The Bel Air Apartments are a well-known part of Broadbeach on the Gold Coast. 

They stand tall above the popular tourist destination, Pacific Fair Shopping Centre. The building required restoration to fix various issues and refresh the worn-out paintwork. Long-time Higgins client, Asset Project Management, selected our Gold Coast team to deliver the project.

The challenge

The building’s paintwork had suffered due to its proximity to the ocean. Rust spots were prevalent, as well as concrete spalling. In addition to updating the paintwork, the body corporate communicated their desire for a new colour scheme to help modernise the building.

Access was a key challenge, with 20-story towers that featured unique architectural features, including spire-shaped turrets and decorative moulding. The apartments remained occupied throughout the project, meaning disruption to occupants had to be minimised. 

Solution

Our local operations team has extensive experience delivering high-profile and specialised projects. We curated a comprehensive rope access plan to access the towers safely and cost-effectively. One tower at a time, our operations team descended and performed building repairs before washing down. After repairs and washing were complete, our trade-qualified technicians repainted the building’s exterior. Atop the roof, we built scaffolding to enable access to the tower spires.

Our two senior project managers drove our consistent communication throughout the project. While on-site, they ensured quality control, forecasted any changes to labour requirements, and liaised with the occupants about upcoming works, which was crucial to minimising disruption to occupants.

Dulux determined the specifications that we used for this project. The highly corrosive C5 environment required high-performance coating systems, which were resistant to salt air, high UV radiation, and airborne dust. Dulux specified a combination of Acratex AcraShield, Acratex AcraSkin, Durebild STE, and Weathermax HBR. In conjunction with Dulux, we provided colour samples, which the body corporate was happy with, and ultimately applied Mt Aspiring and Blue Fin – a return to the building’s heritage colours. 

Results

The external remediation and repainting project took nine months to complete. Our project team is thrilled to have made an indelible mark on this iconic building within the Broadbeach skyline. The customer was impressed with the level of service delivered by our Gold Coast team.