Southbank Revealed as First Brisbane Olympic Development

A prime piece of riverfront property is to be transformed into a temporary media centre for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner confirmed a new precinct was being planned on a major 7ha site on Montague Road in South Brisbane, bordering West End.

The site will be purchased for the Games to house the International Broadcast Centre for the event. After the games the centre will be converted to parkland.

The venue—where the world’s media will converge during the Games—is expected to be about 60,000sq m and would be within walking distance of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Schrinner said the project, the first of many developments to be rolled out in time for the games, aligned with the intent of the draft Kurilpa Riverfront Renewal MasterPlan which the council had been working on with the state for several years.

“For a decade and more, people have talked about South Bank being extended along this part of our river and I am so pleased we’re now moving forward to make those dreams become a reality,” Schrinner said.

“World Expo ‘88 was the catalyst for the creation of South Bank and now Brisbane 2032 will facilitate the next phase of this evolution.”

The industrial land at South Brisbane, occupied by the Parmalat milk factory, was earmarked in Brisbane City Council planning in 2014 for future urban and cultural development.

The council confirmed that negotiations with the owner of the industrial business on the site was under way.

A similar proposal was mooted by the state government in 2012 and involved a mix of public and commercial use along the riverbank, including an entertainment, retail and dining precinct and parkland.

The IOC Future Host Commission report says the state government will provide the funding to remediate the industrial land.

Brisbane is already undergoing rapid changes with $20-billion worth of major development planned or under construction as part of a committed $49.5-billion transport infrastructure pipeline.

Major development projects include the $5.4-billion Cross River Rail, $3.6-billion Queen’s Wharf casino and residences and the $1-billion Brisbane Airport third terminal.

The proposed $1-billion overhaul of the Gabba stadium, home to Queensland sport including cricket and AFL for 126 years, is also earmarked to be the epicentre of Brisbane’s Olympic activity. The upgrade would increase capacity to around 50,000 people.

It would also include a new pedestrian plaza, making the Games more accessible to people with disabilities and the elderly, linking the redesigned stadium to the Cross River Rail station, which is currently under construction.

As well, the Hamilton Northshore priority development area is being touted as the preferred location for the Brisbane Olympic Village.

The village will host more than 10,000 athletes and team officials for the Olympic Games and more than 5000 for the Paralympics.

State development minister Steven Miles said the Games would “do for Northshore Hamilton what Expo ‘88 did for South Bank”.

“Village construction will crystalise the area’s long-term plan and rejuvenate the existing industrial land,” Miles said.

“It will boost an already popular precinct—home to landmarks such as Portside, Eat Street Markets, and Alcyone Hotel, and some of Brisbane’s best waterfront living.”

After the Games, the village will be converted to a diverse residential offering, including aged care, retirement living, social and affordable housing, key worker, hotel, build-to-rent and market accommodation.

Northshore is also set to be the home of a proposed biomedical facility for Vaxxas to manufacture its world-leading, needle-free vaccines, which could be used for Covid-19.