IFM has lodged plans, designed by Woods Bagot, to overhaul the retail levels beneath the InterContinental Brisbane, the former Hilton, in the heart of the Queen Street Mall. The proposal would carve two activated retail gallery floors that link the Queen Street Mall through to Elizabeth Street, rework the hotel porte cochere and strip the building’s butterfly screen facade.
The application seeks to reorganise the internal retail space with existing levels to be demolished and reconfigured into two retail gallery floors. The change trims the retail floor area slightly, to about 4,969 square metres, down roughly 1,060 square metres, in favour of a more legible and better connected layout.
The site takes in 185 and 195 Queen Street and 190 Elizabeth Street, with frontages to the Queen Street Mall, Elizabeth Street and Edward Street. It sits among some of the city’s best known CBD addresses, including the heritage listed Tattersalls Club and Regent buildings, and about 100 metres from the future Albert Street Cross River Rail station. The hotel tower above is not part of the works.
A central move is the removal of the existing butterfly screen that wraps the Queen, Elizabeth and Edward Street facades, with the facade behind it to be restored and improved. On Elizabeth Street, part of the InterContinental porte cochere would be reconfigured to improve guest arrival and to carve out a new retail tenancy, activating what the planning material calls a formerly inactivated stretch of street.
Woods Bagot’s scheme is pitched at reinforcing the Queen Street Mall as Brisbane’s premier retail precinct, with a carefully curated tenancy mix and a clearer pedestrian link drawn through the block from the mall to Elizabeth Street. With the InterContinental having recently taken over the former Hilton, the retail overhaul rounds out the building’s repositioning at street level.
Project Rundown
| Development Parameter | Proposed Development |
|---|---|
| Address | 185 & 195 Queen Street and 190 Elizabeth Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000 |
| Application Number | A007057493 |
| Development Type | Material Change of Use (Bar and Centre Activities) and Building Work |
| Proposed Uses | Shop, Food and Drink Outlet, Bar, Community Use, Office, Indoor Sport and Recreation, Service Industry (interchangeable across tenancies) |
| Site Area | Lot 1 on SP134044 (8,296 m²) and Lot 2 on SP134044 (volumetric lot, 4,447 m², the hotel) |
| Frontages | Queen Street about 41.2 m, Elizabeth Street about 49.8 m, Edward Street about 11.3 m |
| Zone | Principal Centre (City Centre) Zone, PC1 |
| Neighbourhood Plan | City Centre Neighbourhood Plan |
| Retail GFA | About 4,969 m², a reduction of about 1,060 m² from the existing 6,029 m² |
| The Works | Internal demolition and reconfiguration into two retail gallery levels linking the Queen Street Mall to Elizabeth Street; a new tenancy carved from the hotel porte cochere to Elizabeth Street; removal of the butterfly screen and restoration of the facade |
| Existing Building | InterContinental Brisbane (formerly the Hilton Brisbane); the hotel tower above is not in scope |
| Heritage Context | No works to nearby heritage places (Tattersalls Club, Regent, Embassy Hotel) |
| Transport | Queen Street Mall frontage; about 100 m to the future Albert Street Cross River Rail station |
| Status | Lodged 25 June 2026 |
| Assessment Level | Code Assessable (not publicly notified) |
| Owner / Applicant | IFM Investors (IFM Real Estate Fiduciary Pty Ltd) |
| Architect | Woods Bagot |
| Town Planner | Place Design Group |
| Date Submitted | 25 June 2026 |
IFM Investors is one of Australia’s largest investment managers, owned by a group of industry superannuation funds, with global infrastructure, debt, equity and real estate portfolios. It holds the Queen Street site through IFM Real Estate Fiduciary Pty Ltd. The InterContinental Brisbane occupies the tower above the retail levels now proposed for renewal.
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