Queen's Wharf is a multipurpose residential and entertainment precinct that is partially complete and partially under construction on either side of William Street in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The megaproject is one of Australia's biggest mixed-use precincts. In July 2015, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

announced the Destination Brisbane Consortium of

Star Entertainment Group The Star Entertainment Group Limited is an Australian gambling and entertainment company. The company was formerly known as Echo Entertainment. Star is Australia's biggest listed casino group. Following a money laundering scandal and 3 years of ...

Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Chow Tai Fook group is a Hong Kong–based, privately-owned conglomerate with holdings in the jewellery, property development, hotel, department store, transportation, energy, telecommunications, port, casino, and other businesses. Despite the ...

and Far East Consortium, as the successful tenderer for the redevelopment. The mixed-use development will feature 2,000 apartments, 1,100 hotel rooms and a casino. The project also includes a 1,500 seat-

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

and a Sky Deck

observation platform An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed from we ...

with 360 degree views. The Sky Deck will be open to the public 24/7. There will be around 50 new cafés, bars and restaurants in the resort. An oblong sculpture by artist

Lindy Lee Lindy Lee (born 1954) is an Australian painter and sculptor of Chinese heritage, whose work blends the cultures of Australia and her ancestral China and explores her Buddhist faith. She has exhibited widely, and is particularly known for her lar ...

is located at the George Street entrance. The redevelopment includes the construction of four high-rise buildings and the Neville Bonner Bridge connecting the precinct to

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

, as well as the repurposing of existing heritage-listed structures within the site. Work commenced in March 2018 with a preliminary 2022 completion date that was updated to 2023, and again delayed to April 2024.

Treasury Casino The Treasury Casino, also simply known as The Treasury, was a casino in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It also had a hotel, 6 restaurants, 5 Bar (establishment), bars, and a nightclub. The casino was operated by Star Entertainment Group. It ...

closed on 25 August 2024. A staged opening began on 29 August 2024. Bad weather and the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

were blamed for the delay. The project's location was criticised for its proximity to the historical heart of the city and government seat of power.

History

Construction was undertaken by

Multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...

. On-site demolition took over a year to complete. The Neville Bonner Building and the Executive Building had to be removed. The height of the Executive Building made it the tallest building demolition to take place in Queensland. More than 33,000 tonnes of rubble were created. Excavated rock was used to provide fill for the development of a car mall at

Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is an international airport serving Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, total amounting to more than 22.7 mill ...

. During excavation 134-year-old electrical cables were unearthed. Six basements were dug. By October 2021 the

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...

cores for both the Dorsett hotel and Rosewood hotels had reached level 21. In the same month it was reported that 98 per cent of the residencies had been purchased. In September 2022, the Sky Deck was raised into place. This involved the placement of a 175-tonne piece of steel 100 metres above ground level, between the two curved towers. The Sky Deck extends 250 metres around the top of two towers.

Design and location

The design aims to integrate tourism, leisure and entertainment facilities in an underutilised part of the city. The site includes 11 state-owned heritage sites. Nine of the sites are open to the public. Queen's Wharf covers a total 12 hectares. Along the river a new mangrove walk will wind along the

Riverside Expressway The Riverside Expressway is part of the Pacific Motorway that runs through Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the western side of the Brisbane CBD and is made up of various bridges and overpasses. The North Bank development was ...

. The existing bikeway will be upgraded and a new waterline park has been built. Seven and a half hectares of space have been allocated for

public use Public use is a legal requirement under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Eminent domain, Takings Clause ("nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation") of the Fifth Amendment to the United State ...

. The Sky Deck will be positioned 100 metres above William Street. Queen's Wharf consists of four towers situated atop a seven-storey podium and a five-level basement. The tallest building is known as the Queen’s Wharf Residence and is divided into Emerald, Ruby and Diamond tiers with a

penthouse apartment A penthouse is an apartment or unit traditionally on the highest floor of an apartment building, condominium, hotel, or tower. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features. The term 'penthouse' originally re ...

Queens Wharf and Neville Boner Bridge Brisbane

The complex utilises

Building Information Modelling Building information modeling (BIM) is an approach involving the generation and management of digital representations of the physical and functional characteristics of buildings or other physical assets and facilities. BIM is supported by vario ...

. A vacuum waste system will be used across the resort. It will incorporate a central waste handling facility.

Dining

Japanese fine dining will be available at Sokyo restaurant. Fat Noodle is bringing

Luke Nguyen Luke Nguyen (; born 8 September 1978) is an Australian chef, restaurateur and television presenter of Vietnamese descent. Early life In 1977, Luke Nguyen's family escaped Vietnam by boat to Thailand in search of a new life. Upon arriving in Thail ...

dishes featuring South East Asian flavours. Cucina Regina will serve Italian meals in a 160-seat restaurant, serving inside and out. Cicada Blu, an open-air bar and Euro-inspired eatery called Aloria will both be located on the Sky Deck. Velo Café is a two-storey riverside bikeway café built on the Bicentennial Bikeway that will cater to cyclists. Black Hide Steak & Seafood will move from the Treasury Brisbane to the new precinct into a 240-seat restaurant. It will be the largest of the three restaurants on the venue’s terrace.The Latin American-inspired Azteca can seat 126 people. Lúc Lắc has created a lush, indoor-outdoor, tropical setting for a Indochine restaurant and bar that can seat 159 people.

Hotels

The

integrated resort A casino hotel is an establishment consisting of a casino with temporary lodging provided in an on-premises hotel. Customers receive the benefits of both gambling facilities and lodging. Since the casino and hotel are located on the same premis ...

that includes three hotels in the complex are the Star Grand hotel, Dorsett hotel and Rosewood hotel. The luxury five star Star Grand hotel occupies towers two and three, which are the two curved towers. The Star Grand features 340 luxury rooms and a 360-degree signature

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

bar. The Star’s façade is equipped with 350 lighting pillars which are used for various lighting displays. The Dorsett and Rosewood hotels are due to open at the end of 2026.

Casino

The casino is managed by Star Entertainment on behalf of the consortium.

Slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

s, three variants of

blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...

roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game. It is now mainly played at casinos, but formerly popular at house-parties and private gaming rooms. The game's origins are a mixture of precursors from China, Japan, and Korea, which then gained popularit ...

, six variants of

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

craps Craps is a dice game in which players gambling, bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, " ...

and sic-bo are available. Casino War and the Wheel are also played. The casino has approval for 2,500 poker machines with about 1,500 machines currently in operation. A set of escalators lead visitors to the

high roller A high roller, also referred to as a whale or cheetah, is a gambler who consistently wagers large amounts of money. High rollers often receive lavish " comps" from casinos to entice them onto the gambling floors, such as free private jet transfe ...

level. In order to attempt to keep Star Entertainment afloat, the company was looking to sell its stake in The Star Brisbane. Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium would have assumed Star’s stake in The Star Brisbane and would also assume all debts incurred by the property.

References

External links

Queen’s Wharf Brisbane Act 2016
{{Brisbane landmarks, state=collapsed Brisbane central business district Buildings and structures in Brisbane Residential skyscrapers in Australia Casino hotels in Queensland Star Entertainment Group William Street, Brisbane Casinos in Brisbane Hotels in Brisbane Tourist attractions in Brisbane Neo-futurist architecture in Australia