Retail project turns sod

$500m old hospital site renewal to employ 400

THE first stage of the $500 million mega development at the old Gold Coast Hospital site will open within 14 months.

The first sod of the Queen Street Village project was turned in central Southport yesterday.

The first stage of the mixeduse project will be a four-storey shopping and entertainment centre that will include an IGA supermarket, Asian food court, new tavern, two drive-through fast-food eateries and 11screen, 1000-seat Dendy cinema complex.

It is due for completion in May 2021.

Construction has also begun on Accor Group’s 17storey Mercure Hotel which will be targeted at the business market.

It will have 230 rooms, a rooftop bar and restaurant and is expected to open late next year.

“This is incredibly exciting for us because a lot of hard work has gone into this already and it will be a game changer for Southport,” said Property Solutions financial controller Alex Crooke.

“The retail and entertainment precinct has started as well as the Mercure hotel.

“We have future stages too including offices and student accommodation.

“It will happen quickly and the majority of the site will be delivered by July next year.”

The old hospital site will ultimately feature seven towers ranging from 16-25 storeys, a shopping centre and a $120 million two-tower retirement facility.

Hutchinson Builders regional manager Levi Corby said more than 400 people would be employed on the project.

“This is a large-scale masterplanned development and will employ hundreds of people at its peak which is wonderful for our industry,” he said.

“There will be large future residential stages but first we will do the retail complex and then the hotel.

“It is going to be a busy 18 months as the multiple stages are done simultaneously and we will have three tower cranes on site running at the same time.”

The development is being built on the former site of the Gold Coast Hospital which closed in late 2013 and demolished in 2015.

Construction was expected to begin in 2018 but was delayed.

The site was yesterday blessed with a traditional indigenous smoking ceremony.