Dexus pushes back completion of the $2.5bn Waterfront Brisbane to late 2028

The completion of the $2.5bn ‘city-changing’ Waterfront Brisbane development has hit a major snag as speculation swirls about what’s going on at the old Eagle St Pier site.

Construction site of the $2.5bn Waterfront Brisbane project that has been delayed by bad weather and construction complexities.

Property giant Dexus has blamed bad weather and the complexities of in-ground construction work for pushing back the completion of its city-changing Waterfront Brisbane development to late 2028.

The initial completion was due in 2027 and that was pushed back to early 2028, which sparked plenty of speculation about the $2.5bn project on the old Eagle Street Pier site from office folk in the tall towers looking down on the John Holland construction site that kicked off in 2023.

However, Dexus in its report to the ASX on Wednesday says that with the in-ground construction work nearing completion we hear the only way now is up.

An artist’s impression of the $2.25bn Waterfront Brisbane development.

Interestingly, a Citybeat scan of Dexus reports to the ASX did not mention any cost blowout other than the prolonged impact of “adverse weather conditions” on the project that includes two new office towers, a riverfront retail precinct and expanded public space.

With a wet second half of the year predicted, Dexus Group chief executive Ross Du Vernet will be hoping for clearer skies over Brisbane.

And there may be more than a few of those who made big precommitments to the 49-storey North Tower that had originally been slated for completion in 2027 also having their fingers crossed.

Firms like DLA Piper, Allens, Deloitte, MinterEllison and Gadens will be hoping for sunny weather, especially with new tenants chomping at the bit to get into their current plush offices and plenty more looking for new digs in a tight market.

In tune

The Brisbane Boys’ College Pipe Band has returned home from Scotland after placing fourth at the European Pipe Band Championships and World Championships.

Both competitions are the largest in the world for piping and drumming and the BBC Pipe Band, now in their 85th year, has a long history of outstanding performances at both competitions.

And that’s not all our proud BBC alumni told us.

Recently, the BBC Robotics – Team Australia – also competed in the International RoboCup in Brazil, with one of the two competing teams, Team Hyperion, taking home first place in the Superteam finals alongside Japan and the Netherlands.

Coast appeal

Gold Coast Airport welcomed 574,392 passengers in July, a 5 per cent increase on the same month last year, following on from FY25 which saw nearly 6 million passengers travel through the airport.

This made it the fourth busiest July in the airport’s history and the busiest since the Covid pandemic.

The figure was boosted by Jetstar’s new routes to Hamilton and Dunedin, along with a 31 per cent increase in capacity from Air New Zealand on its Auckland and Christchurch services last July.

Gold Coast Airport processed three times as many New Zealand passports for international travel as Australian passports, during the month of July, while Chinese passports were the third most common nationality travelling on trans-Tasman services for the month.

The strong month was also supported by tourism generated by the Gold Coast Marathon and an extended holiday period, with the Queensland and NSW school breaks taking place over a four week period.

Bali remained a popular choice for Gold Coasters seeking a tropical escape this winter, with over 10,000 passengers travelling on the route in July.

Jetstar‘s new routes has the Gold Coast Airport welcomed 574,392 passengers in July.