Work to do before big Games shindig
SURFERS Paradise Alliance CEO Mike Winlaw says the suburb always has been and will remain the heart of the Gold Coast.
Hitting back at parting shots from Howl at the Moon owner Lou Cerantonio, Mr Winlaw said Surfers boasted great family attractions, top restaurants and would stay the “iconic heart of the city”.
“As we come into the Commonwealth Games there is going to be a major spurt – the only two celebration zones are Surfers and Broadbeach. Our pubs and clubs are going to have to look at their product offering but there are great new ones, House of Brews, Steampunk.”
Mr Winlaw defended recent Surfers Paradise Live concerts at the beach end: “We can’t just spend a few $100,000 for businesses down the riverfront – it’s about making sure the majority of businesses do well.
“I give Lou full credit for what he has tried to achieve.”
Surfers Paradise councillor Gary Baildon shut the door on a pedestrian crossing across the Gold Coast Highway to the riverfront, something Mr Cerantonio long campaigned for.
“A signalised pedestrian crossing does not meet the requirements for installation due to other signalised pedestrian crossings in the vicinity,” Cr Baildon said.
He said funding for more riverside redevelopment work, transforming it into the city version’s of Brisbane’s Southbank, would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The Surfers Paradise Riverside Master Plan was developed in partnership with Gold Coast Waterways Authority and so far pontoons have been improved along with concrete steps to the water. A VETERAN hospitality operator is quitting Surfers Paradise with a dire warning it will become the city’s next vacancy-ridden Tedder Avenue.
Howl at the Moon bar and eatery co-owner Lou Cerantonio has put his riverfront site on the market and is bowing out with a doom-laden parting shot.
Mr Cerantonio spent $1 million relocating his popular Broadbeach business to Surfers two years ago due to lease uncertainty but has struggled at the riverfront location and holds fears generally for the future of the suburb. On the way out, he blasted: • The council for not improving pedestrian access from the western end of Cavill