as well as the tallest residential building in the world at the time, and remains the tallest in Australia today. Its form, with a slanted roof, was inspired by the Sydney Opera House as well as the Olympic torch in the 2000 Olympics that had taken place five years prior in Sydney.[11] The skyscraper has an observation deck, known as SkyPoint (formerly QDeck), which allows views of the Gold Coast skyline, as well as Brisbane to the north.
High-rise development had also spread to the suburb of Southport, north of Surfers Paradise. The Southport Central residential complex was among the first buildings to exceed a height of 100 m (328 ft) in the suburb. The 55-storey Sundale Apartments, built by billionaire developer Harry Triguboff for $400 million,[12] is now the tallest building in the area.
2020s
The Gold Coast has continued to boom in the 2020s, owing to a healthy increase in population and economic growth.[13][14][15] The 265 m (868 ft) tall mixed-use Ocean was completed in 2022, becoming the city's second tallest building.[16] The suburb of Broadbeach, in particular, has been undergoing a residential high-rise development[17] extending the Gold Coast's skyline southwards. The tallest building in the suburb, Epsilon, was built in 2025 at a height of 216 m (709 ft). It joins other skyscrapers completed in Broadbeach in the 2020s, such as The Dorsett and Star Residences, 272 Hedges Avenue, and Infinity Tower. A 212 m (696 ft) tower is further proposed on the site of a 16-storey hotel built in the 1980s.[18] Burleigh Heads, to the south of Broadbeach, has also been receiving an influx of high-rises, with projects such as Norfolk and Natura.[19]
While Q1 is currently the city's only supertall skyscraper, future developments could increase that number significantly. Under construction is the Cypress Palms complex, consisting of two 76-storey and 90-storey buildings. The latter will reach a height of 305 m (1,001 ft), becoming the city's second tallest skyscraper when complete. The project is being developed by Meriton, whose managing director, Harry Triguboff, has had a role in the development of over twenty high-rise buildings in the city.[20][21] In 2025, renderings were released for a project of two slender skyscrapers in Southport. Named One Park Lane, the tallest of the towers, at 393 m (1,289 ft), would overtake Q1 as the tallest building on the Gold Coast and in Australia.[22][23][24]
Tallest buildings
This list ranks completed skyscrapers on the Gold Coast that stand at least 100 m (328 ft) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The “Year” column indicates the year of completion.
Was the tallest building on the Gold Coast upon completion
The following table ranks skyscrapers that are under construction on the Gold Coast that are expected to be at least 100 m (328 ft) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. The “Year” column indicates the expected year of completion. Buildings that are on hold are not included.
The following table ranks proposed and approved skyscrapers on the Gold coast that are expected to be at least 150 m (394 ft) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. The “Year” column indicates the expected year of completion. A dash “–“ indicates information about the building’s height or year of completion is not available.
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