Overview
The Gold Coast isn't known for its subtlety. Forget things like schoolies, bikini-wearing metre maids and theme parks — when you're a city that boasts a coastline that big, you're going to flaunt it. And why not? Perhaps that's the thinking behind the new beach club slated for The Spit. Seems playing host to Australia's first six-star hotel wasn't enough attention for the Gold Coast.
Open to the public, measuring 6000 square metres in size and catering for up to 3000 people, the beach club features pretty much everything you're imagining a huge new hangout space by the water should: a rooftop lounge, nightclub, restaurants, cafes, VIP cabanas, gardens and lawns for a dash of greenery, and an outdoor pool and beach area, of course, and hosting DJs and live performances is part of the plan.
The beach club will form part of a proposed new development, which has been given the rather bland moniker of the Gold Coast Integrated Resort. The project aims to give the Goldie "a new global waterfront destination and world-class coastal icon" — complete with five buildings ranging from 20 to 45 storeys in height, multiple hotels, a casino, eateries, shops, apartments and a waterfront piazza with walkways, gardens, parks, amphitheatres and an outdoor cinema, all taking over the space between Sea World and the Gold Coast Fisherman's Co-operative.
Don't go making travel plans just yet, though, with construction not expected to start until after the 2018 Commonwealth Games. And don't expect such a big change to such a well-trodden area to happen quietly. With the Gold Coast Broadwater — or large shallow estuary — quite a natural feature, plenty of other proposals have been mooted for The Spit and have been met with considerable outcries.
For more information, visit the Gold Coast Integrated Resort website.
Via Brisbane Development / Gold Coast Bulletin. Images: Gold Coast Integrated Resort.