While his business is grounded in providing housing for Queenslanders, property developer John Fitzgerald’s spiritual home is high in the Himalayas.
But when not on his annual pilgrimage to India, the investment advisor and author found peace at his own Zen-inspired retreat on the Gold Coast.
Named Gangotri, the Broadbeach Waters property embodies harmony and energy with clean lines and natural materials, enhanced by imported artefacts including a life-size Buddha statue.
56 River Crescent, Broadbeach Waters
Mr Fitzgerald, founder of the JLF Group and best-selling author of 7 Steps to Wealth, is taking the one-of-a-kind home to auction after the family took on a new project in northern NSW.
The luxury property on a 984 sqm waterfront parcel at 56 River Crescent is marketed by Ben Ada, of Amir Prestige, and will go under the hammer on April 6.
Mr Fitzgerald said Gangotri, completed in 2010, was designed to be highly functional while providing a “sanctuary” where modern families could find moments of calm.
The home fronts Main River
“We wanted this to be very classical, with neutral colours, so you really feel like you are in your own little sanctuary,” he said.
“The house is a complete living environment where you have the office, the gym, the home cinema, so you really don’t have to go anywhere.
“But more importantly, you have a lot of stillness within it. It’s a big house, but not a busy house.”
Finishes include travertine tiles, American cherry oak cabinetry and timber floors, while special features are the 2-ton Buddha, sourced from India and installed in the home by crane, and a 1000-year-old door salvaged from a Tibetan monastery.
Natural materials and greenery feature through the home
MORE NEWS
Gold Coast mansion has eye-popping wine cellar to rival a bottle shop
Grand Slam champ Ash Barty’s beachfront property score
Sabo Skirt sisters list luxury Greek-inspired home
Mr Fitzgerald said the home design was inspired by his longstanding yoga practice.
“I go every year to a little place in the Himalayas, Dharamshala, and I hike up the mountains and practise my meditational yoga with people who I’ve been practising with for decades, and through being in this environment, I wanted to create that stillness and serenity that is a contrast to the busy lives that we have,” he said.
“From every room in the home you will see water and you will see plant life. You become part of a living environment and that is a design unique to Eastern cultures.”
Clean lines and light-filled living spaces
The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom property is a custom-crafted oasis of luxury inclusions.
There’s a media room, gym with steam shower, and timber spiral staircase leading to a home library.
An al fresco terrace with teppanyaki kitchen overlooks the infinity pool, while frangipani trees line the river’s edge, where a 12m pontoon and boat shed provide a launch pad for aquatic pursuits.
The family-owned JLF Group, founded in the 1980s, has an annual turnover of more than $100m. The company’s focus on affordable residential development has delivered more than 5000 allotments and 10,000-plus house and land packages, mostly in southeast Queensland. Mr Fitzgerald’s nephew James Fitzgerald now serves as director.
There are six bedrooms and seven bathrooms
Mr Fitzgerald wrote the first edition of his book in 1998, but said the seven steps outlined to achieve success remained as relevant today.
“Step one is to buy land for growth. That hasn’t changed, but the massive change has been in the demographics and land use in Australia over the last 25 years,” he said.
“The land size has gone from 800 sqm down to 375 sqm for an average house, and the demographics has gone from [population] growth by 1 million every five years, and now moving towards 3 million every five years, but during that crossover there hasn’t been enough development to meet that need.”
PropTrack data shows the typical house price in Broadbeach Waters was up 3.6 per cent over the past 12 months to $2.037m.
JLF Group owners James (left) and John (right) Fitzgerald. Picture: Nigel Hallett
The post Property developer John Fitzgerald lists Gold Coast Zen retreat appeared first on realestate.com.au.