October 8th, 2026Marina Mirage: The sails, the restaurants, the rebuild
There is a stretch of waterfront at Main Beach that most Gold Coasters know well, even if they haven’t thought about it much lately.
Marina Mirage. The sails. The restaurants. The kind of place that quietly anchored the northern end of the strip for decades, doing its job without making too much fuss about it. Well, it’s about to make a bit of fuss.
Chris Ferro, Marine Manager and Sales Manager for GC Marine, pictured inset, takes us on a walk around the site and the scale of what’s coming is genuinely impressive. “The Makris Group, who own the building and are developing the project, have a phrase they use for their vision: A new Australian Riviera.”
The luxury hotel, resort, wellness, retail, residences and a superyacht marina are all testament to the vision. The hotel component is a 126-room five-star Ritz Carlton, with penthouses rumoured to be going north of $30 million. The marina will carry 75 berths, with an additional extension wrapping around the helicopter tour area to accommodate even more large vessel berthing on the sea arm.
“This is a full knockdown rebuild, everything you currently see on the land side comes down, the car park, all the structure above ground and only nine new piles go into the earth. The bones of what Christopher Skase built originally are sound enough below ground, which is something, but above the waterline it all goes and construction starts in October,” Chris, who is optimistic about a three-year turnaround, says.
“One thing that is definitely staying,” and you can hear the relief in Chris’s voice when he mentions it, “is the sails, those iconic curved, white sails that have been a landmark on the Broadwater for as long as most of us can remember will make their reappearance in the new design”. Some things you just don’t mess with.
As part of the $500 million development Fraser & Partners took the design lead with interiors by Fiona Lynch Office and landscaping by Aspect Studios. Key features include a 50-metre pool, rough oyster shell renders, limestone finishes and bronze-framed detailing. The precinct integrates a 126-key Marriott Luxury Collection Resort, 38-ultra-luxury residences (villas and penthouses starting from $6.45m), chef-led dining and a wellness hub.
Chris says the waterside, importantly, will stay open throughout the entire redevelopment.
“Berth holders, restaurant-goers, anyone using the water side of the precinct will still have access. The La Luna Beach Club floating restaurant is still pumping out great food through the build. It’s the land side that gets boarded up while the work happens, with access to the water relocated to a different entry point.”
For a project of this size, keeping the marina operational throughout is no small logistical feat, and it’s clearly something the team has thought carefully about.
“In terms of what’s already there, the waterside marina was actually rebuilt by GC Marine five years ago, and those piles were put in at that time specifically to allow for the boardwalk extension that’s coming as part of the new development,” Chris says.
“That boardwalk is one of the features people keep talking about, and for good reason. It will run along Sea World Drive connecting the whole precinct and forms part of the master plan requirement for every development in the area to contribute to a continuous coastal walkway. When it’s done, it’s going to change the way people move along that stretch of the coast.”
Power is an interesting story. The marina is currently running off generator power on the land side while the development is being planned, with the intention of switching back to mains once construction begins. What the final power capacity looks like for superyacht berthing is still being worked through but Chris is clear that whatever the big boats need, the infrastructure will be there to meet it.
Given that Clive Palmer’s Australia yacht is currently berthed in the marina, they’re not exactly short of experience with vessels that have serious power requirements.
The ferry terminal, which I didn’t know was even there, is also getting a complete rebuild as part of the project.
I asked Chris about competition, given Mantaray Marina has just opened down the road. He was relaxed about it. “Everyone’s doing their own thing,” he said. “It’s not a competition, it’s a destination.” His, and the Makris Group’s view, is that the Gold Coast is becoming a cluster of world-class marine infrastructure rather than a collection of rivals. I guess a rising tide lifts all boats, as someone once said.
And the vision? “The most premium destination on the Gold Coast,” Chris says, without hesitation. “There’s nothing else like it.”
Looking at what’s coming, it’s hard to argue with him. Words: Kyle Barnes | Images: Contributed
