Cranes, trams, food, football and politics – it’s been a big year.
Imagine its 2020 and you’re looking back on the Gold Coast of five years ago – what things changed the city in 2015 and made it a place you love – even more than you do now?
More Gold Coast looks back at the ‘game-changers’ and ‘game-shapers’ of 2015.
New Queensland Government
Without playing politics, it’s no doubt the change of government, with Labor’s Anastacia Palaszczuk becoming Queensland’s first female premier, changed things up for the Gold Coast.
While time will ultimately tell the outcomes, the political winds of change brought with them Kate Jones as a popular minister for Education as well as Small Business, Major Events, Tourism and the Commonwealth Games – she’s been widely praised as a great advocate for the city.
And then the winds blew in again and brought in a new minister, Stirling Hinchcliffe, to head up the countdown to games time in 2018, while Kate Jones retains tourism responsibilities.
Light Rail Stage 2
With local and state governments committed, political will finally came together at all three levels of government (that’s worth three cheers) as the elevation of Malcom Turnbull to Prime Minister heralded the decision to fund Stage 2 of the Gold Coast light rail.
A shorter (7.3km) and less expensive route had already been chosen connecting the Gold Coast University Hospital at the end of the current G line to new stations at Parkwood East, Parkwood and Helensvale, connecting to the heavy rail line.
Construction is set to commence in April 2016 to ensure the trams are running in time for GC2018.
More than a major boost to public transport in the city, the G is a catalyst for development under the Gold Coast Draft City Plan 2015. Already some cool cafes and street art are popping up as development is prioritised along the tram line, including in the Southport CBD with $8 million investment so far in Chinatown – watch this space as it continues to unfold in 2016.
Pacific Fair construction
Forise development, Surfers Paradise
Gold Coast Airport redevelopment design
Development plans for Jupiter's Hotel and Casino
Light rail passing through the Gold Coast CBD
Brighton on Broadwater development
Street art in the CBD
Chinatown street markets
The cranes came back
The cranes came back in a big way this year and not just to build the public infrastructure that has kept some construction afloat on the Gold Coast since the GFC.
Headlined by three billion-dollar plus developments in Surfers Paradise and with investment coming from China, Singapore, Hong Kong and national developers, the ‘crane index’ spells positive times ahead for the city.
The $1 billion Jewel luxury tri-tower development in Surfers Paradise commenced construction in April and is backed by the Wanda Group, headed by China’s second-richest man Wang Jianlin.
In November the $1.4 billion Ruby integrated residential and resort precinct broke ground on the first stage. When completed the massive development could span an entire city block in the Budds Beach precinct.
Closing out 2015, China-based conglomerate Forise Holdings settled its purchase of the prime site of the former Iluka building in central Surfers Paradise, making way for construction to commence on a $1.2 billion beachfront super tower as early as January.
According to the Urbis June quarter apartment market report, the Gold Coast achieved its highest apartment sales in five years during the June quarter.
Meanwhile the Pacific Fair redevelopment continues (and isn’t the transformation great) while work is set to commence early next year on the $200 million airport redevelopment. Jupiters is full-steam ahead with its $345 transformation of its hotel and casino at Broadbeach. And the cranes will be ramping up on the site of the Commonwealth Games athletes village come the new year.
A feast of food
At last count over 100 restaurants opened on the Gold Coast in 2015, and while some invariably close down, there’s been a very tasty net gain in a city fast cementing itself as a dining destination to rival the southern capitals. Let’s call it a coming of age.
The locals are in the know about the best places to go and the tourists are catching on too – the food crusade is led by arguably the city’s No 1 restaurant, Fish House at Burleigh and its passionate owner Simon Gloftis along with foodpreneurs including his brother Peter (The Lamb Shop), Blackboard’s Nick Pearce and Mark Kinvig (who added Blackboard Café Academy and Larder this year) and JP Duitsch and partner Lauren Mitchell of Moo Moos Bar and Grill who opened the stand-out Mamasan in September. Cicchetti has proven a classy addition on Isle of Capri.
Burgers went crazy and at the other end of the spectrum is the continued rise of cafes and juice bars specialising in ‘goodies’ with all the healthy hashtags #wholefoods,#vegan,#organic,#sugarfee, etc.
If 2014 saw the real emergence of a street food culture then 2015 was a smorgasbord of pop-up feasts – Food Truck Friday launched in the Broadwater Parklands, Chinatown markets were popular and by year’s end the new NightQuarter markets, set up in shipping containers at Helensvale with a firm focus on food, were literally going off.
Read – top 10 restaurant reviews of 2015
Simon Gloftis
Brooklyn Depot, 4217 Surfers Paradise
Burgers are big
Mamasan - Glazed lamb ribs
Dippy Eggs from Paddock
Cicchetti Restaurant - Luca Giacomin, Enrico Semenzato, Marco De Vincentiis
Cicchetti - House made beetroot & ricotta ravioli, goat cheese curd, candied walnuts, poppy seeds
NightQuarter Markets
A sporting chance for 2016
On field it’s fair to say 2015 wasn’t the best year for our two national teams – the Titans and the Suns. Off-field also delivered up its share of dramas, especially for the Titans who were taken over by the NRL just weeks into the season. They finished in 14th place in the 16 team competition (but at least they avoided the wooden spoon).
The Suns finished down the bottom too, 16th out of 18 teams under new coach Rodney Eade and new CEO Andrew Travis, with star player and captain Gary Ablett out injured for much of the season.
The good news out of the hard times is that both teams have refreshed their business models, marketing and on and off-field personnel.
After being without a major sponsor, the Titans secured renowned integrated resort development company, The Aquis Group as naming rights sponsor in June, to take them through until the end of season 2016. In November they announced they’ll find a permanent club home in a partnership with the Parkwood International Golf club to build a new high-performance training and administration centre within a transformed sports and entertainment precinct.
Over the 2015 trade and draft periods, 12 new faces joined the Gold Coast SUNS playing list, representing a turnover of more than a quarter of the entire group. After making do in demountable buildings, the club is also looking forward to next year’s move into its $22 million permanent training and administration base in the Metricon Stadium precinct. Season’s end also saw the appointment of six new high performance staff and three new coaches.
Meanwhile the round-ball game hit new heights in the city in 2015 with elite international teams training and playing here including premier league club Manchester City, who wowed football fans in July. The football future looks bright.
PHOTO : CHARLES KNIGHT - SMP IMAGES/GC SUNS
Manchester City Football Club in action
Manchester City Football Club training at RACV
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