Harry Triguboff: Prominent Meriton developer given keys to the city by Gold Coast City Council

Evergreen developer ‘high-rise’ Harry Triguboff has vowed to keep building on the Gold Coast after receiving the city’s highest honour.

The Meriton founder was awarded the keys to the city by Mayor Tom Tate on Tuesday in front of councillors, friends, family and dignitaries.

“Doing big buildings here is difficult but we are not scared and we are not stopping,” he said.

“There is nowhere else like the Gold Coast and if you believe in something you can do it.

“We are building 2000 apartments right now and we are going to do a lot more.”

The event, held at the Gold Coast City Council Evandale chambers amid high security, a large police presence and a pro-Palestinian protest, was attended by prominent figures including federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, former premier Rob Borbidge, former councillor Dawn Crichlow and real estate industry veterans Roland Evans and Andrew Bell.

Mr Dutton praised Mr Triguboff as one of Australia’s most successful Jewish figures, while Mr Tate said he had made “both a remarkable and indelible contribution to the built form of the city”.

Mr Triguboff in August unveiled a new 74-storey mega development, Shore, for central Surfers Paradise

It will front The Esplanade, Ocean Ave and Surfers Paradise Blvd and will have 519 units, plus retail, restaurant and cafe offerings.

It will replace three unit towers – the Monaco, The Shore and The Dolphin, as well as the Pit Stop building, which includes a newsagency and bottle shop, across a 3460sq m site.

Mr Triguboff bought the site in late 2023 for $67.5m

It comes as construction ramps up on his two-tower Cypress development which will have room for more than 2500 people across the supertowers of 91 and 76 storeys respectively. Also under construction on the Surfers Paradise stretch of The Esplanade is Meriton’s Iconica, believed to be worth almost $1bn, which will feature two towers of 78 and 53-storeys respectively and will deliver a further 627 dwellings, possibly accommodating more than 1200 people.

This story originally appeared on the Gold Coast Bulletin.