Australia’s Palm Valley Golf & Surf Resort wins 2024 ‘Surf Park Sharks’
Surf parks, part of the broader industry of surf-anchored real estate, are an emerging and innovative area of real estate development that creates surfing destinations inland, in some cases hundreds of miles away from the ocean.
These crystal clear pools are designed to bring perfect waves, residential housing, and high-end hospitality experiences that attract repeat visitors at a higher rate than even ski mountains.
Experts estimate this market to be a $4 billion industry today, expanding at 20 percent plus Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) per year, with facilities already in operation around the world, from Melbourne, Australia (Urbnsurf) to Waco, Texas (Waco Surf) to multiple European destinations like Munich, Germany (o2 SurfTown MUC), Bristol, UK (The Wave) and Switzerland (Alaia Bay).
With an average development cost per venue of $120-180 million, this industry is one of the most unique corners of the real estate industry.
Palm Valley Golf & Surf Resort: Luke Altschwager
In recent years, we have seen a trend of surf-anchored real estate developments growing far beyond a wave lagoon.
Similar to Peak Surf Park finding a home in a large housing development, the plans for Palm Valley take things a step further.
Luke Altschwager says Palm Valley sits not far from the actual beach on Australia’s Gold Coast and brings together plans for a surf park along with a golf course and other golf course-related activities.
Also on site are restaurants and other entertainment facilities.
The complete development will only grow with a second stage that features residential and hotel accommodations.
The best part for Palm Valley is that it already has a golf course and entertainment facilities, allowing the plans for surfing to be developed in an already profitable model.
In the end, the wave lagoon will only add to the growing real estate development, making it even more of a destination.
Altschwager also helped showcase how diversified the world of wave technology has become, as he opted for Endless Surf as the wave technology choice.
Endless Surf made big headlines this year as its first wave lagoon opened at o2 SurfTown MUC in Munich, Germany.
Pitching Surf Park Investment Opportunities
At SPC’s 2024 Global Summit, the industry took another leap forward to support emerging developers in pitching their visions for inland surfing meccas, specifically for new surf park development projects around the world.
This manifested in a new segment called “Surf Park Sharks,” similar to the popular “Shark Tank” television show featuring entrepreneurs pitching investment opportunities to famous investors for notoriety and hopes for equity funding.
Surf Park Sharks 2024 brought together six early-stage developer finalists to stand before a panel of highly qualified investors who are active in the surf park space to pitch their projects, vision, and pro formas to see who would emerge as a winner.
Prizes were worth $15,000 in sponsorship and benefits.
Finalists had the opportunity to share their vision with a live audience of hundreds of highly qualified stakeholders, as well as investors representing more than $23 billion in real estate transactions on a global scale.
Surf Park Sharks: Judges and Criteria
The judges for the 2024 Surf Park Sharks included:
- Jeff Berg: Executive Chairman at Surfline and CIO at Matador Capital;
- Orion Corcilius: Managing Partner at Vandever Capital, the debt lender behind Waco Surf in Texas, USA;
- Craig Stoddart: Manager Director at Stodcap Advisory Services and former CEO of the Wave, Bristol, in the UK;
- Sebastian Smith: Managing Director of Investments at STORE Capital, an Arizona-based real estate investment trust (REIT) that was recently acquired for $15 billion;
- Tom Hudak: VP of Investments at EPR Properties, a Kansas City-based REIT involved with the acquisition of Citywave USA and the development of surf park facilities, including Goodsurf in Dallas, TX;
More than 22 teams applied to pitch at the event, with only the top six teams advancing to the main stage for the pitch.
The judges evaluated each project based on six key criteria:
- Wave technology selection;
- Land: location, deal terms, and structure;
- Management of development risks;
- Commercial feasibility of vision and business plan;
- Management team experience;
- Investability;
“Surf Park Sharks really captured everyone’s attention. The atmosphere was pretty electric in there,” says Surf Park Central CEO Jess Ponting.
“It was standing room only, and the standard of projects was high. In addition to getting feedback from actual surf park investors, contestants got to see five other projects.”
“The relative strengths and weaknesses of each project and business model, the assumptions they were based on – everything was laid bare so everyone could learn in a really supportive space.”
And The Winner Is…
In true Shark Tank fashion, the judges had the opportunity to ask pointed, specific questions about each project, diving deeper into the details.
After all the presentations concluded, the judges met privately to review the strengths and weaknesses of each project.
They carefully deliberated which one stood out as the strongest investment opportunity based on the judging criteria.
Hosts Chris Cote and AJ McCord announced the winner as part of the Surf Park Awards.
In the end, judges chose the Palm Valley Golf & Surf Resort mixed-use project on Australia’s Gold Coast, pitched by founder Luke Altschwager, as the winner.
