Queen's Wharf Is Set to Become Brisbane's New Inner-City Entertainment Precinct
With 50 restaurants and bars, a riverfront moonlight cinema and a 'skydeck'.
"Let's meet at Queen's Wharf." It isn't something that Brisbanites currently say, but they will in a few years time. The CBD area currently bordered by Alice, George, Queen and William Streets is about to get a new name and a new look — and could become somewhere Brisbanites actually hang out at.
Okay, so we already knew that change was a-coming to this part of the city. But as of this week, the government has made their pick from the two proposals vying to revamp the space — now we officially know exactly what the current home of government buildings, the casino and not much else of note will look like. The short answer: it's going to be epic. The long answer: keep reading.
With 50 restaurants and bars, a riverfront moonlight cinema, a 'skydeck' and nightly water and light shows all slated to become part of the city's new entertainment precinct, you can understand why our future selves will be flocking to Queen's Wharf in droves. Add several apartment towers, five premium hotels, three major entertainment spaces, a pedestrian and cycle bridge to South Bank and a riverside mangrove walk, and the question to ask isn't when Brisbane folks will be there — it's when won't they.
The list of additions and attractions doesn't stop there, with the existing Treasury building transforming into a shopping centre, the casino popping up elsewhere in the precinct, and a new 1500-seat lyric theatre joining QPAC. The Queensland Government tasked developers with designing a space that would be the envy of other Australian — and Asian — cities, and it looks like the winner has delivered and then some.
Destination Brisbane — comprised of Echo Entertainment Group, Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises — will be making these inner-city dreams a reality, after beating out a rival proposal from Crown Resorts. Their bid boasts 12 football fields of public event space, has enough open room for 26,000 people, and is expected to become Brisbane's next South Bank, if you're wondering why it emerged victorious.
Construction isn't due to start until 2017, so (let's be honest) no one will be rushing to Queen's Wharf just yet. This is one of those circumstances where your mum's advice might come in handy — remember, good things come to those who wait.
For more information about Queen's Wharf, visit the Destination Brisbane website.
