A JOINT venture involving construction giant Multiplex has secured one of the last remaining beachfront lots at Leighton, with plans for a $100 million project comprising 50 apartments. Leighton Shores Pty Ltd, a joint venture between Multiplex and Rockingham Park Pty Ltd, paid about $23 million for a 6,550 square metre lot belonging to the state government. Multiplex will build and manage the project, which is expected to commence early next year, and produce its first apartments by 2010. Multiplex Apartments managing director Chris Palandri said the company wanted to develop a community to suit different family types and people of all ages. The project will join Mirvac’s $400 million Beachside development on the former Leighton Railway marshalling yards, which will feature 170 apartments and terrace homes, a boutique hotel, restaurants, cafes and shops. As previously reported by WA Business News, sales of land suited to development in the area have been particularly buoyant recently, with SAS Global acquiring the OneSteel site on the corner of McCabe Street and Stirling Highway for $61 million in May. In January, Australian Finance Group (AFG) paid $9.53 million for a 6,065 square metre site on McCabe Street, next to the Tasker Sails site. Jenelle Carter