Inside Mosaic’s $4 billion blueprint for luxury living
Brook Monahan started Mosaic Property Group back in 2004 after a stint in agribusiness, with a defining vision ‘to be different’. Two decades later, the company is an end-to-end luxury developer-builder reshaping South East Queensland with over $2 billion in projects completed and another $2 billion in the immediate pipeline.
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When Brook Monahan founded Mosaic Property Group in 2004, he didn’t envision it becoming one of Queensland’s largest luxury apartment developers, nor did he envision it sustaining the committed buyer base it has come to acquire. His ambition was simple: “We wanted to be different,” he says.
“In an industry that’s often focused on cost-cutting in a race to the bottom, we wanted to define quality, listen to the market and be a brand that actually delivered on its promises.”
Born on a dairy farm in the Hunter Valley, Monahan’s early years were far from the traditional property pathway, but he’d always had big plans. “I came from nothing,” he says. “Working-class parents, tied to land, butcher shops and teaching. I have always loved working with my hands and creating tangible things. We came to Queensland when I was young, and when I left school and went to university, I’d had visions of building a cattle empire but didn’t have more than two bob in my pocket.”
His drive led him from agribusiness into design, and he eventually found his passion in construction and development.
In its first decade, Mosaic Property Group had designed, built and developed over 45 projects. Monahan recalls setting records on the riverfront at Maroochydore and the Coolum beachfront long before high-end luxury apartments were known in these areas. “People thought it was impossible to sell a $6 million apartment off-the-plan in those locations, back when the median unit price was well less than $1 million in those areas, but we’ve been at it for a while.”
Now well into its second decade, Mosaic is steering the ship firmly in the luxury direction, but that capability, he says, has been earned slowly, with around 70 projects delivered since their re-branding in 2012.
“We’ve never taken a project to market and not delivered,” Monahan says. “Every project we’ve ever delivered was completely sold out before completion, so people buy on a promise. Over time, they’re buying because they understand our track record and reputation, and more often know people who live in Mosaic buildings. That unsolicited confirmation matters a lot.”
Madeline by Mosaic
Madeline by Mosaic has become one of Broadbeach’s fastest-selling luxury towers, with 75% of its 60 half- and full-floor residences sold within three months. That, Monahan says, is a sign of the precinct’s transformation and Mosaic’s brand power.
Madeline sits at the southern end of Broadbeach, bordering Mermaid Beach and steps from Pacific Fair, the light rail, parks and one of the Coast’s most vibrant dining precincts. “Broadbeach is the epicentre of the Gold Coast now, with restaurants, coffee shops, entertainment, the beach – and everything is walkable,” he says. “You can’t replicate that location.”
Priced at between $3.5 million and $9 million and built by Mosaic’s internal construction arm, the architecture reflects that international-meets-coastal character. It has a luxury Southeast Asian feel in terms of amenity and materiality, but with a nod to beachfront living. “Think a new hotel in Singapore, but with a Gold Coast context,” Monahan says.
Inside, the apartments are designed for exclusivity and permanence. The half- and full-floor residences give buyers privacy, protected views, layers of artisan craftsmanship, and a sense of ownership that’s rare in Broadbeach, according to Monahan.
Madeline is Mosaic’s third luxury Broadbeach tower, following sell-out successes with Marella and Lily, with two other luxury towers right next door in Mermaid Beach, Bela and Dawn. That track record has created a powerful local referral network, he says. “There’s deep trust in our brand in that market. People know we deliver exactly what we promise.”
And they were steadfast in a trying time for the industry: COVID-19. Monahan says Mosaic sold over a billion dollars’ worth of projects throughout the pandemic, when construction costs doubled, without passing on any extra costs to their buyers. “We wore all of that,” he says. “We never asked a buyer for one extra dollar on a contract. That embedded massive trust. When it gets tough, that’s when your brand is defined.”
The company’s integrated model – controlling research, acquisition, design, construction and long-term building management – is also central to that trust. Mosaic says it maintains caretaking and management rights for 25 years after completion. “We will never blame third parties for anything or make excuses because we ultimately control everything,” he says. “There’s no abdication of responsibility.”
Design as investment
Despite being a construction powerhouse, a big point of difference at Mosaic is that it frames itself as a design company first. “The greatest value multiplier in this business for our customers and us is design,” Monahan says. “Exceptional design creates long-term value, demand and price resilience.”
“The greatest value multiplier in this business for our customers, and us, is design.” – Brook Monahan
To Mosaic – and Monahan – design doesn’t just mean architecture (though, that’s important). It’s materiality, it’s how a building ages and weathers over time, the amount and type of amenity provided, the functionality of floor plates and passive design principles.
“It’s about putting yourself in the shoes of the buyer now as well as the buyer 10 or 20 years from now,” he says. “We stay away from trends and fads. It has to be timeless.”
And design is a rigorous process. Mosaic says it produces large volumes of renders not just for marketing, but also for auditing purposes after project completion. “We used to call it ‘render versus reality.’ At completion, the building must look exactly like the render or better,” he says. Over time, Monahan says this ‘ruthless’ approach to ensuring we deliver on our promises has led to a positive compounding effect on Mosaic’s brand and market perception.
The Riversdale by Mosaic
Mosaic’s upcoming $600 million South Brisbane development (above) is set to become the company’s most iconic Brisbane project to date, and one of the city’s most significant urban renewal opportunities.
The site, directly on the riverfront and steps from GOMA, QPAC and South Bank, has been on Mosaic’s horizon for seven years. “It’s the last riverside urban renewal precinct on the edge of the CBD,” Monahan says. “Sites like this simply don’t exist anymore.”
Securing the land required years of negotiation with long-term owners and close coordination with emerging government plans. Immediately south of the site, the Queensland Government is creating “South Bank 2.0”, a major new commercial, retail, cultural and Parkland precinct with strong public activation.
“We’ve got uninterrupted northeast river and city views on one side, and on the other side will be the most exciting riverfront redevelopment since South Bank in the 1980s,” Monahan says. “It’s unbelievably rare.” Supply constraints make the site even more valuable. “Despite unprecedented demand, Brisbane is struggling to deliver apartments,” Monahan says. “There are very few who can deliver a project of this scale.”
The Riversdale includes 204 residences: two- and three-bedroom apartments and penthouse-style sky homes priced at $1.6 million and above, all delivered through Mosaic’s in-house construction division.
When it came to design, the building is a nod to the cultural arts precinct it lives in. It’s driven by art, landscape and riverfront, complete with a glimmering bronze tower with convex curves that reflect light at different times of the day. “It’s a piece of art that doesn’t compromise on the functionality of what we need to deliver in terms of apartment types and with amenities that you would expect from a 6-star hotel.”
Another key factor in the design process is sustainability, although that has a caveat. “We’re about sustainability with substance,” Monahan says. “We’re a construction business. We know we have a large environmental impact.
Mosaic uses up to 40% recycled aluminium and 50% recycled glass in glazing, and was the first buyer to partner with Holcim on zero-carbon concrete, and mandates double-glazing across every project. We’ve invested for years to reduce carbon footprints whilst simultaneously improving quality across every aspect of our construction process.”
More importantly, sustainability is tied to protecting future value. “People are asking: will this building still meet expectations when I sell in 10 or 20 years?” And they can ask with confidence, as Monahan says each buyer receives a sustainability impact report detailing design decisions, materials, and operational efficiencies.
Josephine by Mosaic
In Burleigh Heads, Josephine by Mosaic has also quickly become one of the most anticipated ultra-luxury beachfront addresses, with more than 60% sold. Positioned on The Esplanade, the project follows Mosaic’s award-winning legacy in Burleigh, including its Florence development, which won Project of the Year at the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s Queensland Awards for Excellence.
“That recognition showed us the market understood our intent,” Monahan says. “Florence became iconic, so Josephine had to elevate again, just as Isabel by Mosaic, also on the Esplanade, did before it.”
Josephine comprises 30 half- and full-floor residences designed with a deep sensitivity to place. “It has to be Burleigh-centric,” Monahan says. “Materiality that feels like the beach – coral, driftwood, light timbers – but with the sophistication our buyers expect.”
But re-inventing the wheel can be challenging, Monahan says. “The longer you do this, the harder it is to keep getting better without being different for the sake of it. Josephine was one of the hardest projects we’ve ever designed.” That meant an exhaustive 12-month design process incorporating feedback from previous luxury buyers, including those who nearly purchased but chose not to. “Every building must be a nod to the past, but an improvement on it,” he says. Priced between $4.5 million and $13 million for an apartment, buyers want all their boxes ticked. The result is a building that Monahan says feels like barefoot luxury, holidays and headland walks, but elevated into a permanent, sophisticated home.
A market ripe for leadership
Monahan sees enormous opportunity – and responsibility – in the decade ahead. “South East Queensland is chronically undersupplied,” he says. “We’re seeing unprecedented demand and not enough capability to deliver.”
With a further $2 billion in residential and mixed-use projects in the pipeline and landmark projects rising in Broadbeach, Burleigh Heads, Palm Beach, Kangaroo Point and South Brisbane, Mosaic remains anchored by Monahan’s foundational belief: long-term value, built with integrity.
“We don’t want to be like everyone else,” he says. “We want to build places people trust and love living in.”
For more information visit mosaicproperty.com.au