GC LOSES VENUE
Beloved entertainment precinct lost to Gold Coast
THE Gold Coast’s loss has been the Sunshine Coast’s gain with founders of the popular NightQuarter hub relocating north.
The live music and markets hotspot reopens at Christmas – but three hours north of the Gold Coast in a deal with developer Stockland.
Nightquarter’s departure sees 200 jobs and $20 million in economic benefit go too.
CREATORS of the popular NightQuarter precinct have revealed its new location after a rent rise forced it from its Helensvale home.
But the entertainment venue’s legions of Gold Coast fans have little reason to celebrate, with founders Michelle Christoe and Ian Van der Woude taking the setup three hours north to the Sunshine Coast.
Ms Christoe said the pair had all but given up hope of reopening the “festival every weekend” on the Gold Coast after exhaustive negotiations for sites near the former Commonwealth Games athletes village and at Metricon Stadium proved futile.
The owners dropped a bombshell in January, revealing the popular food and live music hub would shut because landlords demanded a rent increase of more than 100 per cent.
The extra rent demanded by Westfield shopping centre operator Scentre Group and the state-owned Queensland Investment Corporation would have driven dues to well over $400,000 a year.
Despite being overwhelmed by community support and offers for alternative Gold Coast sites – one NightQuarter superfan offered their backyard – none of the options proved viable.
The Gold Coast’s loss is set to be the Sunny Coast’s gain, with that community to reap the benefits of 200 jobs, a $20 million economic boost and a valuable social asset.
In a deal with developer Stockland, NightQuarter will re-open on a site adjacent to the Birtinya Shopping Centre, with launch night expected before Christmas.
The new NightQuarter will feature 40 specialty street-food stalls, family entertainment, cultural events and regular highprofile music shows.
A scaled-down live music space with a capacity of 1500 will also grace the site, which will open Friday and Saturday nights.
Ms Christoe said the business had previously intended to open a Sunshine Coast satellite operation before the collapse of the Gold Coast venue, but that new operation would now become the flagship.
“The site met all the criteria for what we’d been looking for,” she said.
“Unfortunately we haven’t been able to find a site on the Gold Coast. We’re still open to it, but we’ve really looked at a lot of sites.
“The Smith St site was knocked back primarily because the (council and State) committee for that area wouldn’t rezone it as entertainment.
“Metricon Stadium negotiations went quite far down the track to opening night markets on underutilised land in that area.
“But then a competing offering opened in that precinct, which meant it would not have been viable for us.”
The pair continue to be humbled by the love shown to their innovative entertainment idea, which was inspired by a trip to a piazza in a rural Italian village.
“Since we announced that it was closing, the community response has been overwhelming,” Ms Christoe said.
“We still get contacted by locals wanting to know where we’re going to reopen.
“A petition started by a local teenager to save NightQuarter got almost 20,000 signatures.
“We looked at a lot of sites – we’ve really tried.”
YOU can’t blame the owners of NightQuarter for packing up their popular live-music-with-markets concept and shifting it away to the welcoming Sunshine Coast.
The founders, Michelle Christoe and Ian Van der Woude, have done their best to try to find an alternative site on the Gold Coast after a rent rise forced them out of Helensvale.
Nearly 20,000 people signed a petition to save NightQuarter on the Gold Coast after it shut indefinitely in January.
The pair are not obliged to provide a live-music venue for the city.
It’s a business, and if they can’t make it work here or find the right site, then who can blame them for doing a deal to set it up on the Sunshine Coast, where developer Stockland has locked them in?
Unfortunately its official departure – after months and a lot of effort to try to relocate it on the Gold Coast – marks the departure of hundreds of jobs and an annual $20 million economic boost.
NightQuarter wasn’t only a great option for a night out; it was also a magnet for visiting live acts.
The city continues to cry out for a boutique stadium to host medium-sized concerts.
Outside of temporary venues for special occasions, sites such as NightQuarter and the equally popular Miami Marketta have proven major drawcards for the live-music scene.
NightQuarter is now lost as an option. The Sunshine Coast version will feature 40 specialty street-food stalls, family entertainment, cultural events and big live shows for a capacity crowd of 1500.
The founders have not completely shut the door on a Gold Coast operation, but in the immediate future there seems little likelihood of anything suitable emerging.
It is a shame at a time when the city’s creative communities are gathering steam, with the city’s myriad festivals and recently launched Home of the Arts (HOTA).
The Gold Coast’s loss is the Sunshine Coast’s gain on this one.