Star reveals plans for new $500m Jupiters Resort tower
Jupiters Resort will add another accommodation tower with 700 rooms under a proposed expansion of the Gold Coast hotel and entertainment venue.
The resort’s owner, Star Entertainment Group, has revealed it has begun the planning process for a new tower, which will be approximately 200m high and feature a 4.5-star hotel.
The second tower, to be built in partnership with Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium, will be in addition to the new six-star, 17-storey luxury suite hotel tower currently under construction at the site, as well as the refurbishment of the hotel’s almost 600 existing rooms.
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The Star predicts the new tower will cost around $500 million, on top of the $345 million already committed to build the suite hotel and upgrade the resort’s original rooms, and may include a live sports theatre.
The Queen’s Wharf project was the starting point, but we see the location, the lifestyle and the potential at the Gold Coast as an outstanding opportunity to complement our involvement in Brisbane
The Star Entertainment Group managing director and CEO Matt Bekier says the new plans are part of a wider repositioning of the brand as a major player in Australia’s growing luxury hotel market.
“Our commitment to the Gold Coast is unambiguous. We are already well advanced on transforming the property through the hotel refurbishment and new restaurants, and later this year when we rebrand to The Star Gold Coast, the new six-star all-suite tower will be rising out of the ground,” Bekier says.
The Jupiters partnership is also responsible for developing the Queen’s Wharf precinct in Brisbane.
“We want to be Australia’s leading integrated resorts operator and our plans for the Gold Coast are a significant part of that vision.”
The Star Entertainment Group’s partnership with Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium had already spawned a successful bid to develop Brisbane’s $3 billion Queen’s Wharf precinct and integrated resort, which is due for completion in 2022.
Chow Tai Fook Enterprises CEO Patrick Tsang says the Gold Coast was a natural second phase for the group’s Australian expansion.
The proposed development would be contained entirely on the island we occupy
“The Queen’s Wharf project was the starting point, but we see the location, the lifestyle and the potential at the Gold Coast as an outstanding opportunity to complement our involvement in Brisbane,” Tsang says.
The project is contingent on gaining various approvals and the finalisation of joint venture agreements.
The Star Entertainment Group managing director Queensland, Geoff Hogg says the proposed development will be wholly on land already occupied by the existing hotel.
“For this development, we are not asking for additional land. The proposed development would be contained entirely on the island we occupy. We will also continue to engage and consult with stakeholders and the Queensland Government,” Hogg says.
“The fact this concept plan is under consideration underscores our confidence in the Gold Coast. We were the first major partner of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and we see the long-term growth potential in the region.”
