The Queensland Government has sealed a deal with Visy that would see its West End glass manufacturing operations along the Brisbane River relocated to Stapylton on Brisbane’s south.
In its place, a new International Broadcast Centre would be built on the site for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said the Queensland Government would pay Visy $165 million for its historic riverfront site in West End.
The mammoth 75,000m2 site is one of the largest land holdings to be acquired in the inner city area since Queen’s Wharf.
“The Palaszczuk Government has secured the preferred site for the International Broadcast Centre, which will broadcast images from Brisbane 2032 to the world,” the Deputy Premier said.
Visy’s $700 million investment in Queensland will see the company build a new glass manufacturing facility at Stapylton with more than 200 manufacturing jobs relocated to the new facility.
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The International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) facility is the headquarters for studios and editing suites of the Olympic Broadcasting Services which distribute footage of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics to international broadcasters such as NBC and the BBC.
Traditionally, IBC facilities are temporary in nature and have not been architecturally inspiring. These convention centre-like buildings are typically dismantled or repurposed after the games are over.
There has however been one noteworthy IBC facility for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Tokyo Big Sight was an exhibition centre building that was refitted as the broadcasting headquarters for those games. The facility is now again used as an exhibition centre.
The IBC at West End was the preferred site for the Queensland Government due to its close proximity to the Main Press Gallery (MPG) which will be at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, South Bank.
The Visy site does have heritage overlays throughout the 7.5 hectare site, which includes heritage facades along Montague Road.
After Brisbane 2032, it is intended that the site be transformed into the long awaited South Bank 2.0, which would see new public parkland and cultural facilities built along the West Bank of the Brisbane River at West End.
The Kurilpa area has seen significant urban renewal in the last decade, undergoing a massive transformation from industrial to predominantly residential-led developments.
After the Visy acquisition, there will be two remaining heavy industries residing in the Kurilpa area which are Hanson, a concrete plant and the Parmalat Milk Factory.
In 2014, the Brisbane City Council created the Kurilpa Masterplan, a document that it hoped would guide development in the area. It is not yet fully known what the Queensland Government will do after the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, however a South Bank extension is likely on the cards.
What would you like to see built here after the games? or tell us in the comment section below.
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It seems you can only vote for one thing. Public park / space must be part of it, but I like some form of cultural / exhibition space. Given its location, it certainly doesn’t need more car parking.
Seemed like the obvious location. Was wondering if the Maritime Museum site could have been rejuvenated with this funding given the infrastructure needed to become cultural landmark. It would be ideal to see the walkway along the Brisbane River flow through that site as it is currently disconnected and, without sounding too harsh, it currently acts as a void in the public realm landscape.
I would love to see a mix of parklands and cultural venues similar to how South Bank has both parklands and thecConvention centre, museums, and QPAC
Well here’s hoping the riverfront is turned into a southbank parklands extension BEFORE the 2032 olympics.
By all means convert the IBC buildings after the games, but give the people (and tourists exploring the riverwalks) their gardens and bikepaths along the river front a.s.a.p.
I’d love to see more parklands, restaurants and pubs.. kind of an extension of South Bank.