Soheil Abedian: What’s Driven the Man Who’s Transformed a City

It’s a masterclass in how one individual can transform not just a city but an entire industry, one building at a time. And after more than four decades, here endeth the lesson—well, not quite. As Gold Coast development doyen Soheil Abedian puts it: “The development industry when it’s really good it’s like cocaine, you will get addicted and want to build more and more and more”. On the flipside, however, he quickly adds: “When it’s bad, it’s really, really bad”. The inimitable Abedian was centrestage at The Urban Developer’s flagship Urbanity conference where he was this year’s recipient of the Lachlan Webb Lifetime Achievement Award. And with his characteristic humility and humour he accepted the recognition. “My son always is saying it’s time for me to get lost,” he mused. “Then to publicly receive this lifetime achievement award it’s official … it’s over, it’s finished, the chapter is closed. Here is the certificate to hang on your wall. You’ve done whatever you’ve done, get lost and leave it to the next generation.” But in conversation with The Urban Developer founder and chief executive Adam Di Marco, it became abundantly clear the 76-year-old former Sunland boss—although he did drop the R-word a few times—is by no means the retiring kind. ▲ Developed by Sunland, Palazzo Versace opened on the Gold Coast in 2000. Abedian is the Iranian-born, Austrian-educated architect-developer who dared to dream up and then deliver the world’s first fashion-branded hotel, Palazzo Versace, and the Gold Coast’s iconic cloud-busting 80-storey Q1 supertower. As well as now heading up the family’s private development company Abedian &amp; Co with his son Sahba—overseeing a growing $3-billion pipeline of projects—and keeping busy with his extensive philanthropic efforts, he also continues to challenge conventional thinking in the development industry. That boldness hasn’t changed since his journey as a developer began on the Gold Coast in the 1980s after he scraped together $39,000 for a house block on which he built one of the city’s first fully rendered and painted homes. Defying the brick-veneer expectations of the day, and despite being scoffed at by established local developers and real estate honchos, he persevered and set the stage for a remarkable career. “I always said that I design something that is good for me to live in,” Abedian says, “something that is visually attractive to the eyes, yet functional to living.” In those early days, he rubbed shoulders with the Gold Coast’s so-called “white shoe brigade” of developers, including the late Mike Gore who asked him to build waterfront homes at Sanctuary Cove. “That was really a breakthrough for us,” he says, although a few years later to secure the perpetual lease for the Palazzo Versace site at The Spit he had to put his foot on the desk of a government minister and declare, “No one has more black shoes than I have”. Abedian is a vocal advocate for ethical development, urging the industry to think beyond profit margins. “Do it because you want to leave a legacy behind not because of the feasibility,” he says. “The outcome will be the byproduct of that patience, conviction and love … and the money will come with that accordingly. “Move as fast as you can, with the people that are reliable … but not for the money. “Because if your objective is only to make money, I promise you everything that I have, you will lose everything.” He says the key to Abedian &amp; Co achieving $500 million in sales across its first three projects in the past 12 months is “because for 42 years we’ve looked after everyone who bought something from us and put their interest before our interest”. “I never told my management to make the right decision. I always told them, make a decision and make it right.” ▲ Rendering of the $450-million Greenmount Residences project being developed at Coolangatta by Abedian &amp; Co. And from Abedian’s principled perspective the country is not facing a housing crisis. “You know what we have? We have a crisis of ethics. We have a crisis of morality. We have a crisis of generosity, love and unity for our country.” His solution is simple yet revolutionary: mandate that 10 per cent of every development be allocated to affordable housing. It’s a radical proposal that, true to Abedian’s form, challenges the entire industry to rethink its priorities—making “every single developer an agent for the betterment of society—and the crisis will go”. “Of course, I will not make that much money out of that, but that is my duty … to help those that are less fortunate than I am.” Another major part of the solution, he says, is the need to improve productivity by overcoming the union stranglehold on the industry. “The way it’s going it’s the kiss of death to do anything … enough is enough.” Abedian’s philosophical approach is deeply rooted in his Baha’i faith, a religion based on the belief of the unification of all mankind. “Every one of us, irrespective of culture, nationality, religion, we have one thing in common,” he says. “We love to be respected, and we love to be loved.” “The moment that you have that function in your mind, to be loving and respectful, I promise you everybody will gather around you, even when it is a crisis. They will come and buy it from you first, before they buy it from anybody else.” Abedian says he does not take a single cent for himself from whatever income he has. “I have enough to live comfortably,” he says. He gives it away to support charitable organisations and fund university scholarships. ▲ Soheil Abedian and The Urban Developer chief executive Adam Di Marco after Dr Abedian was presented with the Lachlan Webb Lifetime Achievement Award. Given his commitment to social responsibility, it should come as no surprise then that his proudest development moments do not include any of his better known most audacious or towering projects. Instead, he lists the Clem Jones-Sunland Leukaemia Foundation Village at Brisbane’s Coopers Plains and Bond University’s Abedian School of Architecture. Of course, his journey hasn’t been without its challenges. The global financial crisis could have been a breaking point—including forcing Sunland to abandon its offshore foray into Dubai in the United Arab Emirates—but instead it became a pivotal opportunity for reinvention by winding down the ASX-listed company and creating Abedian &amp; Co so “we can dance with our own music”. Perhaps the biggest blow for Abedian came right at the beginning when his architecture qualifications from overseas were not recognised in Queensland where he came to make his home. “The world is a very, very, very challenging world. Something that I was entitled to, I was robbed. They didn’t give it to me … they didn’t accept me as an architect. “But something that was very heartbreaking for me at the beginning has led to something that has been incredibly rewarding … so I believe that life is about doing the right thing, following your dreams, accepting the circumstances and letting the destiny take you to an ultimate purpose.” He now holds two honorary doctorates from Bond University and Griffith University. “I have been incredibly blessed in this country,” Abedian says. “I would kiss every single grain of sand in this country. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, oi, oi!”

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