The Burnett lane thing is a restaurant by the people who own Piaf and Sardine Tin. Should be good.

^^ A few people other people have mentioned that as well. It'll be great for the lane. Just strange that there's no DA listed for the site as far as I can see. I've done a fair bit of digging and have come up with nothing, and I'm impatient! :-P

i saw on news today brisbane was blanketed in fog. view from mt cootha showed the 4 talls popping above. -soliel, aurora,111eagle and riparian. looked awesome\
any photos?

Something interesting that has probably not been mentioned in Queensland, but farmers from South East Queensland were able to create a prize winning produce display at the Royal Easter Show here in Sydney. This was despite a lack of access to good produce to create the display.

And a stunning reversal as well from the past few years where they have finished last.

You have to commend them.

The theme for the displays was up and focused on "farmscrapers". Skyscrapers built from food.!!!:)

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8038/img6431u.jpg

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/2453/img6451w.jpg

http://img863.imageshack.us/img863/4426/img6450.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/980/img6449r.jpg

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/8540/img6453h.jpg

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/222/img6454p.jpg

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/14/img6455v.jpg

So Zara could be taking over the corner where Borders currently stands. Anyone have any creditable information on this?

Zara borders on Brisbane entry

Spanish fashion chain Zara is being touted as a possible retailer to move into the space vacated by the closure of the multi-level Borders bookstore in Brisbane's CBD.
Michael Hanscomb from CB Richard Ellis said the era of the book superstore appeared to be over with the news the store would close, along with a Borders outlet at Westfield Garden City and 14 other Borders stores nationwide.

''It would attract interest from some of the larger-format international fashion retailers in the Australian market,'' he said.

''That precinct has become a real street and surf youth precinct so I think it could potentially be split into several stores [in that market]. It would definitely be worth more to split it up.''

Phillip Di Bella, of the Queen Street Mall Advisory Group (the Borders site is considered part of the mall) said a high-end fashion retailer would ideally fit with the emerging fashion hub at the Edward Street end of the mall, which includes QueensPlaza, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.

''There's been talks about Zara [taking over the site], that would be amazing,'' he said.

''We would like to see a high-end fashion house, to complement what's happening at the end of the mall at Edward Street, or something like an internationally-recognised food outlet.''

Spanish group Zara is a popular high-street fashion label in Europe and the US but has only recently made a move into the Australian market, with its first outlet due to open next month in Sydney's Westfield Pitt Street Mall. Its stores are often large-scale and split over several levels.

The Borders site, on the corner of Albert and Elizabeth streets and adjacent to the Queen Street Mall, is a rare piece of CBD real estate that would only appear on the market ''about every ten years'', Mr Hanscomb said.
Borders opened the store in 2002 after a $14 million redevelopment of the site previously occupied by a Greater Union cinema, The Forum.

At the time of the store's opening it was reported the US book chain had taken out a 15-year lease with Greater Union on the site.

The store is spread over three levels, with about 2,500 square metres of floor space.

Kath Christie of the Australian Retailers' Association said if the space were to be taken by a single lessor, it would need to be retailers that required a lot of space, such as a discount department store.

But she said it was likely individual floors would be leased out to a number of retailers.

Mr Di Bella said the site had suited Borders ten years ago, but Brisbane's CBD had ''emerged in a large way'' since then.

''We'd love to see someone move in who fits with [Brisbane's] overall strategy of new world city,'' he said.
Advertisement: Story continues below
REDgroup, the parent company of Borders and Angus and Robertson, was put into the hands of the administrator on February 17.
At a meeting on March 3, creditors were told REDgroup owed at least $118 million, with unsecured creditors owing $44 million.
REDgroup had just $1 million in the bank but employee entitlements totalled $7.8 million

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/property/zara-borders-on-brisbane-entry-20110407-1d5pz.html

http://forums.vogue.com.au/showthread.php?p=6621267

I work in the retail leasing field and we are trying to get the site (along with numerous others), but Zara is definitely the front runner.

wow Zara would be fantastic!, Great location!

A very unique location as well, on the corner of a major intersection in a building with a building that has a huge, single retail space. Like the real estate guy said, something like this only becomes available once a decade, so Zara would be mad to let the opportunity pass if they had intended to expand into Brisbane within the coming decade.

Thanks for the pics Fabian, that's really impressive. Hasn't been reported up here in mainstream media at all. I love the idea of those skyscraper-farms :D

Fin Review article today discussing that Apple are looking at either the Borders store or the Macarthur Chambers store (the one with the dodgey bookstore in it) to dset up their second Brisbane store.

http://www.afr.com.au/p/business/property/apple_to_book_brisbane_space_OrePUNcqWIE0i29ZXUfHDN

^^ I've hoped that someone decent would move into Macarthur Chambers and kick out the dodgy bookshop, and Apple would be ideal I reckon! Apple into Macarthur, and Zara into Borders please!

Whats the clothes at Zara like and how affordable are they?

^^

www.zara.com

Whats the clothes at Zara like and how affordable are they?

For what they are, and compared to your high-end, they're very affordable. The quality is great and the style, spot on.

I can't believe how many cranes are going up around Bowen Hills recently. I noticed another one going up today as I was driving along the ICB. Seriously anyone driving along the ICB at the moment would be thinking Brisbane was a MAJOR boom city. Cranes and construction everywhere :banana:

Brisbane Times has picked up on the Apple Store/Zara story. It also name drops Gap and Gucci as possible Brisbane entries.

Brisbane set for a bite at the Apple
Marissa Calligeros
April 21, 2011 - 3:00AM

new Apple Store is set to open in Brisbane's CBD, with the company scouting several pieces of prime inner-city real estate.

Apple representatives are understood to have toured the former Dymocks site at MacArthur Chambers, currently leased by Book Star, and the soon-to-be-vacant Borders store on the corner of Elizabeth and Albert streets.

It is understood Apple also looked at the $80 million Wintergarden redevelopment, as well as Broadway on the Mall.

Apple refused to comment on the speculation yesterday.

"We have nothing to announce," a spokesman said.

MacArthur Chambers owner Precision Group yesterday denied claims a lease for the heritage-listed space had been signed with any business.

Precision general manager Neil Proudlove said the property investor was considering a range of possibilities for the site.

"We have introduced the site to a number of parties subsequent to Dymocks vacating," he said.

International high-end fashion brands Gucci, Gap, Zara are understood also to be shopping for prime retail space in Brisbane, as well as Australian pearl producers Paspaley Pearls.

Borders landlord Amalgamated Holdings, Wintergarden owner/developer ISPT and the Yuen family, owners of Broadway on the Mall, are all understood to be vying for the prized tenants.

Apple has 10 stores across the country including two in southeast Queensland; one in Westfield's Chermside shopping centre and the Robina Town Centre.

Apple also has a store in Colonial First State Retail Property Trust's Sydney Chatswood Chase shopping centre, which also owns the high-end retail centre Queens Plaza on the Queen Street Mall.

One industry source, who requested not to be named, said he suspected Apple would prefer a prime Queen Street location.

"I believe Apple would prefer a Queen Street location as opposed to a site on the wrong side of Elizabeth Street," he said.

Real estate advisor Savills, which represents Apple in the Asia-Pacific region, could not be reached for comment yesterday.


Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/brisbane-set-for-a-bite-at-the-apple-20110420-1doop.html#ixzz1K6XfPgeN

Word on the street is Zara will take the Boarders site, Gap will take Macarthur Chambers and Apple will take a new site in the Wintergarden redevelopment fronting the mall. Not sure about Gucci.

Gap at MacArthur Chambers, sorry but that building deserves better!!

Still, good to see the overseas stores having an interest in Brisbane. Just hope we get some confirmation in the next few weeks and months!!

BTW it's spelt Borders not Boarders guys, sorry just noticed it a few times :lol:

Saw the clothes on offer at Zara and I like! Nice simple looking clothes and would be ideal for my age :)

I agree - GAP in that building is just wrong! It's like putting a Just Jeans in there - GAP is not 'high end' as it was called in the article. I thought Gucci would go there as its up market cousins are in the same street.

Not sure what all the excitement with regards to the Borders store is... Doesn't look upto the standard of the high end retailers in question.

^^ If Zara or Apple move in there, the building would need an internal and external refurb because it is very run down looking. Zara isn't exactly high end, nor is Apple really... so I think the location would suit them both. This intersection is probably in the top 5 most busy in the CBD.

The location is fine... the building however, is not. It isn't a case of Zara or Apple not being 'high end'... I honestly can't imagine many retailers of Zara's or Apple's caliber wanting to move in there as is.

The location is fine... the building however, is not. It isn't a case of Zara or Apple not being 'high end'... I honestly can't imagine many retailers of Zara's or Apple's caliber wanting to move in there as is.

As I said in the Wintergarden thread, it's the floorspace which is the draw point. There's not many available spaces with this kind of floor space, and they don't become available all that often. Also, look at the building that Hermes moved into. That wasn't exactly a high end looking building either...it's was old and pretty run down as well I recall, but now it's home to what is one of the most high end luxury brands around.

Anyway, getting away from that, I have some general news updates for everyone:


Firstly, the mystery redevelopment in Burnett Lane is still chugging along. They've lit the place up, so here are some better photos of what it's looking like (excuse the camera shake in photo #2):

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5094/1004929o.jpg (http://img130.imageshack.us/i/1004929o.jpg/)

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/4751/1004928p.jpg (http://img51.imageshack.us/i/1004928p.jpg/)

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/796/1004931.jpg (http://img703.imageshack.us/i/1004931.jpg/)


Next, here's the Embassy Hotel with it's shiny new coat of paint:

http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/807/1005017p.jpg (http://img713.imageshack.us/i/1005017p.jpg/)

Blends in well with the hotel's short little 'annex' building.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/880/1005022k.jpg (http://img153.imageshack.us/i/1005022k.jpg/)


A bit of a surprise this one. Hardy Brothers are moving out of their store on the corner of Albert & Adelaide St, where they've been for as long as I can remember. They're consolidating into their Macarthur Central Store in Queen St I believe. I think a new coast of paint for this shop will be required pretty soon, as I can't see it being empty for too long.

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/2188/1005088.jpg (http://img705.imageshack.us/i/1005088.jpg/)

Next up, the changes to Heckelmann's Building are almost finished but the look of it. They just need to fix up one more column near the Mitre 10 entrance. The new paint job looks pretty good as far as I'm concerned. Better than the old colour scheme at least.

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/8827/1005028.jpg (http://img534.imageshack.us/i/1005028.jpg/)

http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/183/1005033.jpg (http://img862.imageshack.us/i/1005033.jpg/)

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4227/1005036v.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/i/1005036v.jpg/)

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/8776/1005035.jpg (http://img543.imageshack.us/i/1005035.jpg/)

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/2167/1005156.jpg (http://img854.imageshack.us/i/1005156.jpg/)

And finally, something I happened to notice was that the burnt out half of the Spencer Building on Edward St looks like it may be getting fixed up (FINALLY). There's scaffolding up around the back, and what looks like a winch system pointing out the top windows.

Meanwhile the healthier twin new door is getting an addition added to the back (mainly a new fire escape and some extra utility space at the back I believe) which will be an improvement over the rusty old fire escape. As both building have large Spencer Lane frontage, maybe we will see some activation onto the lane as well as a result?

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/5183/1004963m.jpg (http://img823.imageshack.us/i/1004963m.jpg/)

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/2069/1004962.jpg (http://img714.imageshack.us/i/1004962.jpg/)

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/6042/1004951.jpg (http://img850.imageshack.us/i/1004951.jpg/)

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9700/1004943.jpg (http://img156.imageshack.us/i/1004943.jpg/)

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5562/1004953fm.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/i/1004953fm.jpg/)

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/9784/1004949.jpg (http://img833.imageshack.us/i/1004949.jpg/)

So not sure if it's been posted but the new Brisbane ad

Vcp2qYtrALs

Thats not too bad :)

So not sure if it's been posted but the new Brisbane ad

Vcp2qYtrALs

Horrible.

"Come Together" - yet every single person in the advertisement is white?

Even Singapore at least pretends to be multicultural.

LOL

It's not about multiculturalism so much as the purpose of the associated social website..

...and since when was multiculturalism the be all and end all of advertising?

Horrible.

"Come Together" - yet every single person in the advertisement is white?

Even Singapore at least pretends to be multicultural.

LOL

The thing that annoys me more than anything else in current tv is the placement of token people. Basically what your asking is that there be a asian and black family and to top it off a gay couple holding hands.

It's not about multiculturalism so much as the purpose of the associated social website..

...and since when was multiculturalism the be all and end all of advertising?

I guess it's the be all and end all when you're Zach and so desperate for an argument.

^ its more about representing Brisbane or Australia in total. Last time I checked, we were a country built on immigration.

^ its more about representing Brisbane or Australia in total. Last time I checked, we were a country build on immigration.
Exactly. One in four Australians were born overseas, and we also have an Indigenous Australian population. Looking at that ad, you'd think Brisbane was populated exclusively by white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants with blond or red hair.

^^ Come on guys, it's a 30 Second ad for crying out loud!

Are you saying that in 30 seconds we should attempt to clearly show every single demographic living within Brisbane??? Not only would that be impossible, but it would be seen as a token effort and would be singling out specific demographics - possibly considered a form of racism in singling out people on bases of their cultural background - which isn't a good outcome for a multicultural city. It's like saying to the world "Look at us, we have Asians in Brisbane! Look at us, we have Africans in Brisbane!" etc etc etc. We need to be saying "We're Brisbane." Full stop.

Regardless, I don't think you're looking very hard if you think all the people in the clip are anglo-saxon. From what I can see in the ad, in the first clip with the three girls having coffee, the girl who is behind the girl on the left looks very much like she might be of Asian heritage, and the guy handing the watermelon could possibly be of Italian extraction. Where you see the kids running around the adults' legs, one little girl looks like she may be of Asian heritage as well (the sped up clip doesn't help), while where you see the musicians right towards the end of the clip, there is a bass-playing girl rocking a black afro - possibly of Aboriginal or Maori heritage? Isn't this the sign of a true multicultural country - seeing people as people firstly, and not singling people out due to their heritage?

And that's the way this clip should be. We're focusing on the fact that we are Brisbane, a city that's open for business.

^ the person responsible for this advertisement has a clear agenda or belief of what Brisbane stands for today. Unfortunately, whoever funded this (i.e. the government) allowed production. Disgusting - lets just hope this is not shown in Melbourne or Sydney. Clearly embarrassing.


The girl who is behind the girl on the left looks very much like she might be of Asian heritage,


That's the point.



We're focusing on the fact that we are Brisbane, a city that's open for business.



Open for everyone? At least a representative population?



And the guy handing the watermelon could possibly be of Italian extraction.



Why? Because he is kissing a watermelon? Jesus.

When nearly every post you make is negative people stop listening.

Anyways this is the other ad for brisbane by tourism Queensland, a part of its nothing beats Queensland series.

l4qZswIO4Yo

oh zach, you poor thing.

I dont think much about the add but Zach.... seriously !!!. Well done for finding a negative out of something positive !!
I feel sorry for people like you !!

^ its more about representing Brisbane or Australia in total. Last time I checked, we were a country built on immigration.

Zach stop being a troll.

Brisbane has only 21.7% of its population born overseas – lower than Sydney or Melbourne. There are just 6,700 Italians for instance – in a city of 2 million people that’s about 0.3%!

Most of our immigration is from countries with people that look um... well like white anglos. The top three overseas immigrant populations in Brisbane are from the UK, NZ and white South Africans. Can you pick the Poms in the ad?

There are 14 times as many Poms and 11 times as many Kiwis as there are Italians. The Greeks don’t even make it into the top 17 immigrant nations.

According to the 2006 census just 76,560 people came from Asia or the sub continent. That’s just 4.4% of Brisbane’s population which makes Brisbane statistically the most anglo-looking eastern seaboard capital.

So if a vox pop 30 second ad has about 25 recognisable faces then 4.4% is just one person. So I reckon the ad is about right when it comes to representing Brisbane’s total population – ‘burbs and all.

But don’t let your stereotypes and prejudices get in the way of slagging off Brisbane whatever the facts might be and whenever the chance arises eh!

BTW the Broncos player is Aboriginal. Is that ethnically diverse enough for you? Do we get the Sydney/Melbourne seal of approval now?

I think you’ve missed the point of what the ads are celebrating – Brisbane’s ’big country town’ community spirit. You weren’t out in the mud with brooms and hoses. I was. Pull your head in mate.

Zach stop being a troll.

Brisbane has only 21.7% of its population born overseas – lower than Sydney or Melbourne. There are just 6,700 Italians for instance – in a city of 2 million people that’s about 0.3%!

Most of our immigration is from countries with people that look um... well like white anglos. The top three overseas immigrant populations in Brisbane are from the UK, NZ and white South Africans. Can you pick the Poms in the ad?

There are 14 times as many Poms and 11 times as many Kiwis as there are Italians. The Greeks don’t even make it into the top 17 immigrant nations.

According to the 2006 census just 76,560 people came from Asia or the sub continent. That’s just 4.4% of Brisbane’s population which makes Brisbane statistically the most anglo-looking eastern seaboard capital.

So if a vox pop 30 second ad has about 25 recognisable faces then 4.4% is just one person. So I reckon the ad is about right when it comes to representing Brisbane’s total population – ‘burbs and all.

But don’t let your stereotypes and prejudices get in the way of slagging off Brisbane whatever the facts might be and whenever the chance arises eh!

BTW the Broncos player is Aboriginal. Is that ethnically diverse enough for you? Do we get the Sydney/Melbourne seal of approval now?

I think you’ve missed the point of what the ads are celebrating – Brisbane’s ’big country town’ community spirit. You weren’t out in the mud with brooms and hoses. I was. Pull your head in mate.

Well said..... but to be honest I wouldn't of wasted my time explaining yourself to him.

The un-brisbane thing about the ad was that one person had a 'I love yiros' tshirt. Yiros is a term they love to use in Adelaide, but its non existant in Brisbane, you guys just call them kebabs.

The un-brisbane thing about the ad was that one person had a 'I love yiros' tshirt. Yiros is a term they love to use in Adelaide, but its non existant in Brisbane, you guys just call them kebabs.

Unless you live in West End it seems.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1542385/restaurant/Queensland/Char-Char-Yiros-West-End

See we are multicultural! LOL

Some of you are suffering from the effects of positive discrimination, do we need to be like South Africa where we introduce a quota to productions and sporting teams to avoid discrimination?

Its equally as backwards to be calling for positive discrimination as it is to be pushing for discrimination, shit next we will be calling for a certain percentage of politicians to be indigenous Australian regardless of merit.

I wonder what people would have been saying if it was made up entirely of aboriginals, Asians, Muslims and any other kind of minority group we can think of..

Quotas are also standard in the United States for TV Shows and films.

Well said..... but to be honest I wouldn't of wasted my time explaining yourself to him.

Ditto.

Well said..... but to be honest I wouldn't of wasted my time explaining yourself to him.

Yeah, I needn't have bothered wasting my time apparently.

Some of you are suffering from the effects of positive discrimination, do we need to be like South Africa where we introduce a quota to productions and sporting teams to avoid discrimination?

Its equally as backwards to be calling for positive discrimination as it is to be pushing for discrimination, shit next we will be calling for a certain percentage of politicians to be indigenous Australian regardless of merit.

I was trying to make this point as well. In my mind, true multiculturalism is when we see people just as people. Cultural background of course influences who a person is, but it shouldn't define who a person is.

As for positive discrimination, it can be just as bad as discriminating against people of a certain race or religion. We're still singling them out for what they are, and not just focusing on who they are.

So while you guys all dream of these crazy hi end retail stores, what about something a touch more realisitic: A JB HiFi Concept Store like has recently opened down in Sydney? (It has all of the electronics side of things - TV's, Mobile Phones, Laptops ect but none of the DVD's/CD's)
Photo's - http://www.cnet.com.au/inside-jb-hi-fis-new-concept-store-photos-339313586.htm
Talk of expanding the concept to a few more key sites around Australia, so a real possibility to occur in Brisbane. Also they didn't replace an existing to store to create this new one, it opened up in the new Westfield in Sydney City.

^^ It is something they could look at here, that Sydmey store looks quite cool. Although, there's no shortage of JB HiFi's in the CBD - Albert St (Q&A), Adelaide St and Macarthur Central.

The Adelaide St store I recall used to have a completely separate shopfront for the CDs and DVDs section, while next door was just the electronics, but they then moved both into a single store not that long ago. Then there's the Macarthur Central Store, which has the DVDs and CD's on a completely separate level to the electronics, so it's almost a separate store there.

So while you guys all dream of these crazy hi end retail stores, what about something a touch more realisitic: A JB HiFi Concept Store like has recently opened down in Sydney? (It has all of the electronics side of things - TV's, Mobile Phones, Laptops ect but none of the DVD's/CD's)
Photo's - http://www.cnet.com.au/inside-jb-hi-fis-new-concept-store-photos-339313586.htm
Talk of expanding the concept to a few more key sites around Australia, so a real possibility to occur in Brisbane. Also they didn't replace an existing to store to create this new one, it opened up in the new Westfield in Sydney City.

Apple + Zara = high end?? Rightttttttt

Zara = cheaper than Witchery and Country Road
Apple = something that poor (and not so poor) students clamor over

Is the Sydney Zara open? Anyone know prices? I was expecting them to position themselves similar to the likes of Country Road.

A few pictures of Apple stores inside historical buildings:

Glasgow:
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i16/soulvisionQ1/Screenshot2011-04-26at50725PM.png

Inside Glasgow:
http://www.appleblog.es/wp-content/apple-store-glasgow3.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1325/1234839017_efa8eca372.jpg?v=0

Paris:
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i16/soulvisionQ1/Screenshot2011-04-26at44920PM.png

Inside Paris:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4753168910_ba2649ec15_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4753167856_612b03f9c0_z.jpg

London:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/127/384110205_fc63c524a0_z.jpg

Inside:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/36/95657293_2330362372_z.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/79318782_99019a3a69.jpg

Thanks for the photos Soul. I love seeing the Apple Stores from around the world.

Externally, I would want to see something similar to the Glasgow store, just a simple Apple logo hanging from above the entrance, while inside I'd like it to be more like the Paris store as, although not as ornate, the interior does still retain plaster detailing on the columns and the ceiling I'm pretty certain.

Also, an interesting side story, there is a development application up for 233 - 255 Queen St which I'm pretty sure is MacArthur Chambers/MacArthur Central. The DA is A003063677 but there's no documents up there as yet.

^^
Ohh, thanks for that, we'll have to keep tabs on it!!

Is the Sydney Zara open? Anyone know prices? I was expecting them to position themselves similar to the likes of Country Road.

Yes it is open and the prices are reportedly cheaper than Country Road.

Also, an interesting side story, there is a development application up for 233 - 255 Queen St which I'm pretty sure is MacArthur Chambers/MacArthur Central. The DA is A003063677 but there's no documents up there as yet.

Docs are up....Looks very Apple to me.

^^Indeed it does! And it looks like it will be a stunner of a store as well! :D

And here I was thinking this Apple store talk was all hype. This is seriously cool!

These floor plans are confirmation that Brisbane's brand spanking new apple store is in MaCarthur central! Looks a lot like the London Regent apple store to me. Love how the missing Bronze doors will be reinstated!

My email to Steve Jobs a few months back must have gotten through :D

Does Melbourne have an apple CBD store?

^^I was thinking Paris inside Glasgow outside.

I dunno that it's going to be Apple, having done some quick research.

Currently the world's largest Apple store is in Covent Garden, London. It has 1521 sq m of sales space. The upgraded MacArthur Chambers site will lose some floor space but the documents suggest that the site will be 1900 sq m+.

I honestly don't think that Apple would be replacing their existing world's largest store in London with a bigger one in Brisbane.

EDIT: That said, I was just looking at the floor plans and it it very much resembles an Apple store fitout!!

And it looks like the basement level will be for staff and storage uses, so that makes a lot more sense.

In total, I calculate 1178 sq m of sales space across the ground floor and the mezzanine level.

That would make it the second largest Apple store in the Southern Hemisphere (behind Sydney at ~1400 sq m) and one of the largest in the world!!

^^ Its impossible that this could be anything but apple. Look at the Genus Bar on the top right. Plus the tables... no other retail store would have tables like this. There are no clothing racks on the walls. This has to be an apple store.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn131/SoulVisionQ3/ground2.jpg

Plus look at the space required for the 'logo'... very similar to Glasgow:
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn131/SoulVisionQ3/ground3.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i16/soulvisionQ1/Screenshot2011-04-26at50725PM.png

These floor plans are confirmation that Brisbane's brand spanking new apple store is in MaCarthur central! Looks a lot like the London Regent apple store to me. Love how the missing Bronze doors will be reinstated!

My email to Steve Jobs a few months back must have gotten through :D

Does Melbourne have an apple CBD store?

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

:dance::dance::dance:

Sydney and Perth are the only two Oz cities with CBD stores :)

This is the most exciting store opening in Brisbane, possibly ever!!

^^ Its impossible that this could be anything but apple. Look at the Genus Bar on the top right. Plus the tables... no other retail store would have tables like this. There are no clothing racks on the walls. This has to be an apple store.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn131/SoulVisionQ3/ground2.jpg

Plus look at the space required for the 'logo'... very similar to Glasgow:
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn131/SoulVisionQ3/ground3.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i16/soulvisionQ1/Screenshot2011-04-26at50725PM.png

Yep Sky_Is_The_Limit - this is an apple store! Yay!!! :banana::banana::banana:

^^ Its impossible that this could be anything but apple. Look at the Genus Bar on the top right. Plus the tables... no other retail store would have tables like this. There are no clothing racks on the walls. This has to be an apple store.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn131/SoulVisionQ3/ground.jpg

Yes I just saw that floor plan and almost fell of my chair :lol::lol:

How long do you think it will take for council to approve? I read in the supporting report that construction is expected to take 3 months so I'm trying to figure out a rough opening date. Obviously they would want to be opening before Christmas, and in typical Apple style they will probably release a product with a flagship store launch (ala iPad with Bondi Junction store and iPhone with the Sydney store). That product will be the iPhone 5 :cheers:

^^ I'd say opening would definitely be before iPhone 5 is launched in September.

Yep Sky_Is_The_Limit - this is an apple store! Yay!!! :banana::banana::banana:

:banana::banana::banana::banana:

The logo is the biggest giveaway!! That certainly ain't a banana going there ;)

^^ After looking at the DA there will be a second level section up the rear of the store. for all the accessories, external hard drives, iPod iPad accessories etc.

Good news day :)

Having just done some thorough reading of the DAs, given Apple's history of meticulously restoring heritage buildings, and my knowledge of how some of their stores work, I'm giving it a 90% chance that it will be Apple.

The only thing holding me back is that they're not using their usual architects...which is very un-like them.

This is awesome news, I've been waiting for an Apple Store in the City since the Sydney store opened :) :) cant wait for opening

Photos of the soon to be Apple Store:

http://apartmentratings.com.au/pics/00015.jpg

http://cdn.wn.com/pd/f6/ab/775f8b2aec159f322d09b8c0c7c2_grande.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Macarthur_central.jpg

Page 9 of the drafts makes it 99%

'Wall mounted panel displays'.

As the diagram is a cross section you can see where the 3 LCD's will go behind the genius bar.

The more I read it, the more I'm convinced. Enough so to put my name to an article about it: http://www.mactalk.com.au/content/apple-store-macarthur-chambers-brisbane-1547/

I've just created a separate thread for the Apple Store (it's big enough to warrant one IMO). I've posted the complete proposed plans in there to begin with, so maybe we should move the Apple Store discussion there as well?

Are you serious that we need a separate thread for this?? It's just a retail store opening (apple stores really aren't that amazing), not a whole new building development.

I moved it to the Everything Else section. It doesn't belong in the main area.

Are you serious that we need a separate thread for this?? It's just a retail store opening (apple stores really aren't that amazing), not a whole new building development.

Ok, maybe it is better in the everything else section as opposed to the main section, but this is much more than just a simple retail fitout. We're looking at a large scale restoration to as close as possible to original condition, inside and out, of the basement, ground floor and mezzanine levels of one of Brisbane's most important historical buildings. This includes rather substantial internal building work. The demolition work to remove the 1970s and 2000s modifications will alone come close to $4m according to Exocet's MacTalk post, then there's the actual restoration and shop fitout works on top of that.

It's a pretty substantial project in my opinion, and is something Macarthur Chambers has been crying out for for far too long!

Cue the apple fan bois and the haters....

An apple discussion is a sure way to ruin a good forum.

I write this post on my 21 inch imac with my iphone plugged in next to my mac book pro. 



.

On a serious note, this really is a great addition. If Chermside is anything to go by it will be a hit. Last few times i have seen it, it has been absolutely packed with people.

Are you serious that we need a separate thread for this?? It's just a retail store opening (apple stores really aren't that amazing), not a whole new building development.

I agree, while it's exciting that the building is getting a decent tenant, it really is overkill. I mentioned this to the guys in my office and they started talking about all their Apple stuff and how awesome Apple retail stores are. It will be a very busy shop, but I'm just a bit sick of all the Apple hype.

Q.Q

^^ To be honest, I'm more excited about the physical store renovations than it becoming an Apple Store. If *insert misc brand here* was going to renovate/restore the store to a similar standard I'd be equally happy to see them move in. Apple does seem to have have a good track record with creating shops in heritage buildings.

I personally think that Apple products (the Mac computers especially) are too overpriced and, while they are a nice computer to use (I use one at work), it's not enough to make me want to pay hundreds of dollars more for one over a PC equivalent. The only mac product I own is a previous generation iPod Nano.

^^ Agree about the physical renovations. You probably couldn't get a better tenant to properly restore this place while modernise it at the same time. The cheap looking mezzanine level is also being dramatically scaled back which would make the room look more like what it did before Dymocks.

The original Bronze doors will be put back and marble paneling put back also.

I bought my little black MacBook laptop 4 years ago and its still going strong. I'd never go back to a PC.

^^ Agree about the physical renovations. You probably couldn't get a better tenant to properly restore this place while modernise it at the same time. The cheap looking mezzanine level is also being dramatically scaled back which would make the room look more like what it did before Dymocks.

The original Bronze doors will be put back and marble paneling put back also.

I bought my little black MacBook laptop 4 years ago and its still going strong. I'd never go back to a PC.

I think the only other tenant that would be comparable to Apple in restoring the store would probably be Louis Vuitton - their stores down south are pretty nice. And maybe Hermes - they did quite a good job on their store further along Edward St.

My gf has a Macbook she bought last year to replace her old iBook. They are nice, don't get me wrong, but when compared $ for $ with, say a new Toshiba, I couldn't justify the additional cost (especially as I would be looking at Macbook Pro for the specs I'd want).

The BrisbaneTimes (http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/apple-takes-large-bite-in-brisbane-20110429-1dzm9.html) version...with a SSC mention ;):


Apple takes large bite in Brisbane
Marissa Calligeros
April 29, 2011 - 11:07AM

http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2011/04/29/2332488/MacArthur-Chambers--729-420x0.jpg
Proposed plans Apple's store in for MacArthur Chambers.

Brisbane could soon be home to Australia's largest Apple store after plans were submitted to the city's council.

Real estate advisor Savills, which represents Apple in the Asia-Pacific region, has refused to comment on the mounting speculation the global brand will move into MacArthur Chambers on the corner of Queen and Edward streets.

An application to Brisbane City Council, lodged on behalf of MacArthur Central Shopping Centre yesterday, outlines plans for a $10.5 million renovation of the historic building.

Although the application does not mention Apple, it includes plans for a glass staircase, which was the hallmark of Apple's first Australian store on George Street in Sydney.

Other aspects of the floor plans, including what appears to be a Genius Bar - a unique help desk for customers - in the back right-hand corner of the 1900 square metre store, indicate the space has been custom designed for Apple.

Also, the space set aside for a company logo on the front of MacArthur Chambers appears to be similar to the space for the Apple logo outside its Glasgow store.

Fans on the forum skyscrapercity.com have noted that the plans are also similar to Apple's flagship store at Regent Street in London.

The plans for the redevelopment include the restoration of three levels of the building, with two to be open to the public.

The restoration will bring back the building's original bronze style doors, as well as missing stone wall panels.

The MacArthur Chambers store formerly housed bookstore Dymocks, but is now occupied by discount book seller Book Stars.

The 1934 building however is steeped in World War II history, as it was commandeered by US General Douglas MacArthur to serve as the headquarters for the Allied forces from 1942 to 1944.

Apple was rumoured to have signed a lease for a space in the historic building earlier this month, but MacArthur Chambers owner Precision Group denied the reports.

Brisbane's CBD is currently hot property, with nearly a dozen international retailers scouting for new space.

ha ha - a shout out! Good on you Marissa. At least there is some recognition for acknowledgement of sources. I reckon a lot of journos scour this site for development leads.

Chanel have signed with Queens Plaza. (http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/another-highend-fashion-chain-heading-for-brisbane-20110429-1dzrk.html)

Haha I just facebooked this to a friend who is in love with Chanel.

More good news for Brisbane's shopping scene, things are starting to get interesting.

Wonder who we will get confirmation from next; Gap, Zara or Gucci?

^^ Zara's probably in the process of drafting up its DA for the Borders site.

^^That's where I'd put my money!

Zara will probably want something a little more elegant than the Borders Site. it's more suited to a store like GAP.

^^ The building would be completely transformed... its the position of the building that is attractive.

Zara will probably want something a little more elegant than the Borders Site. it's more suited to a store like GAP.

I was just thinking the same thing, its a bit of a nothing location really, given that Borders is a large retail floor plan perfect for something like ZARA but is the location perfect for them? Questionable. However that whole area is so overdue for a facelift, and maybe having a tenant like ZARA in there will do the trick for a few followers in that area.

I was just thinking the same thing, its a bit of a nothing location really, given that Borders is a large retail floor plan perfect for something like ZARA but is the location perfect for them? Questionable. However that whole area is so overdue for a facelift, and maybe having a tenant like ZARA in there will do the trick for a few followers in that area.

I can imagine the building being painted brown with lots of glass placed on it. The locations is pretty good as Elizabeth street is about to go crazy in the next few years

I can imagine the building being painted brown with lots of glass placed on it. The locations is pretty good as Elizabeth street is about to go crazy in the next few years

I hope so, its been a bit of a nothin street in terms of retail, as in no care has been taken in appearance of shop fronts, footpaths, the general vibe is more of a 'walk pass it' all the way up to edward street, with regents tower, wintergarden reno's we just need that whole strip to be brought back to life, too much emphasis over the years has been put on QSM and the surrounding areas have gone by the wayside a little.

Elizabeth St crux though is the Myer centre stretch, either revitalise the street frontage or do something with the facade...

They should do car park ramps similar to Queens Plaza, activate the complex to the street more, and then open that whole section up to retail. At the moment the Myer Centre is almost completely divorced from Elizabeth St.

my issue is that its too dingy walking through elizabeth street, i think Fyver you're spot on simple things like sprucing up pavements and just a general maintenance of upkeep of shop fronts go a long way to give a friendlier feel, honestly a lot of people walk past those shops without much of a second look. its really more for self promotion of their own shops to be honest, if you are visible to the walking public then you can improve business.

Elizabeth St crux though is the Myer centre stretch, either revitalise the street frontage or do something with the facade...

Or.....tear down the entire Myer Centre and rebuild a whole new centre with additional Apartment, Hotel and Office building as well as a theatre and maybe a subway station for the new cross river train line? Imagine the possibilities with such a large parcel of land in the center of the Brisbane CBD??

my issue is that its too dingy walking through elizabeth street, i think Fyver you're spot on simple things like sprucing up pavements and just a general maintenance of upkeep of shop fronts go a long way to give a friendlier feel, honestly a lot of people walk past those shops without much of a second look. its really more for self promotion of their own shops to be honest, if you are visible to the walking public then you can improve business.

I think that with the Wintergarden and Regent projects, in addition to other smaller projects like Heckelmann's Building reno (which looks like it's now complete) and the cross block link portion of 123 Albert, Elizabeth St between Edward and Albert St is going to improve substantially.

Street appeal will be improved along the whole Wintergarden/Regent side, and hopefully walk through traffic will increase, as access between the mall and Elizabeth St will be improved, and more people will hopefully go further up Albert St to access the Coffee Club and co, opening in 123 Albert. I think that will increase the appeal of the Borders site, as it's at one of the apexes of this block.

The Albert St to George St stretch of Elizabeth St is a different beast - the biggest issue is the terrible backside of the Myer Centre, and not much can be done to improve that baring a complete revamp of the centre. The other side's streetscape will be improved by the new ATO building (about the only good thing about that development), and a good revamp of the Borders Site (ie to a Zara standard) would also help but those two alone won't be a silver bullet.

Or.....tear down the entire Myer Centre and rebuild a whole new centre with additional Apartment, Hotel and Office building as well as a theatre and maybe a subway station for the new cross river train line? Imagine the possibilities with such a large parcel of land in the center of the Brisbane CBD??

It must be getting close to be the time for a myer centre upgrade otherwise its going to be left behind, Whoever designed the shopping centre really needs to be shot, how it got approved is a mystery, Its impossibly to navigate and is possibly one of the worst layouts of any shopping centre in Australia. If only westfield could taker over :(. Something really needs to be done ASAP about the Elizabeth st side even a coat of paint or a new facade would go a long way

It must be getting close to be the time for a myer centre upgrade otherwise its going to be left behind, Whoever designed the shopping centre really needs to be shot, how it got approved is a mystery, Its impossibly to navigate and is possibly one of the worst layouts of any shopping centre in Australia. If only westfield could taker over :(. Something really needs to be done ASAP about the Elizabeth st side even a coat of paint or a new facade would go a long way

It's wasn't just the Myer Centre - the Wintergarden had a similar layout (changing it makes up part of the major works component of the redevelopment) as does Broadway on the Mall, although Broadway's layout works better than the other two. It was obviously the popular way to design a major shopping centre at the time.

But yes, even a paint job to the facade would be an improvement (albeit a minor one). The facades in Queen St are in need of painting as well for that matter.

It's kind of ironic in that the Myer Centre is owned by Colonial First State, who also the own QueensPlaza. You would think it would give them a hint!

I agree the Myer Centre’s backside is not its best feature – more Julia Gillard than Pippa Middleton.

One way to give the Elizabeth Street facade a lift (apart from the no-brainer move to replace the pavers near Ticketek – they are the only remnants of the old QSM paving left – and quickly before someone decides to heritage list them!) is the addition of large scale outdoor LCD video screens.

They could be used to advertise stores, products, centre promotions or other Brisbane events. Digital LCD screens, as opposed to neon signage, also have the potential to display video of sporting and news events, movie teasers – even royal weddings.

They could even be used to show artworks (still or animated) of local or overseas artists to break up the commercial monotony. Might be a way to sell a 'public benefit'to the council when seeking approval.

Westfields are already making use of the indoor versions of this technology here in Chermside (the large screen near the Cinemas) and across their US stores http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrjsR6fdGxo&NR=1

The screens could be sized to fit between the faux arches on the facade. Something like Times Square in New York http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_york_times_square-terabass.jpg or Piccadilly Circus in London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Ballet_of_Change-_Piccadilly_Circus,_London.jpg

While these locations have become iconic I’d be reluctant to hold them up as the perfect model because they have grown unplanned and they look like a bit of a mash-up and well... who needs another Coke or Maccas logo.

There are cleverer and more elegant ways to execute this type of multiple video display. It just needs some creative programming. Check out the smaller scale version on the London tube and in particular how the Mini moves from screen to screen about half way through the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrjsR6fdGxo&NR=1

^^ While that is an idea, does the back of the Myer Centre have the visibility to make screens like this a viable idea? I'm not sure that it is personally - not to the extent that they work in NYC or Piccadilly Circus.

Removing the old QSM pavers is something that is way overdue though! They're particularly dangerous in certain areas for stilleto-wearers I've noticed. One possible way to improve that external portion of the centre along Elizabeth St would be to have the food court "spill out" into that area and convert it into an outdoor dining area. Muffin Break has tried to do that, and with a couple more cafes/eateries, a nice coat of paint, better lighting, better pavers, maybe some public artwork or new garden areas and it could be quite successful I feel!

Little birdy told me today that a two-story MBF/Bupa flagship centre is going in where Hardy Brothers is, and their stores next to Rockinghorse near OfficeWorks will be closing as a result.

I agree that the Myer Centre Elizabeth St side is a design disaster. Unlikely anything will be done with it though. A bit difficult to alter now, expensive and would cause a lot of disruption. Actually, I really hate the Myer centre, should not have been built, something much better could have gone there.

Gotta agree with Brizguy, the internal layout of the place is diabolical, and yep, how the hell was the MC approved in the first place? Don't even get me started on that shit car park!

Yet 20 years ago, Brisbanites loved it!!!

Yet 20 years ago, Brisbanites loved it!!!

Exactly. At the time, it was a good design based on the then current design principles for these sorts of centres - unfortunately, it hasn't aged well, and is remaining the same when contemporaries are being redesigned and rebuilt.

Remember though that the Myer Centre was one of the major projects of the turning of Queen Street into the Queen Street Mall. It is partially responsible for laying foundations for what I would say is probably the best pedestrian mall of it's type in Australia.

This may be old news to some of you but Melbourne's Stokehouse restaurant will be opening up a new restaurant on Brisbane's Southbank very soon.
It's one of my favourite Melbourne eateries.

Do you guys think Brisbane is ready for hidden bars ? Such as on a floor of an office building?

I've got a few ideas, and they look good on paper. Just wonder if the traffic will come (there are some unique offering drawcards that no other bar would be able to replicate in the near/midterm).

^^ I definitely think so. Also depends where really, the coffee supplier (not a bar) was a big success despite it being so hidden away and having no advertising... all word of mouth (although unfortunately soon to be demolished by Grocon to build a hideous stump tower). I think Brisbaneites are wanting more hidden, trendy things which includes bars and cafes. The past year or two has seen a few new hidden cafes open up in the CBD and Valley.

If its in a cool spot also like Brew - which just added a new bar it would be successful. Brisbane's nightlife is maturing and people are definitely going out more as more move into the inner city. I have been to Brew three times now at night and all of those times it was quite busy, two of which I couldn't get a seat.

Sounds lovely, but from a raw numbers and hard facts perspective, it would be a difficult project to succeed with.

I'd try it if I were up for a very high risk venture.

I think it is definitely a good idea, but I think you need a few things to make it work.

You'd need to have a good, reasonably centrally located building with a lot of walk through traffic (especially on weekends) and reasonably close to public transport. A floor on an office building might be difficult to arrange due to security concerns though, you should look for a smaller building...maybe an older commercial building (like maybe in the Spencer Buildings in Edward St, they're being renovated/rebuilt atm), but where ever you have it, it needs to have a cool interior fitout, and to be different to everywhere else. Offer something special.

If you can do this, and get some good advertising out there in the indie bar guides that can be found in places like Brew and Laneway Bar, you might have a hit on your hands.

Agree that although something that's a bit of a trek to get to (i.e. on an upper floor of a building) would be ok, probably not in an office building, unless the floor in that building already has some other community facility on it like a gym where the security issues are already worked out.

Don't know the attitudes of Brisbane people but in Melbourne the difficulty of finding or getting to a venue is often part of the appeal.

Don't know the attitudes of Brisbane people but in Melbourne the difficulty of finding or getting to a venue is often part of the appeal.

This is starting to become the case in Brisbane as well, with people becoming interested in finding the smaller, more intimate venues. As Soul said, Brew often looks busy when it's open, especially so on a Friday night since opening the bar around back, while in the Valley you have numerous successful smaller venues like cocktail bar The Bowery and video game bar Mana Bar (which was so successful in the valley, the concept was expanded to Melbourne) which are a little bit hidden.

There are also printed and web-based guides around that specialise in pointing out the more 'indie' side of Brisbane in terms of both shops/veunes like The Good Guide (http://goodguide.net.au) and also on more of an overall cultural scale like FourThousand (http://www.fourthousand.com.au/)

There are even similar types of hidden venues popping up on the GC as well (for example there's a coffee shop on the top level of the old arcade next to the Hilton called Black Coffee Lyrics I think? It looks like it could be pretty cool) and guides for them like the Naked City Guide (http://nakedcityguide.com.au/).

These were my observations as well, hence putting up the question.

Currently in discussion with some publican's from down south to see if a partner could be obtained. I did previously work in distribution (beverage), however the retail / food side I have no clue about.

Could be interesting times, if I get some interest from down south and it goes ahead this forum will know first :)

could be interesting!! could be good on some of the older buildings along eagle st like 145 eagle or 167 eagle??

Davidols, Brisbane is also crying out for more places to go late night. Not that bars aren't open late, but in the city especially - the nightlife scene seems to be dominated by the pubs not bars.

This is the same with cafes in Brisbane. Often you see a late movie and after just want to have a coffee or cake but can't because most coffee shops close at 5pm.

^^ The only coffee shops that are open late are Starbucks, and whether they are a coffee shop or not is debatable (an independent coffee shop near the Starbucks in Broadbeach has a sign up saying "please don't bring you starbucks here - it offends the coffee drinkers").

One thing that I don't like is that the cafes and restaurants under the Telstra building in Adelaide St, which are supposed to be quite good by most accounts, don't open at all on weekends. Likewise, Brew and a few others generally aren't open on Sundays - the one day I'm most often in Brisbane! It's ridiculous!

As for bars v pubs, yes, the CBD is lacking in bars, but they are abundant along Little Stanley Street and Grey St at Southbank. I really should be using that as an excuse to spend more time in Southbank, it is one of the city's gems!

There was an old club in the Hilton Hotel on Level 5 called... Level 5 - is it still around? Wasn't the best but is possibly an existing (or old) example of what could be done. It was reasonably busy when I went a few times about 10 years ago.

There was an old club in the Hilton Hotel on Level 5 called... Level 5 - is it still around? Wasn't the best but is possibly an existing (or old) example of what could be done. It was reasonably busy when I went a few times about 10 years ago.

Do you mean the lobby bar? (its called Below 7)

Its actually not a bad place to go if you wanted a quality drink at affordable prices.

Once you go above the "house" brand stuff its 20-30% cheaper than Omalleys just outside, and they don't measure out the pours exactly they make sure you get the good stuff.

I went there a few times. I liked it when it wasn't a friday or sat night. Even though it was in the Hilton, there was still a lot of fights. It may have changed now though, as that was about a decade ago.

A hidden bar might be an idea worthy of merit, but a bit risky in a place like Brisbane. 38921111 pizzahut! idea about along Eagle St sounded OK though. It would have to be a high floor however, at least 25 floors up to have any really worthwhile visual impact effect.

What Brisbane needs is a high level observation deck with a cafe. Should have made 111 Eagle St 10 or 15 metres higher and put observation deck and bar/cafe up there.

What Brisbane needs is a high level observation deck with a cafe. Should have made 111 Eagle St 10 or 15 metres higher and put observation deck and bar/cafe up there.

We have an "unofficial one"

Go up to level __ (I'll get back to you, i think its 23) of the Suncorp/Brisbane city council building at Radacliffe place.

Be in some respectable business attire (minimal call centre standards) and just walk past the suncorp reception and past the meeting rooms till you come out to the cafe at the other side of the floor. You can get an average coffee here and some basic sandwiches, that is not the attraction. The best thing is that you can go outside on the balcony and you have a perfect few of the southside.

It used to be excellent when the F-111's did they fly by's.


*NOTE* I'm not sure if its a public cafe, or some type of suncorp restricted area. As long as you look like you belong you most likely wont be questioned.

^^ Very interesting that! While I would love it to be a public cafe, I haven't heard about it before so it's probably for staff use only. If anyone knows differently, please let me know because I would so go there. It would take the crown of the venue with the best view, which IMO is currently held by Jade Buddha.

I used to have a friend who worked in a cafe high up in Central Plaza. The cafe was quite high up because I remember him talking about the view a lot. Not sure if its still there or not. This was going back about 10 years or so when CP was our tallest.

@ Davidols. I'm not 100% sure if we are necessarily ready, however many people would like the idea of it and there are definately some examples where it has worked (Coffee Suplier and Brew are 2) I'm sure something like what you are talking about would def. work with advertising, therefore, if it doesn't work as a hidden bar, then IMO it would def. work as a bar.

Worth a go IMO.

*NOTE* I'm not sure if its a public cafe, or some type of suncorp restricted area. As long as you look like you belong you most likely wont be questioned.

L28 from memory, and its Suncorp only last time I checked (funny feeling the balconies are off limits since the glass explosions). Telstra have a bar on L4 to I think.

Personally, I think you'd have a hard time convincing building owner regarding security, most office buildings are swipe card access after 6pm. I'd imagine you'd get hit with the going CBD highrise rental rates to, not sure of viability here.

Tonic Architecture set up a cafe in their carpark, not sure if its still operating, behind HQ inthe valley (Hynes St). Thought that was quite random and hidden.

...

Tonic Architecture set up a cafe in their carpark, not sure if its still operating, behind HQ inthe valley (Hynes St). Thought that was quite random and hidden.

Still going...they had a street fashion parade recently to get some buzz going. Another cafe named Sojourn has opened a few doors up.

Thanks for the info fellas! Davidols, I'll check out Suncorp in late June when I come back!

Never new about Central Plaza cafe before either. I knew that some people were going up to the unoccupied 40th floor of CP in late 89 or 90 to check out the view, and the security was not so good back then ( a friend of mine went up there) Eventually the floor was closed off.

Does anyone also remember there was some bar at Lennons in about 1992? On the 28th floor I think. I went up there one Friday night, and some bloke told me you need to wear business shirt and tie. I made up some BS story about meeting a friend there, so I had a drink for 10 mins and left.

I knew that building well, Ernst and Young had offices in there, and later June Dally Watkins I think.:cheers:

I was wrong there, Ernst and Young had their office on 28th floor of Lennons, and later it was Vivien's , the model agency there, not June Dally Watkins. The floor was vacant most of 92.

Going back a way there!

L28 from memory, and its Suncorp only last time I checked (funny feeling the balconies are off limits since the glass explosions). Telstra have a bar on L4 to I think.

Personally, I think you'd have a hard time convincing building owner regarding security, most office buildings are swipe card access after 6pm. I'd imagine you'd get hit with the going CBD highrise rental rates to, not sure of viability here.

Tonic Architecture set up a cafe in their carpark, not sure if its still operating, behind HQ inthe valley (Hynes St). Thought that was quite random and hidden.

They can also "lock" the lifts i.e. scan a card to a scanner inside the lift to enable you to press the buttons to go to the floor you need access to. I tried that one saturday morning at Chifley Tower in Sydney.

I remember those times when you could just sneak up a skyscraper for the views. Even a thread was devoted to it here.

Security consciousness is allot higher these days. I've done a bit of access control programming in my time there'd be no issue with getting it to work but I doubt the building owners would be terribly comfortable with it. Doubt they'd want their central plants running for one floor for example.

I don't want to sound against the idea, make sure the sell is a damn good one. I've been on the roof of 443 Queen (rio tinto), while not a tall building, the view of the river and story bridge is spectacular. Make a great roof top bar restaurant.

Lennons used to have a restaurant on the highest level, which I think was 30. Not sure when it closed, but I remember going there a few times in the 80's.

Does the Sofitel above Central Station still have a restaurant or bar on the top level?

They do - http://www.sofitelbrisbane.com.au/brisbane-dining.html
Apparently they do high tea each afternoon at 2pm.

I think the Merto Inn, Spring Hill I think, has a top floor restaurant.

They dont.

Still going...they had a street fashion parade recently to get some buzz going. Another cafe named Sojourn has opened a few doors up.

spoke too soon...got back from holidays and now it is gone :(

Discovered a new application on Burnett lane this morning.

Anyone able to dig into this and provide any information?

http://img804.imageshack.us/i/photo1nv.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/i/photo2gax.jpg

EDIT: seems i cant post photos, here are links
http://img804.imageshack.us/i/photo1nv.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/i/photo2gax.jpg

Discovered a new application on Burnett lane this morning.

Anyone able to dig into this and provide any information?

http://img804.imageshack.us/i/photo1nv.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/i/photo2gax.jpg

EDIT: seems i cant post photos, here are links
http://img804.imageshack.us/i/photo1nv.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/i/photo2gax.jpg

Here are your photos. You need to open the 'embed this photo' panel and copy and paste the forum link to get them to show up.

http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/7954/photo1nv.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/804/photo1nv.jpg/)

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/312/photo2gax.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/215/photo2gax.jpg/)

This is a very cool place to have a small niche bar! Good to see new ways of utilising Burnett Lane are being thought of!

I hadn't heard anything about this one (but that doesn't surprise me...I can't find any information about the 32 Burnett Lane redevelopment that's taking place at the moment either) but maybe an email to that Kirra Faulkner (kirra@lgs.net.au) person to get some more info might be in order?

I hadn't heard anything about this one (but that doesn't surprise me...I can't find any information about the 32 Burnett Lane redevelopment that's taking place at the moment either) but maybe an email to that Kirra Faulkner (kirra@lgs.net.au) person to get some more info might be in order?

haha I didn't even realise there was someone in the photo I took.

I've sent an email to Kirra about the development.

^^ Awesome. Let us know when you hear back. I'm now very interested in what's happening there.

I think the Merto Inn, Spring Hill I think, has a top floor restaurant.

Got the better of me, its actually Urban Hotel.

Metro Inn (the round one) used to have a restaurant years ago on the top floor, been closed for a while now.

http://www.vhmodels.com.au/gallery/2346/High-Rise_Model_Towers.html
^^
Wasn't really sure where to put this but the above link is quite interesting. Its from a local model consultants website and includes many pictures of scale models of buildings proposed and built.

There is quite a detailed model of Eagle Street twins which I found quite interesting.

http://img-resize.thewebconsole.com/imgmagick/path/ZWEB497/gallery/2346483252472dc32EagleStreetTowers750scale.JPG?geometry(650x650)

wow! I love the protruding jetties.

And French Quarter looked to be about the same height as Vision, maybe taller.

http://img-resize.thewebconsole.com/imgmagick/path/ZWEB497/gallery/48e04fa960482.JPG?geometry(650x650)

Whatever happened to the eagle street twins? Are they still in the works?

Yes they are, but not for a long time. 2016 I think they said back in 2008.

How tall were they again?

279m was the tallest figure touted at one point. They underwent some reconfigurations though, some loss of height, then postponment, so impossible to say for sure. The version pictured above was originally 279m, but seemingly scaled down to 250m in some of the last renders produced.

ahh the good old days. French Quarter, Vision, Eagle St twins. Proposals were flooding in by the day....

If brisbane just had a Vision sized tower in the vision lot (which we may get), a decent sized tower to fill the gap between Aurora and Soliel (still a possibility) and another decent sized tower in the city centre near the mall somewhere, I would be content. It would then be a nice well balanced skyline. If one of those was +300, then perfect.

Those Eagle street twins would have looked magnificent at 300 metres high, especially from Kangaroo Point. Around 2016 eh? Time will tell obviously!

Actually looking at those models is really the first time I've been able to get an idea of what they willl (hopefully) be like. The renders didn't give a very good perspective.

Seriously before seeing these models I'd never thought much about them, until now :ohno:

What site were they planned for? Eagle Street Pier maybe? Would this have made it a Stockland development.

100% correct.

Some kind of Bar / Cafe fit out going into the Grosvenor building.

Anyone got an idea of who is behind it?

If its a bar it could be the Taphouse guys

Oh well, we now have a 90 story tower planned for the vision site.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/property/storey-building-planned-for-vision-tower-site/story-e6frequ6-1226058343276

Some kind of Bar / Cafe fit out going into the Grosvenor building.

Anyone got an idea of who is behind it?

If its a bar it could be the Taphouse guys

Which one is the Grosvenor Building again? I probably know it, but not the name...

Across from Stamford on Edward St.

Not the Grovener on the corner of Ann and George Streets ;)

Grosvenor is a GREAT building. Brisbane's best apartments IMO. Wish I had one.

Not the Grovener on the corner of Ann and George Streets ;)

Yes it is the Grovener on Ann and George !!! sorry my mistake :-(

Can't see any mention online of who bought it or whats going on.

^^ There's been a few new cafes and bars going in around town without any word about it. The two new ones on Burnett Lane in particular I would have liked to hear more about. As for the Grosvenor, it's been empty for a little while hasn't it?

^^ There's been a few new cafes and bars going in around town without any word about it. The two new ones on Burnett Lane in particular I would have liked to hear more about. As for the Grosvenor, it's been empty for a little while hasn't it?

Ok my sources have said the Grosvenor is getting a bar, nothing special in terms of offering. The person behind it owns several nightclubs / stripclubs up in cairns.

What are these 2 new Bars in Burnett lane?

1. The 60 person Bar I posted about?

2. The thing going into the building that previously had the Elevat Cafe?

^^ Yep, those two. Although, technically, the 32 Burnett Lane (Elevat) one I think is probably more likely to be a smallish restaurant thinking about it.

Also of interest is that the Spencer buildings on Edward St that back onto Spencer Lane are currently being refurbished, with an extension onto the lane. Now, I don't know whether we'll see any laneway activation through the refurb, but you never know...

As for the Grosvenor, just a new bar is better than it standing empty as it was, imo! Might be alright if they make it a little bit upmarket, a lot of professionals work down that way with the courts and everything.

I've heard the "Come Together" Brisbane adverts on Sydney radio, and actually they are quite effective over the wireless. I'd like to see some more mention of the city's attractions because they are often neglected in the tourist promotions.

There is also a bar/restaurant called 'Malt' going into an old building in the lane between Eagle St and Charlotte St (behind 10 Eagle St). The fitout looks like it could be quite good. Also the guys at Brew in lower Burnett lane now have a fully fledged bar. Very reasonably priced too.

There is also a bar/restaurant called 'Malt' going into an old building in the lane between Eagle St and Charlotte St (behind 10 Eagle St). The fitout looks like it could be quite good. Also the guys at Brew in lower Burnett lane now have a fully fledged bar. Very reasonably priced too.

With Malt, I'm guessing you mean Wenley House in Market Lane? I'll have to check it out. I do like what has been done with Market Lane.

And yes, Brew's bar has been open for a little while, and on a Friday night it's often at capacity. Their drinks are very well priced. $5 during happy hour from 5-7pm, and then $7 outside of that, and they use good quality spirits too, Maker's Mark bourbon as opposed to Slate or Jim Beam at most places.

But, as Davidols picked up a few days ago, Brew might soon have some competition in the small bar stakes though. "42B" at 42 Burnett Lane is applying for a small venue liquor licence too. Same type Brew has, maximum 60 people. Will make for a very interesting venue.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/115/1005475.jpg (http://img156.imageshack.us/i/1005475.jpg/)

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/5361/1005476.jpg (http://img831.imageshack.us/i/1005476.jpg/)

And there is still the mystery venue at 32 Burnett Lane. The cutouts in the wall make me wonder how this will look in the end. I'm wondering if a possible cross block link is part of the idea?

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/594/1005491b.jpg (http://img192.imageshack.us/i/1005491b.jpg/)

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9642/1005490.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/1005490.jpg/)

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/1972/1005492rf.jpg (http://img191.imageshack.us/i/1005492rf.jpg/)

The fact that the work continues through to the adjacent Adelaide St building ads to this thought. Maybe making the courtyard between the two a nice little oasis to have lunch in?

http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/7451/1005486x.jpg (http://img861.imageshack.us/i/1005486x.jpg/)

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/3443/1005462v.jpg (http://img717.imageshack.us/i/1005462v.jpg/)

Off topic from above but kinda disappointing that corner tenancies such as the old Hardy Brothers store Albert St/Adelaide St is being taken up by MBF and the old Coffee Club George St/QSM is being taken up by St George Bank...would've been good to see some new players from interstate or overseas move in.

^^ MBF/Bupa moving into the old Hardy Brothers store really sucks imo, it was too good a site for that kind of tenant imo. And their signage I don't think will look as good on the building as the current colour scheme does..

Another cross block link into burnett lane would be awesome for its future potential as Brisbane's first successful laneway precinct.

This will be AWESOME!!!! :banana:

Trip the laser lights fantastic
Marissa Calligeros
May 23, 2011 - 9:47AM (http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/trip-the-laser-lights-fantastic-20110523-1ezff.html)
http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2011/05/23/2378801/Lights-729-420x0.jpg

The sky over the River City will become a kaleidoscope of laser lights in an Australian-first at this year’s Brisbane Festival.

The three-week spectacle in September will showcase ‘‘light sculptures’’ between the Kurilpa and Goodwill bridges.

Australian lighting designer John Rayment, who worked on the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony, is designing the project with Tony Assness, who designed the Australian launches of Fox Studios and the film Moulin Rouge.

Festival art director Noel Staunton said the show would present an entirely new perspective on Brisbane.
“Santos City of Lights will show Brisbane’s beauty by using the grandeur but intimacy of the river precinct to build moving light sculptures, set against soaring musical scores,” he said.

“It will provide a focal point for the Brisbane Festival and a stunning free event for everyone to enjoy - people will tell their friends and come again and again.

‘‘It will be reminiscent of dance, responsive to music, with intensity, movement, rhythm, tempo, flow, surprise and drama.’’

Premier Anna Bligh said the light show would be a welcome celebration after the horror of the January flood.
“This is a powerful symbol that Brisbane is back in business and shining bright,’’ she said.
The Brisbane Festival runs from September 3 to 24.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/trip-the-laser-lights-fantastic-20110523-1ezff.html#ixzz1N85jt32W

That does look pretty cool.

While I do love my fireworks, they do tend to be overused a little bit, so something like this will be a great change! If they do look like the photo I'm gonna be stoked!

Another cross block link into burnett lane would be awesome for its future potential as Brisbane's first successful laneway precinct.

I agree, it would be great. it reminds me of that old proposal for this site that involved building up over the JB Hi-Fi receiving bay - that also included a cross block link. Add in a few smaller boutique restaurants/cafes along side the link, and maybe a little public courtyard in the space between the buildings a la the Java Coast Cafe, and it would be really cool!

What I'd also like to see as well would be putting in some little cafes into the vacant spaces in the Adelaide Street half of the Queen Adelaide Building. I think that could complement the laneway businesses quite well.

i hope the light show becomes a permenant thing..say every saturday night? would be something unique for brisbane as opposed to other australian cities.

this doesnt mean riverfire is off does it?

Do they need to alter the flight path? might only be on river fire night when the CBD is a no fly zone.

this doesnt mean riverfire is off does it?

No, this is just an addition to Riverfire and the few weeks of the Riverfestival.

I like the idea. Adds alot of colour to the nighttime skies.

Great to see the beach at Southbank coming back to it's former glory.

Ten News (Queensland) - May 20 2011

Ky1olxxN1ZY

Fairfield Gardens shopping centre is re-opening tomorrow again too.. :)

My apologies I have been awfully slack latley, This however is going to change.

WinterGarden thoughfare opening, a special Fyfoto Presentation.

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/8242/dsc04727h.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/36/dsc04727h.jpg/)

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1867/dsc04728a.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/156/dsc04728a.jpg/)

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3180/dsc04732zw.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/269/dsc04732zw.jpg/)

http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/1489/dsc04733.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/806/dsc04733.jpg/)

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/7858/dsc04734id.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/27/dsc04734id.jpg/)

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/2130/dsc04735i.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/151/dsc04735i.jpg/)


The Floor whilst looking amazing is incredibly slippery, hate to be there when we get rain. It all looks very neat.

^^ Thanks for the photos Fyturis! It looks very swish indeed! I've quoted your post into the Regent/Wintergarden thread as well.

What's with the pixelated panel in the second last photo? Piece of public artwork or something? As for the floor, I noticed that a bit too the first time I went to O'Malleys (opening night) but not so much the second time. Maybe a coating on the flooring materials from the manufacturing process? Or just the result of a really good pre-opening polish?

Fairfield Gardens shopping centre is re-opening tomorrow again too.. :)

I did mention it in the Shopping Centres thread a few weeks ago. Thanks for the follow up. :)

Haven't been down to check it yet but apparently it's looking better than before. Just wish Tina's icecreamery would come back :( 80 cent icecreams!!

Well, the mystery venue in Burnett Lane has been confirmed as a restaurant - The Survey Company Bar & Bistro, thanks to a Liquor Application. There's a bit of a pun in the name, as Burnett the person was a surveyor.

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3296/1006020.jpg (http://img24.imageshack.us/i/1006020.jpg/)

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6886/1006022i.jpg (http://img716.imageshack.us/i/1006022i.jpg/)

Meanwhile, works have started on Chanel's new home in QueensPlaza.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5931/1006017.jpg (http://img27.imageshack.us/i/1006017.jpg/)

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/4440/1006016v.jpg (http://img219.imageshack.us/i/1006016v.jpg/)

Anyone for some iceskating in King George Square?

Brisbane's cool change, with a chance of snow
Daniel Hurst
May 31, 2011 - 3:00AM

A similar scene to what Brisbane can expect for the winter festival. This is how it looked at a past Sydney Winter Festival. Photo: Dallas Kilponen
Brisbane's redeveloped King George Square is about to undergo another major transformation, with a large ice skating rink and fake snow machines to be installed as part of a new festival.

The Brisbane Winter Festival will bring about a cool change for the key CBD location, which has previously hit the headlines because of complaints about how hot the new design is.

The festival, modelled on similar events in Sydney and Melbourne, will aim to bring the magic of a European alpine winter to the Sunshine State.

Installers will soon begin setting up a temporary ice skating rink, measuring 30 metres by 30 metres, ahead of the festival's June 9 launch.

During the 18-day event, the rink will host skating shows, championships, amateur skating, lessons and discos, while food and wine will be sold from winter-themed stalls including an alpine ski hut.

Festival co-founder Martin Kratky, originally from Vienna, said night-time skating would be most popular, but city workers could also see skating and buy food and drinks at lunch time.

Mr Kratky and fellow Austrian expat Christoph Doerfel began the event in Sydney's Cathedral Square two years ago to provide some fun during “very quiet time of the year”.

The idea spread to Melbourne and Bondi Beach last year.

Mr Kratky said Brisbane residents would be able to venture onto the 900 square metre open-air ice rink and skate under the stars while a variety of music was played.

Planned theme nights include 80s ice discos, classics nights and Euro lounge skating.

Mr Kratky said preparations to install the ice skating rink would begin this weekend, five days before the festival's start date.

He said the foundation and platform would be put in place first, with installers spilling water over the aluminium cooling pipes that would freeze the liquid.

Mr Kratky said King George Square would be an “awesome location” for the event and he doubted the weather would be too warm.

“To be honest, the ice skating rink can operate up to 25 degrees; we're not worried it'll get too warm,” he said.

“We hope Brisbane residents will take it on as well as other cities. We're getting good feedback already.”

The festival runs until June 26 and entry is free. Skating will cost $20 for adults and $15 for children. Skate hire will be $7 extra.

The 15 food stands will include an alpine ski hut operated by The Groove Train.

More details can be found at the Winter Festival website (http://www.winterfestival.com.au/brisbane).

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/brisbanes-cool-change-with-a-chance-of-snow-20110530-1fchs.html#ixzz1NsYQHkW7

Good idea, not 100% sure we are chilly enough for it to look right in the daytime, you can still get by in a T shirt on most Brisbane winter days. Should be good at night though. I did this once at Somerset House in London and it was great (but a little crowded).

http://www.royalgardenhotelblog.com/index.php/tag/robert-shorter/

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/1156/iceskatingatsomersethou.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/191/iceskatingatsomersethou.jpg/)

^^ Apparently they can have the ice rink working up to 25 degrees, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue for them.

That's an awesome photo. With some luck we might be able to get a similar effect happening in front of City Hall. That would make for a great photo as well!

For $27? Ummm...it will be empty.

Looks cool there, will be interesting to see how it goes in Briz. $27 sounds expensive.

ERR... What a waste.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/questions-over-12m-park-purchase-20110606-1fo1t.html

Questions over $12m park purchase
Marissa Calligeros
June 6, 2011

http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2011/06/06/2410870/Park2-420x0.jpg
A red outline shows the stretch of riverside land which Brisbane City Council will buy for $12 million.

A red outline shows the stretch of riverside land which Brisbane City Council will buy for $12 million. Photo: Supplied

An independent local councillor has questioned Brisbane City Council's decision to buy riverfront land for $12 million from a developer to turn into a park.

Council announced on the weekend it had bought 2.9 hectares of land at Tennyson, in the city's south-west, from developer Mirvac.

The site adjoins two high-rise residential towers built by Mirvac, and was earmarked for a further three apartment towers until the land was flooded in January.
Advertisement: Story continues below

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said council had seized the opportunity to create more public space for Brisbane residents.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure a large portion of riverfront land for the local community and surrounding suburbs,” he said.

However Tennyson councillor Nicole Johnston said she was surprised at the "strange" announcement.

"It is a very strange thing to see council making this decision to spend millions of dollars to buy land when we already have parkland in that area that fronts the river," she told 612 ABC radio.

"And the state government is about to dedicate another major chunk of land back as public green space."

Mirvac was given part of the site of the old Energex power station, now known as Tennyson Reach, by the state government in exchange for building the $60 million Queensland Tennis Centre and handing it back to the government.

Cr Quirk said the new park would include an outdoor amphitheatre, an all-abilities children's playground, picnic shelters, a kick and throw area, cycling paths, public artwork and a public pontoon, all to be built by Mirvac as part of the $12 million sale.

It will be built in two stages, with the first due to be completed and open to the public by late 2012 and the final stage completed in the second half of 2013.

“As soon as the purchase process is complete, a more detailed design plan will be developed and construction will commence,” Cr Quirk said.

Cr Quirk said $12 million had been allocated in the council's budget for purchasing the land, subject to negotiation of further amenities and the approval processes of both parties.

A further $2 million has been set aside for the detailed design of parks at Coorparoo and Milton, where the council bought the site of the old Milton Tennis Centre from developer Seymour Group last year, he said.

Cr Quirk said he was shocked Cr Johnston did not welcome the new park.

"I find it strange that a local councillor would not welcome riverfront parkland in their local ward instead of residential towers.

"Cr Johnston is continuing her theme of opposing any initiative by this administration," he said.

They paid $12m for undevelopable land??? Better cut the budget on some more cycle lanes to fund this.

It's developable, just because Mirvac can't build basements and the flood levels given based on poor hydraulic studies were wrong doesn't make it un-developable.

Mirvac just got an early Christmas present as did Seymour group earlier this year.

Mirvac was given part of the site of the old Energex power station, now known as Tennyson Reach, by the state government in exchange for building the $60 million Queensland Tennis Centre and handing it back to the government.

I take this as they ended up paying $12 million for the $60 million tennis centre and some parkland next door?

^^Nope. Just the Parkland. The tennis centre was given to the State Government in exchange for the opportunity to develop the site.

Funny, this $12M is larger than the entire budget designated to buying out flood prone properties.

^^ Yeah, the Tennis Centre was the payoff for giving Mirvac some of the site of the old Power Station to develop.

The question is, would Mirvac have developed this land had Council not bought it? While additional park land is never a bad thing really, $12 million is a very large amount of money for one, especially if Mirvac would have ended up doing the same thing due to the area now being considered flood prone.

Meanwhile, works have started on Chanel's new home in QueensPlaza.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5931/1006017.jpg (http://img27.imageshack.us/i/1006017.jpg/)

It looks to be larger than the Louis Vuitton store.

I wonder if now LV will be interested in upgrading the pathetic size of their Brisbane store, as they have done in sydney when other luxury boutiques increased their floor areas.

What is next around that corner from LV again? As long as it is not montblanc or tiffany & co, maybe they could buy it out. Although queens plaza cant sustain multiple decently sized flagship boutiques. Some of the bigger ones ie LV, tiffany, etc will have to do an apple or something and move into an older building leaving the streetfront of queens plaza for the smaller lesser known luxury brands.

It seems ridiculous that they would have literally 15 times the floor space in sydney, when brisbane's population is half the size.

^^ Next to LV on Edward St is Mont Blanc, then the now empty Witchery store I think also has a frontage (is it to be included in the Chanel store as well? Witchery is moving upstairs, possibly into the old Bay Swiss store) and then Tiffany & Co.

As for doing an Apple, the problem is there aren't really that many old LV-quality buildings on Edward Street that would suit them really. Macarthur Chambers is one of a kind really, and Hermes snapped up their site. There are the buildings on the corner of Edward and Elizabeth, but they're no Macarthur Chambers, and I think the old Ed Hardy part has been leased out already, but that's it really...

The only other possible option would be a revamp of the Rowes Arcade buildings to create flagship-quality retail spaces, if it's even possibly (the Rowes & Rothwells buildings are heritage listed).

^^ Next to LV on Edward St is Mont Blanc, then the now empty Witchery store I think also has a frontage (is it to be included in the Chanel store as well? Witchery is moving upstairs, possibly into the old Bay Swiss store) and then Tiffany & Co.

As for doing an Apple, the problem is there aren't really that many old LV-quality buildings on Edward Street that would suit them really. Macarthur Chambers is one of a kind really, and Hermes snapped up their site. There are the buildings on the corner of Edward and Elizabeth, but they're no Macarthur Chambers, and I think the old Ed Hardy part has been leased out already, but that's it really...

The only other possible option would be a revamp of the Rowes Arcade buildings to create flagship-quality retail spaces, if it's even possibly (the Rowes & Rothwells buildings are heritage listed).

yeah witchery part of chanel also thats why i say it looks to be bigger than LV. Mmm in that case they may have to build a new modern boxy one. but i dont see how they can go on much longer with the rubbish they have now.

^^Another possibility might be that ISPT bought Broadway on the Mall a few weeks back, and I would imagine that the intention would be to renovate it as they're doing with the Wintergarden & Regent. They also own the old HMV building beside the Regent, possibly also with an intention to renovate, perhaps. Maybe one of those would have an appropriate store for them?

Or maybe such renovations could tempt a certain tenant that does have the perfect Queen St store for LV, to vacate *cough*Country Road*cough*?

It looks to be larger than the Louis Vuitton store.

I wonder if now LV will be interested in upgrading the pathetic size of their Brisbane store, as they have done in sydney when other luxury boutiques increased their floor areas.

What is next around that corner from LV again? As long as it is not montblanc or tiffany & co, maybe they could buy it out. Although queens plaza cant sustain multiple decently sized flagship boutiques. Some of the bigger ones ie LV, tiffany, etc will have to do an apple or something and move into an older building leaving the streetfront of queens plaza for the smaller lesser known luxury brands.

It seems ridiculous that they would have literally 15 times the floor space in sydney, when brisbane's population is half the size.

The Edward Street frontage is;
- Louis Vuitton
- Mountblanc
- Tiffany & Co
- MaxMara
- Bally
- Max & Co
- Herringbone
- Canturi

Sydney is a much bigger market than Brisbane hence the disproportionally larger store. Sydney is the place for flagship stores and like Singapore, punches above its weight in this department. Sydney has more money and is more brand driven than Brisbane. It also has more international tourists that like to purchase luxury goods and a bigger Asian population (who are very brand driven).

^^ Next to LV on Edward St is Mont Blanc, then the now empty Witchery store I think also has a frontage (is it to be included in the Chanel store as well? Witchery is moving upstairs, possibly into the old Bay Swiss store) and then Tiffany & Co.

As for doing an Apple, the problem is there aren't really that many old LV-quality buildings on Edward Street that would suit them really. Macarthur Chambers is one of a kind really, and Hermes snapped up their site. There are the buildings on the corner of Edward and Elizabeth, but they're no Macarthur Chambers, and I think the old Ed Hardy part has been leased out already, but that's it really...

The only other possible option would be a revamp of the Rowes Arcade buildings to create flagship-quality retail spaces, if it's even possibly (the Rowes & Rothwells buildings are heritage listed).

Witchery doesn't/didn't have a frontage to Edward Street, only QSM and the interior of QP.

I'm not sure that the whole Witchery store will go towards becoming a Chanel store because the black hoarding doesn't cover the QP entrance.

Yes, Witchery is moving up to the Bay Swiss location and its rumoured the mens range will be introduced.

I don't think LV will be relocating anytime soon from QP. Same goes for Tiffany & Co. QP is the best location for them. If LV is going to upgrade, it could expand to the Montblanc site, or even expand across two floors...neither would be unrealistic though they could be a way off.

^^ Ahh cheers, I couldn't remember if Witchery did or didn't have a frontage, and I remember the little entrance way being along there somewhere. And I have been wondering about the old Witchery store being part of Chanel as it does seem a bit separated from the old Shades and Fossil stores. I guess we'll find out.

With the size of the Bay Swiss site, there should be the space for a Witchery Man section as well. I know that there's a Men's store at Robina, so I'd be guessing that they'd probably be trying to roll them out where ever a Witchery store is present.

Chanel is taking up both the witchery and shades stores. This is why witchery is also closing there. There are details in Brisbane News and Courier Mail somewhere from a couple of months back.

Good idea, not 100% sure we are chilly enough for it to look right in the daytime, you can still get by in a T shirt on most Brisbane winter days. Should be good at night though. I did this once at Somerset House in London and it was great (but a little crowded).

http://www.royalgardenhotelblog.com/index.php/tag/robert-shorter/

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/1156/iceskatingatsomersethou.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/191/iceskatingatsomersethou.jpg/)

Not quite the same effect yet, but early days
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/4525/p6100040.jpg

After living in Europe for three years I know the "winter festival" shouldn't excite me, but walking past the other night all I wanted to do was go for a skate and drink mulled wine whilst eating a pretzel...

On a pointless side note in regards to the ice melting, I had a dream a week ago that I went to the winter fest and the ice was absolutely rock hard. It was bright orange, but rock hard. I asked one of the attendants how it managed to stay so frozen and he said it was because they used cordial instead of straight water. Apparently it has a lower freezing point than water....

Drank some gluhwein and ate a bratwurst there earlier tonight. It was pretty cool. Will be better when you can do all that while watching people skate.

Aahhh gluhwein....what are they charging for that?

$8 for the gluhwein and mug and then $6 for re-fills.

Bratwurst, bun, sauerkraut and onion was $7.

Looks like the Queensland Museum is in for a refurb. It's about time, the Museum is the weakest part or the Cultural Precinct in my opinion.

'Awkward' museum set for Budget shakeup
Daniel Hurst
June 14, 2011 - 3:00AM
Comments 6

The outdated layout of the Queensland Museum at South Bank is “awkward” and the facility needs a big shakeup, the state government says.

The State Budget to be released today will include $12.5 million in funding to refurbish the museum site, with the centre also being promised millions of dollars to update its exhibitions.

The commitments come a year after tourism leaders warned the “tired and old” facility was in desperate need of renewal.

Finance and Arts Minister Rachel Nolan said the planned capital works would include refurbishment of the museum cafe and foyer, a new lift and stairs and replacement escalators.

Ms Nolan said the museum's loading dock and lighting would also be upgraded, while an extra $5.5 million would be spent renewing the exhibitions.

“This is the biggest injection of money into the South Bank campus since it opened in 1986,” she told brisbanetimes.com.au.

“I think there's no doubt that it [the facility] needs a shake and it's a big injection of money and I think people will see the benefit of that.”

Ms Nolan said the museum exhibition space was now outdated and would be redesigned.

“It's certainly a bit awkward in that it's split into two levels and it doesn't flow very well,” she said.

“Modern exhibition spaces have changed and it's certainly split into some smaller spaces without very good line of sight between them.

“This will open it up into better, more flowing exhibition spaces.”

Ms Nolan said it was time to focus on the Queensland Museum following the construction of the Gallery of Modern Art and a major upgrade to the State Library of Queensland in recent years.

“It's now time to really rejuvenate the museum,” she said.

Ms Nolan said the museum would have to close “for a few weeks or possibly a couple of months” because of the refurbishment, but efforts would be made to minimise disruptions to school groups.

The Queensland Museum, which celebrates its 150th anniversary next year, has been located in the heart of the South Bank cultural precinct for the past 25 years.

Last year, Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said the museum's flagship campus should be next in line for funding, following recent investments elsewhere in the cultural precinct.

At the time, Queensland Museum South Bank acting director Bernadette McCormack told brisbanetimes.com.au the potential for the site was “yet to be realised”.

Ms Nolan said yesterday the planned work at the Queensland Museum was the highlight of the state government's arts budget for the coming financial year.

She said recurrent funding for the arts would rise to $245 million this year, up 5.6 per cent compared with last year.

Ms Nolan said the budget included an extra $2.75 million for the Queensland Art Gallery to help secure major exhibitions at the Gallery of Modern Art and at the nearby gallery.

She said the government would spend an extra $8.8 million over four years to continue the Backing Indigenous Arts program, which would help support artists in remote areas and included an annual indigenous arts fair.

“We all know there are issues around exploitation of indigenous artists,” Ms Nolan said.

“By funding arts in remote communities and then creating the arts fair in Cairns ... it creates a sustainable and ethical environment for artists.”

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/awkward-museum-set-for-budget-shakeup-20110613-1g03q.html#ixzz1PD8KeMPS

As long as they don't touch the exterior.

As long as they don't touch the exterior.

I agree something about the exterior appeals to me, last thing i want to see are vertical blades or a reclad

It was bad enough they stuffed up the original library building.

Personally, I don't mind the State Library post makeover. It does retain large elements of the original brutalist structure (particularly when seen from the river) but also includes what I think is an interesting modern take on brutalism. And it does help stop GOMA looking like the odd one out by forming a sort of midway point.

But I will agree that any plans to change the outside of the museum and art gallery I would be skeptical about, and any plans to change the exterior of QPAC,I would strongly object to.

But regardless, I don't think $12.5 million is enough for any kind of major exterior overhall for the Museum anyway. I'm not even sure how much of a change to the interior layout they'll be able to achieve with this amount...

Yeah, no where near enough for a propper make over. And I think they've just replaced, or in the process of replacing all their lighting and tracks so I doubt they'd want to rip all that out and start again. Besides, I'm kind of fond of the old girl, because it hasn't changed much, including the smells, I always feel like a kid again going for visits and genuinely look forward to it even though I know exactly whats there. I'll have to take my kids down there again before they start going nuts and changing the place.

^^While that's all good when having a reason to go (kids), I just don't bother to go because it's never all that much different. It's sad because I'm finding myself going in to check out the excellent travelling exhibitions that have been coming to the QAG and GOMA over the past few years (I'm hoping to see the Surrealist: Poetry of Dreams exhibition this weekend in fact), and even once to the State Library for their Robin Dods exhibition.

I would love to see the Museum have a similar ability to really change/ freshen up their displays every once in a while - even if it's just using the artefacts in their own collection (although the ability to hold the occasional travelling exhibit would be a great addition down the track).

^^
I have a friend flying in from Melbourne who's coming especially for that exhibition (ash cloud permitting). I'll probably go too.

^^ I think GOMA is the best thing to happen to have happened to the Cultural Centre in recent years.

Since it's opening, GOMA and the existing QAG has gotten some truly world class art exhibitions with Andy Warhol, Ron Mueck, Picasso, American Impressionists and now this Surrealism exhibition, to followed by the Spanish Masters and Matisse at the end of the year through to 2012 just to name a handful.

It's not very often that I would truly consider Brisbane to be a national leader in anything cultural, but I think that GOMA is up there with the best in what it's hosted in recent years. I'd even say that the profile of some of these exhibitions are up there with the ones usually hosted by the NGV!

^^ I think GOMA is the best thing to happen to have happened to the Cultural Centre in recent years.

Since it's opening, GOMA and the existing QAG has gotten some truly world class art exhibitions with Andy Warhol, Ron Mueck, Picasso, American Impressionists and now this Surrealism exhibition, to followed by the Spanish Masters and Matisse at the end of the year through to 2012 just to name a handful.

It's not very often that I would truly consider Brisbane to be a national leader in anything cultural, but I think that GOMA is up there with the best in what it's hosted in recent years. I'd even say that the profile of some of these exhibitions are up there with the ones usually hosted by the NGV!

You could argue that GOMA is the only "world class" thing delivered in the last 15 years. I remember reading somewhere that GOMA was rated in the top 10 modern art galleries in the world.

^^ If that's true, it's quite an achievement for QAG/GOMA.

In other news, it looks like Apple's new Macarthur Chambers store isn't the only one of our heritage building to get a high tech makeover. So too will our GPO.

Self-service facilities all part and parcel of new-look Australia Post office at Brisbane GPO

Sophie Foster From: The Courier-Mail June 16, 2011 12:00AM 2 comments

http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/06/15/1226075/885380-artist-039-s-impression-of-the-039-post-office-of-the-future-039-.jpg

MAIL MAN: An artist's impression of the 'post office of the future'. Brisbane's first one, in the GPO, will open before Christmas with online and 24/7 services. Source: Supplied

IT IS being touted as the "post office of the future" - a state-of-the-art Australian first that will transform Australia Post's Brisbane flagship store.

The GPO store, on Queen St, will soon be home to new-look 24/7 zones such as parcel lockers for customers to pick up items at their convenience, a vending machine with packaging products and a self-service terminal to weigh and post parcels.

There will also be self-service terminals for paying bills, a lounge section for financial and identity services and travel services including foreign exchange.

Managing director and chief executive Ahmed Fahour said the Brisbane concept store, to be opened before Christmas, was tapping into changing consumer demands.

"The community is changing and we are changing our stores to meet their needs," Mr Fahour said.

Executive general manager retail services Christine Corbett said plans to transform the post office were approved by the Brisbane City Council on Tuesday, with much of the work to be done on weekends and at nights to minimise disruption. She said the changes were in line with Australian e-commerce trends that gave Australia Post a huge revenue growth opportunity.

"Probably 70 per cent of our total domestic parcel volumes are generated from some kind of e-commerce transaction and that's really reflective of how much customers are really trading online," she said.

"What we tried to do in our online shopping zone is bring that digital world into our physical store, so we will be having lots of computer terminals and tablets that recognise in particular domestic online shopping sites."



I had seen plans regarding the GPO on PDOnline, but it didn't go into detail about what was to be done. The only physical change to the outside of the GPO appears to be the replacing of one set of the heritage doors with a fully reversible sliding door. The rest of the work is the new interior layout, which is pretty cool looking at the Courier Mail's image.

alot of love for brutalist in here. I like a bit of brutalist myself, and love QPAC, but I think the museum takes it to a whole new level, a little too far perhaps. Doesn't exactly help that end of grey street anyway, pedestrian-wise

Brutalism is the mother of all architecture. The best.

Brutalism is the mother of all architecture. The best.

So if they covered it in reflective stainless steel you probably woudn't be happy right?

Some brutal pieces are really nice. However, a city covered in brutalist architecture... not so nice.

I like the museum, although that's probably more the subject matter than anything else. I'm going to check out the surrealism exhibition at GOMA too.

As for brutalism? Not many places does brutalism quite like Glasgow (apologies about the slight off-topic tangent here).

http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/5657/img171645.jpg

Yeah, no where near enough for a propper make over. And I think they've just replaced, or in the process of replacing all their lighting and tracks so I doubt they'd want to rip all that out and start again.

Unfortunately this is very much Plan B. You guys would have loved Plan A. ;)

Actually it was Plan A options 1 and 2. And the brutalism would have been significantly softened.

I like the museum, although that's probably more the subject matter than anything else. I'm going to check out the surrealism exhibition at GOMA too.

As for brutalism? Not many places does brutalism quite like Glasgow (apologies about the slight off-topic tangent here).

http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/5657/img171645.jpg

What a miserable place

^^ While I like the interesting Brutalism like the Museum and QPAC, that does indeed look very depressing! Old Soviet apartment complexes have the same effect.

Word on the street is that Zara won't take any sites off the Queen Street Mall. It's most likely that they have/will take a site at the Wintergarden as their plans have 2700m2 allocated as "Flagship Stores" facing the mall with no tenant named. Their Sydney store is 1400m2. I doubt well get a bigger one than Sydney, but it is very interesting thinking.

http://www.wintergardenbrisbane.com/precincts/flagships.php

^^That is more than one store for 2700sqm.

^^That is more than one store for 2700sqm.

Yeah I realise the plans indicate a number of shops in the flagship section, but these pre-completion plans are likely to change a lot with regard to tenancy sizes. I work in retail property and it's not uncommon for some building services, storage etc to be moved to allow tenancies to increase in size and change shape (even in existing centres).

Yeah I realise the plans indicate a number of shops in the flagship section, but these pre-completion plans are likely to change a lot with regard to tenancy sizes. I work in retail property and it's not uncommon for some building services, storage etc to be moved to allow tenancies to increase in size and change shape (even in existing centres).

I really would rather see zara at the borders site, mainly to activate the steet more.

I don't think Zara will open at Wintergarden. No sauce or anything, just a feeling. I think Gap probably will and maybe Esprit (I've heard they want to have larger flagship stores in Aussie CBDs, such as the Pitt Street store in Sydney). Also, Nespresso wants to improve its presence in Australian CBDs (again such as Pitt St) and so I'd also say it's another possible flagship tenant. Doesn't leave much room for Zara. And besides BrissyMan1 has already told us not to expect Zara at Wintergarden.

IMO best location for Zara is Borders and like I said in the luxury brands thread, just because the media suggests Zara won't open there doesn't mean it's 100% guaranteed as the media said the same thing about Zara on Pitt St. That said, I wouldn't mind if another international ended up opening at the Borders site...let's just hope the site isn't wasted like the retail component in and around Albert Lane has been.

^^What about the Country Road building?

^^
Yeah it could be a good spot but personally I'd like to see that stay as Country Road. I don't know that CR would be willing to give up that location knowing that the likes of Zara would be circling the CBD looking for a prime location...and that is a prime location in a great building.

^^ I don't think the Albert Lane area was completely wasted - we've gotten Vapiano (where I often go out for dinner to), the Sushi place and the Little Singapore restaurant, (which isn't half bad actually), and the Tea Shoppe (which has an instore cafe unlike their other outlets in Brisbane Arcade and elsewhere). Ok, so there's also the CBD's third JB Hi-FI, but it could still have been worse!

As for Zara in Borders, I'd love to see that but my worry is the Borders' location on Albert and Elizabeth...that could be the dealbreaker if Zara are secretly looking at the site.

^^
Yes, I agree that it hasn't been wasted and the food offering is generally quite good but practically everything along the mall frontage and the Albert St frontage are let downs IMO. The Guess store is in the middle of the mall and it should have a standout facade and fitout, bit it's just bland and disjointed. Kathmandu location deserves so much better and IMO Dymocks is a bit disjointed too...to me the fitout doesn't work as well as Borders did. The corner tenancies could have been standout tenancies and they have been largely wasted.

^^ Agree about Kathmandu. I never see anyone in there...

^^Everyone is upstairs.

I'm getting upgraded to a fibre optic connection right into my apartment.

Apparently this project is unrelated to the NBN. But I think it is the same technology. Anyone know the difference and whether NBN will also be rolled out in South Brisbane? It seems a bit like we're effectively getting NBN early.

http://fibretosouthbrisbane.com.au/#home

We went to a lunch with Campbell about a 9 months ago and he seemed to be of the mindset that regardless of the NBN, Brisbane was going to forge ahead with an upgrade of its internet. If memory serves, the plan involved feeding fibreoptics through the sewers? That's most likely completely unrelated to the south Brisbane upgrade though...

^^Agree, and it looks like the BCC sewer deal is not necessarily going ahead.

The South Brisbane situation is because they have to reconstruct the exchange anyway so why not do it properly.

Ahh of course, it's related to the govt buying the Telstra exchange, on the site of the new Queensland Childrens Hospital, from Telstra. They said that they were going to use the proceeds from the sale of the exchange to make a new fibre optic one. I just hope the new one won't be as hideous as the CBD and Wooloongabba exchanges!

As for NBN, isn't the plan that NBN are going to buy Telstra's infrastructure off them? Or is that just related to the old copper network and not Telstra's own fibre optics?

And yes, I think the floods showed that fibre optics in the sewers might not be the best idea...

I just hope the new one won't be as hideous as the CBD and Wooloongabba exchanges!


New exchange is going to be in the basement of the new hospital, so shouldn't be a visual issue except for some access structure to allow for pulling cables through.

Anyone know whats happening with Waterfront Place. I noticed scaffolding on the top the other day.

Signage??

Anyone know whats happening with Waterfront Place. I noticed scaffolding on the top the other day.

Signage??

Ernest and Young I believe I read somewhere on this site.

EDIT: sorry E&Y are going to 111 ... not sure whats up with Waterfront Place

Not sure about up top, but I noticed some reno works happening at ground level a couple of weeks back. I'll see if I can find a DA for it when I get a moment.

Anyone know whats happening with Waterfront Place. I noticed scaffolding on the top the other day.

Signage??

I hope not.

The glass panels have a habit of crashing down from that building so maybe its something to do with that.

I hope not.

The glass panels have a habit of crashing down from that building so maybe its something to do with that.


I love Waterfront Place but wouldnt have any objection to small signage, perhaps just a logo. Could look classy...maybe...

That scaffold on the roof has been there for quite awhile, I was working on the roof of Felix and noticed it up there probably 3 or 4 weeks ago now. Didnt see anyone wondering around or any tradies up there though.

I was at Waterfront a couple weeks ago and there was some minor refurb work going on in the lobby. Doesn't seem like anything serious.

got a little excited for a minute that they might be taking down the unsightly communications / equipment along the rooftop