Uptown, Brisbane

Uptown (previously known as The Myer Centre) is a shopping centre in the Brisbane central business district. It is located on the Queen Street Mall.

Transport

Uptown is one of the bus transit hubs for the Brisbane CBD. Many bus routes commence and terminate under Uptown at the Queen Street bus station on the Albert Street level of the complex.

Uptown has a multi-level car park with 1,450 spaces.

Tenants

Uptown has 63,025m² of floor space. The major retailers include Target, Coles, Beach House Bar & Grill, Dopamine Land Funhouse and Event Cinemas.

Layout

Due to the hilly landscape of the Brisbane CBD, Uptown's floors are labelled differently from that of most shopping centres. Whereas many shopping centres label their floors purely by number (level 1, level 2, etc.) or its vertical position (lower level, upper level, etc.), Uptown is laid out in the following fashion (lowest level to highest):

*Level S (named after the former Sizzler restaurant located on this level): no longer open to the general public
*Level T (formerly lower Target level): no longer open to the general public
*Level A (Albert Street entrance): Queen Street bus station, Target, food court
*Level E (Elizabeth Street entrance): Coles Central, food court, specialty stores
*Level Q (Queen Street entrance): specialty stores, Dopamine Land.
*Level 1 (first floor above any street level): Lincraft, specialty stores
*Level 2 (second floor above street levels): DVD King, Daiso, Lincraft, Best & Less, Oxfam Shop, Skinnys
*Level 3 (third floor above street levels): Event Cinemas
*Level 4 (fourth floor above street levels): (formerly Upper Myer level) no longer open to the general public
*Level R (two lifts only): Centre Management

History

Construction and opening

Construction of Myer Centre started in late 1986 requiring excavation of 375,000 cubic metres of earth, to a depth of 22 metres (eight metres below the Brisbane River level), which was the largest urban excavation in Australia at the time. Myer Centre was built on land that was originally occupied by Hotel Carlton, New York Hotel, Newspaper House and the Barry and Roberts department store.

Hotel Carlton was built in 1891 and is located on the corner of Queen and Elizabeth Streets. It was redeveloped in the 1920s and closed in 1985.

Next door to Hotel Carlton was the Telegraph News Company which was built in 1891 and operated until 1963 when it relocated to Bowen Hills. The building had been refurbished and was taken over for use as an office by Queensland Newspapers City which the building was renamed Newspaper House.

The design emphasised a Victorian theme, utilising ornate railing and fittings in brass and green, with terrazzo floor tiles. Using facadism, the facades of four historic buildings previously located on the site were retained and restored. The historic facades of the Hotel Carlton (1885), New York Hotel (1860), Newspaper House, and the Barry and Roberts department store were restored and retained.

The shopping complex opened under the name The Myer Centre on 28 March 1988 just prior to Brisbane's World Expo '88. Myer relocating its Brisbane City department store into the centre from its previous location in the Allan and Stark Building. More than 500,000 customers visited within the first four days of operation.

1990s and 2000s

In November 1998 the Myer Centre was purchased by Gandel Retail Trust for $371 million, making it the second largest property transaction in Australia's history at that time.

During the early 1990s, the centre basement area (subsequently occupied by Sizzler) hosted "The Funkyard", a nightspot with an emphasis on the "alternative" guitar rock of the era. The centre also featured the "Metropolis" nightclub.

In 2000, the fun park named Tops located on the centres top level was demolished and replaced by cinemas. Tops comprised various small shops, an amusement centre, a swing ship, a dragon train, and a Ferris wheel. Prior to 2000, the cinemas were situated in the area now occupied by Target, and operated by Hoyts.

In 2005, the centre was purchased by Colonial First State Property group as part of the purchase of Gandels Centres.

2010s and 2020s

The centre was valued at A$732 million in 2012 when ISPT purchased a half stake.

On 8 March 2013, the front of the Myer Centre was the scene of an hour-long siege. The gunman was subdued by police using rubber bullets.

On 16 March 2023, Myer announced that, after being unable to reach a commercial agreement with the landlord, it would not be renewing its lease, thus ceasing 35 years of continuous operation at the site in July 2023.

Due to Myer's departure the centre was rebranded from The Myer Centre to Uptown on 1 August 2023. On 17 April 2024, it was revealed that Australia's first Dopamine land an interactive multisensory experience museum would open on Level Q of the Centre.

References

External links

Uptown Official Website

{{Shopping centres in Queensland

Shopping centres in Brisbane
Shopping malls established in 1988
1988 establishments in Australia
Queen Street, Brisbane
Elizabeth Street, Brisbane
Albert Street, Brisbane