Receiver sale of inner-city development leaves apartment buyer fates unknown

1 week ago 7

The purchases of more than 150 inner-city apartment buyers are up in the air after receivers put their unfinished building up for sale.

The site known as ‘35 Merivale’ – a 1821 sqm block of land part-way through construction – has development approval for a 30-storey apartment tower, able to contain 184 owner-occupier apartments at two to four bedrooms.

Designed by DBI Design, the project was previously a $180 million luxury tower development named ‘Akin’ by Tallis Property Group.

Design renders for 35 Merivale, a site for sale with development approval after the project went into receivership.

The contract for the project was cancelled with builders Descon Group Australia shortly after building began, placing the companies in court and leaving buyers wondering about the status of their homes.

The liquidator of parent company Descon Group Australia found in 2024 it owed more than $72 million and had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on deposits for luxury sports cars which were not listed among its assets, The Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

More than 10 companies in the Descon and Adcon groups were in administration or liquidation, with their combined reported debts topping $390 million – eclipsing the $250 million Probuild collapse in 2022 and the $169 million failure of PBS Building in 2023.

Descon Group Australia director Danny Isaac.

Terry Rose of SV Partners said he’d reported sole director Danny Isaac, who has been living in Dubai since October 2023, to ASIC for seven potential offences, including insolvent trading and failing to provide a complete report of company affairs “despite multiple follow-ups”.

Progress was made on Akin’s podium car park and four-level basement by the time the project went into limbo, going into receivership with FTI Consulting on December 7 2023 – two months after Isaac left Australia.

The site is now being sold by real estate firm Colliers.

It is understood the property is being sold with no obligations regarding previous contracts, though the status of Akin’s previous buyers remains unclear.

More than 150 people had bought homes at the planned project when it was named ‘Akin’ by Tallis Property Group.

Colliers Queensland residential director Troy Linnane said the site’s existing development approval could give buyers a headstart on completing a new project right by the city before the 2032 Olympic Games, near popular hotspots such as the South Bank.

“It puts you a lot further ahead of the curve than, say, another site in South Brisbane that doesn’t have any approval,” he said.

“South Brisbane is one of the most desirable, if not the most desirable, inner-city locations … it’s virtually an extension of the CBD, given all the connectivity that location has now.”

The site is being sold with no obligations regarding previous contracts, though no comment has been made about where the previous buyers stand.

Colliers said it anticipated significant interest from developers in and out of Queensland, with several inquiries having been made to the receiver about the project.

Tallis Property Group managing director Feng “Angus” Gao said the company cancelled Akin’s contract “when it became apparent that the delivery issues of the appointed builder, Descon, posed an unacceptable risk”.

Developers have tried to get a residential project constructed on 35-39 Merivale St for nearly a decade, with the Backshall Group and Ellivo Architects having submitted a proposal in 2016 for a 28-storey building with more than 200 units at the address.