Hospitality Group Lodges Brisbane Pub Renovation Plans

Plans have been submitted to revamp the Brisbane CBD’s oldest pub, the Victory Hotel.

Victory Hotel Freehold, a vehicle of site owner Precision Group, filed plans for the site at 127 Edward Street with the Brisbane City Council late last month.

While the facade will remain largely unchanged, redevelopment works include demolishing parts of the existing building to allow the expansion of usable areas within the existing hotel.

The redevelopment plans will create more space at basement level through extensive excavation works, according to plans.

Existing areas of the hotel and beer garden will be refurbished and later-era additions removed to make way for an open-plan bar. 

There would be a new rooftop bar as well as a new lift and improved stair access. A new verandah would be added, replicating the original 1855 verandah which was removed in later renovations.

The Victory Hotel site is listed on the Local Heritage Register, although it is not listed as being of State heritage significance. The adjoining Metro Arts Centre is listed on both registers.

Leaseholder Athena Hospitality Group says the renovations will allow the retention of the “important heritage values” of the Victory Hotel building, but adapt it to high-quality, contemporary standards for hotel use. 

▲ An image of the Prince of Wales Hotel, later renamed The Victory Hotel, in 1864.

The pub was previously operated by ALH Group, a subsidiary of Endeavour Group, Australia’s largest retail liquor company, and closed in February last year.

However, it was reopened in March, 2023 by Athena Hospitality Group, which also announced renovation plans. Those have now been filed. 

Precision Group remains the site owner, having acquired the site in 2005 for $22 million.

After a fire in 2008, plans were filed to demolish the site, but that development application lapsed. 

Brisbane CBD is undergoing an overhaul, prompted by the successful 2032 Olympics bid and a major influx of residents into south-east Queensland—big-ticket projects including the $3.6-billion Queen’s Wharf development, which is nearing completion, and Dexus’ revitalisation of the Eagle Street Pier area with its $2.5-billion Waterfront development.