Hotel & HospitalityPhil BartschFri 16 Oct 26
Oldest Pub in Brisbane’s CBD Makes Room for a New Skyline Giant
Is the end for Brisbane’s beer gardens nigh?
It is a question reverberating across the River City following news that the cherished outdoor drinking space at the historic Victory Hotel—colloquially known as “The Vic”—is to make way for a soaring tower.
The Brisbane City Council has given the green light for a 51-storey luxury hotel directly behind and suspended over the 1855 heritage-listed pub on the corner of Edward and Charlotte streets.
It comes as the big urban squeeze spreads into every nook and cranny of a city facing critical shortages of housing and hotel accommodation ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Under the approved plans, the 16,000sq m Victory Tower will rise more than 200m and deliver 284 luxury hotel rooms.
It will occupy the site of The Vic’s famed beer garden that has been “temporarily” closed since late last year to allow previously approved refurbishments to be undertaken.
But pub loyalists will not be left high and dry—apparently a replacement for the watering hole’s thirst-quenching institution is in the works.
As part of the plans, Brisbane’s oldest surviving CBD drinking establishment is undergoing a historic restoration, transforming the venue into four distinct hospitality destinations—including a refreshed sports bar and beer garden, a rooftop garden bar, a steakhouse restaurant, and a subterranean speakeasy-style bar with a gaming room.
“The Victory Hotel is one of Brisbane’s most recognised hospitality landmarks,” billionaire Shaun Bonett, whose Sydney-based Precision Group acquired the pub for $22 million in 2005, said.
“Our vision is to honour that history while giving the site a new future bringing together heritage, hotel accommodation, hospitality, wellness and rooftop experiences in a way that contributes to the city well beyond 2032.”
Its skyscraping new addition has been designed by architects Bureau Proberts to cantilever over the historic pub to unlock maximum yield on the constrained 924sq m site and create “an elevated destination that extends the social life of the pub vertically”.
Crowning the slender design is a public rooftop bar with panoramic views across the city and Brisbane River. Other amenities include restaurants and a sky-high pool on level 40.
A key architectural feature is the tower’s “reverse podium” that lifts the tower six storeys above street level “to preserve and showcase” the Victory Hotel and adjacent Metro Arts building.
“This inversion of the traditional podium model creates a distinctive public experience while maintaining permeability and activation to the streetscape below,” the project’s planning documents said.
With approval in hand, the Victory Tower project is now slated for completion prior to 2032.
Bonett said the milestone reflected Precision Group’s long-term confidence in Brisbane, unlocking value in a landmark site to deliver a much-needed new hotel ahead of the 2032 Olympics.
“The critical shortfall of hotel rooms in Brisbane is well documented and the demand for accommodation is accelerating.”
He said Precision Group was already advancing discussions with tier-one hotel operators to anchor the landmark development.
“Engaging with the right operator early allows us to design the hotel experience with intention, from room configuration and guest amenity through to food and beverage, rooftop activation and brand integration,” Bonett said.
“Getting that partnership right matters. It will help ensure Victory Tower is not only successful as a hotel but also contributes meaningfully to the wider CBD precinct.”
If all goes to plan, the Victory Tower is poised to become a new benchmark for CBD infill, demonstrating how vertical development can be integrated within one of the city’s densest collections of Victorian and Federation heritage assets—not to mention its much-loved alfresco pub culture.
