The Agony and the Ecstasy of Brisbane’s Queen's Wharf

And they thought the Sydney Opera House would never be finished. They were wrong, fortunately. But it was 10 years overdue and, at a cost of $102 million, more than 14 times the original budgeted estimate. Even at its opening in 1973, Queen Elizabeth II noted: “I understand that its construction has not been totally without problems”. Nevertheless, it got done. And as the sail-like structures of Jorn Utzon’s architectural masterstroke rose on Bennelong Point, Australia's coming of age as a nation was heralded to the world. Throw in a global pandemic, disrupted supply chains, soaring construction costs, union issues, labour shortages, legal brawling over cost overruns and delays, relentless rain events and a flood. Who knows what might have happened? Half a century or so later, that’s the worst case scenario that has unfolded amid the birth of another city-defining icon—Brisbane’s $3.6-billion Queen’s Wharf precinct. To say it has been a difficult delivery would be a gross understatement. “It’s been a shocking job—an absolute nightmare,” a construction industry insider told The Urban Developer . Even as it seemed the megaproject was turning a corner, reports of new cost blow-outs and other troubles have emerged for Destination Brisbane Consortium, the joint venture behind the development. Led by 50 per cent stakeholder and casino operator The Star Entertainment Group, its partners include Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium. ▲ The landmark sky deck has now opened at Queens Wharf, more than seven years after work on the megaproject began. Image: Kgbo Excavation and other site works began on the development —spanning 10 per cent of the Queensland capital’s CBD footprint—in March, 2018 and the project was initially slated for a grand opening in 2022. Two years behind schedule, the doors—or at least, some of them—have been finally swung open on the 12ha riverfront site’s transformation into a world-class integrated tourism, leisure and entertainment destination. No mean feat considering the unprecedented construction and other challenges that have dogged the development. Only 12 months ago, the gloves came off in a legal slugfest between Destination Brisbane and Queen’s Wharf builder Multiplex. Slapped with a liquidated damages claim from the consortium totalling almost $360 million for project delays, the construction giant swung back with a $420-million counterclaim. It alleged more than 1000 days of lost productivity had been caused by “excusable delay events”—including pandemic restrictions, heavy rain and an outbreak of dangerous mould—for which it had not been adequately compensated. As well, it claimed the consortium had ordered major modifications, including wholesale structural changes, despite an assurance there would be “no substantial redesign”. In December, the dispute was settled with Star declaring the Supreme Court resolution had “removed considerable uncertainty and distraction”. Well, not for long as it turned out—and there’s still much to do. Shares in the beleaguered gambling firm have been temporarily suspended from trading on the ASX after it failed to post its full-year financial results on time. The move also follows a new probe deeming it unsuitable to hold a casino licence in NSW due to a failure to address damning revelations of alleged money laundering in its Sydney casino. Meanwhile, the company is facing a cash crunch that has left it clambering for $300 million in short-term funding as well as temporary tax relief to maintain the viability of its operations—including avoiding the closure of its doors at Queen’s Wharf not long after opening them. ▲ The Queens Wharf site at the end of 2021. In its half-year results in February, Star said an additional $220 million would be needed to complete the project. Since then, however, the costs have reportedly blown out further by millions of dollars more than previously estimated. On top of all that, Destination Brisbane has been left scrambling to secure a new high-end retail anchor tenant after DFS, part of the luxury brands conglomerate Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) Group, walked away from a deal encompassing 6000sq m of retail space. With two more towers to come, the saga of Queen’s Wharf will continue for a few more years. But as agonising as it has been so far, the project also has risen to the challenges and produced its moments of ecstasy. Not least, the opening of its centrepiece sky deck—a 250m-long crescent-shaped platform suspended 100m above the edge of the Brisbane River. “The whole idea of the sky deck was about creating this iconic moment for Brisbane … this giant verandah in the sky,” Naveen Dath, a director with Queen’s Wharf lead architects Cottee Parker, says. “And just to see the number of people who have been actually lining up to go up there, it’s phenomenal.” Dath says while there has been an awareness of the background issues, as well as moments of doubt and anxiety—particularly during the pandemic—it has, on the whole, been business as usual. Looking back at an original concept sketch for the Queen’s Wharf precinct drawn in 2014, he reflects: “That’s actually been one of the massive challenges for us as lead architects. ▲ Naveen Dath, a director with Queen’s Wharf lead architects Cottee Parker, and an original concept sketch for the megaproject. “To try and maintain the integrity of that vision and design … and navigate that through all the challenges of various different stakeholders, advisors and authorities to bring it to a point where we’re refining the design but not necessarily losing the original clarity of what the design was. “And what people see today is very, very close [to that sketch].” Dath says the design “responds to that vision of putting Brisbane on the world stage”. “It has certainly changed the Brisbane skyline tremendously … and you can see how it’s potentially set the tone for a few other developments as well. “It’s a defining landmark moment for Brisbane, from an architectural perspective as well as from the sense of where the project is in the life of Brisbane, evolving from a colony in 1834 to now being on the cusp of hosting the Olympics in 2032.” Urbis managing partner James Tuma, the lead designer and strategic advisor for Queen’s Wharf, agrees. “That we’ve actually managed to reimagine what was a place that no one ever wanted to go, and turn it into something that is actually an asset to the city, is quite incredible,” he says. Although recognised as the birthplace of Brisbane's European history, dating back to the convict era, Queen’s Wharf sits on what was an under-utilised and forgotten stretch of the city's riverfront—complete with a busy expressway running through it. “So even just at the beginning, there were a number of challenges …a lot of things to balance while still going through the acrobatics of organising a really complicated program of uses,” Tuma says. Asked to single out what had been the biggest monkey wrench thrown at the project, he is reluctant and replies: “It's pin the tail on the donkey”. Indeed, Covid and the 2022 flood were “entirely unhelpful”. “There’s been a lot of issues on the way through, as you would expect in a $3.6 billion, 12-year project,” he says. ▲ Urbis managing partner James Tuma, the lead designer and strategic advisor for Queen’s Wharf. “But I guess another way to look at it would be that it has had to endure and maintain solidarity around the vision in an environment of pretty significant economic fluctuations … and all the challenges that exist nationally around construction and supply chains. “And when you think about a project that is fundamentally about entertainment and leisure and tourism, braving it through Covid, in an environment where no one really knew if anyone was going to fly again. That’s pretty significant.” All up, the multi-tower precinct will comprise four luxury hotels with about 1000 rooms, 1800 apartments, 7.5ha of revitalised public space, a casino and 1440-seat ballroom, high-end retail outlets, as well as 50 new bars, cafes and restaurants. Connecting it to South Bank is the newly opened cross-river, pedestrian-only Neville Bonner Bridge. As a finishing touch, nine heritage buildings nestled among the shiny new highrises on Queen's Wharf will be restored and repurposed. “It’s a big contemporary thing, sitting on Brisbane’s oldest street with some of the most significant heritage buildings in Queensland around it,” Tuma says. “Trying to conceptualise how you fit those two things together was pretty interesting. “There has been a lot of work done to respect the heritage and not only make the most of those existing assets but also honour the development opportunity and get this really significant international thing out of the ground.” Throughout all the adversity, however, at no stage has he entertained any thoughts of the project falling over. “I wasn’t entirely sure how, and I wasn’t entirely sure what it might look like at the end, but I was always pretty sure, given that it’s backed by three well-capitalised groups, and that it was a government-sponsored project on state-owned land, all of those things meant that there was always going to be an outcome.” Tuma believes Queen’s Wharf will bring a “different dynamic” to the Brisbane CBD—a creative entertainment economy “that it hasn’t had, and needs a bit more of”. “We’re not even halfway there in terms of the full impact of the precinct. “The scale of it as a tourism, entertainment and, arguably, popular culture asset is something we haven't ever experienced or seen before. It adds such a richness to the mix and offer of the CBD.” Along with the 2032 Olympics, he says, the precinct will “change the perception and image of the city for capital markets, investors, tourism, visitors and everything else”. “If you think about it in the context of reinvestment in South Bank and all the other things going on in Brisbane, it’s not hard to imagine that in a decade’s time it will be a really powerful combination of assets that makes us a lifestyle superpower.” Transformational large-scale projects, by their very nature, are always complex and never easy, Tuma says. And as with Queen’s Wharf, when “big things like this actually finish and open it is more a sense of relief than a sense of triumph...but I don't mean that in a negative way”. “Despite all of the grind and grist and time and effort and sweat and tears and blood and everything that so many people have put into it … the thing that stands out to me isn’t the battles or the hardships or the challenges,” he says. “It’s the fact that in the end, public and private sector, big and small, international and domestic, all collaborated in some way or other and got something done that had no right otherwise to be done. And it’s a great thing.” You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Brisbane’s Queen's Wharf

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