The Treasury Casino has closed — and the question as to what will replace the Brisbane icon inside the heritage-protected CBD building has one leading retail expert “stumped”. Star Entertainment Group shuttered the casino on Sunday night as it prepares to open its mega gaming, hospitality and retail precinct a stone’s throw away at Queen’s Wharf, the first phase of which will open on Thursday. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Treasury Casino closes its doors.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Work to remove poker machines and other items began in earnest on Monday at the Treasury, where a 125-room luxury hotel will remain open, despite no new tenant yet taking up the vacated casino space. And what will become of it is anyone’s guess. “The process from here is, we go through a decamp process,” Star’s boss of Brisbane operations, Daniel Finch, said.
“And we’ll work with the government to preserve this beautiful heritage-listed building. “Following that, we’ll proceed into negotiations and conversations with potential operators that will follow-up the Treasury.” Finch said Star had fielded “a lot of interest” by parties from “all different industries”.
“We’re really hopeful that the person or the organisation that comes in here will operate with a great sense of pride, as we have, and will really love it, cherish it and adore it,” he said. It has been speculated that the site could be turned into a new retail and dining zone. But Gary Mortimer, a consumer behaviour and retail expert, said central Brisbane was already oversaturated with similar spots.
“I’m stumped,” he told 7NEWS.com.au.
“I just don’t think the city needs more retail. You go to the top end of the mall and see vacancies and leasing signs. “And we already have restaurants.
We’re soon have lots of hospitality with Queen’s Wharf.” He said Queen St Mall shopping precinct Uptown, which is the rebranded Myer Centre after the department store vacated the building, was a “ghost town”, while the nearby Wintergarden was “also relatively empty”. Dining precinct Eagle St, which is undergoing a facelift, and Howard Smith Wharves, plus Queen’s Wharf, will amply cater the CBD masses for food and drinks.
Mortimer said the “challenges” around filling “vacant space” in the CBD highlights the need for stakeholders to form a strategic plan for the area..
