New plans lodged for ‘landmark city precinct’ at Howard Smith Wharves

The planned redevelopment of Howard Smith Wharves has changed after Brisbane City Council raised questions about the original architectural design and engineering.

In documents lodged with the council this week, companies working on behalf of developer Artemus have sought to amend contentious areas and provide further information to justify others, while insisting the project should still be approved.

“Before formally responding to the council ... it is important to understand and appreciate the significance of this project on the city of Brisbane,” town planning firm Urbis told the council after it requested clarity on the original plans.

The latest plans for Howard Smith Wharves include landscaped stairs and an amphitheatre down to the waterline.

“Howard Smith Wharves is a landmark city precinct that makes a significant contribution to regional tourism. Its ongoing development ensures that status is further enhanced as our city moves towards 2032 and beyond.”

A proposed 77-room hotel, theatre and hospitality building, which would rise to the top of the cliffs, is still on the agenda, but the “crown of the hotel will feature additional organic landscaped stone and planted form”.

Urbis said the redesign would help “achieve a more cohesive built form in an already established parkland setting”.

Changes to the shared pathway through the proposed hotel at Howard Smith Wharves.

The hotel’s colonnade arches have been doubled in width, partly in response to concerns about the shared pathway set to run through the hotel itself.

While active transport groups are already worried about congestion in the precinct, Urbis referred to the existing pathway around Queen’s Wharf, and the pathway approved by council for Waterfront Brisbane, to argue against any move to impose separate pathways for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Since Howard Smith Wharves opened in 2018, only 14 reportable incidents in total have occurred along the shared pathway,” council has been told.

“Of these, only six incidents involved pedestrian and bicycles/scooters, an average of about one per year over a route more than 500m long. Based on accident numbers and estimated visitation of 5-6 million people per year, there does not appear to be an inherent risk of pedestrian and cycle collision within the HSW precinct.”

The latest masterplan for the Howard Smith Wharves redevelopment, with a new hotel and stairs at the centre.

Colliers Engineering and Design told council the capacity of all venues on the site would increase from 3870 to 7280, and there would be two new lifts to help pedestrians move around, plus dedicated vehicle standing areas on Bowen Terrace in New Farm. It said any increase in vehicle traffic was manageable.

Previously approved plans for a Felon’s hospitality barge on the Brisbane River have been ditched in favour of landscaped stairs and an amphitheatre cascading down to the waterline. Little Boat Projects, the architects, told the council the Grand River Stair would provide “one of the most spectacular views in Brisbane”.

After the council questioned the architectural style of the proposed hotel, and how it would stand out from other buildings in the precinct, Urbis reiterated that “the proposed hotel design pays tribute to Brisbane’s enduring brick and stone architectural style”.

Little Boat Projects said the red-brown bricks would “not visually compete with the radical diagonal steel structure of the Story Bridge – Brisbane’s most iconic structure”.

An overwater pool and entertainment deck is still planned, in a slightly different shape and with upgraded pylons, while council has been told there is sufficient clearance to the Riverwalk and ferry and CityCat operations.

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