Victoria Park upgrade: Brisbane City Council unveil stunning plans ahead of 2032 Olympic Games

Brisbane City Council has revealed major plans to transform Victoria Park into a lavish community green space ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games. Watch the video and see the incredible artists’ impressions of the project.

Brisbane City Council has announced major plans to transform Victoria Park ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games but can’t yet provide a ballpark figure on how much the lavish upgrades would cost ratepayers.

Residents have been called on to give feedback on the grand plans which include but aren’t limited to; high ropes courses, an adventure mountain bike track, a driving range, a treehouse lookout and cafe, edible community gardens, watering hole playgrounds, new pedestrian bridges and cycleways, tennis courts, a putt putt golf course, a multipurpose sports precinct and almost 1000 parking spaces.

A draft master plan was released on Tuesday, with Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner saying he had no idea of a possible ballpark figure attached to the ambitious project but admitted upgrades would come at “a significant cost.”

The draft master plan for Victoria Park in Herston has been released which includes high ropes courses, edible gardens, water play areas and pedestrian and cycle bridges.

He said council hopes to have the full transformation complete within 10-15 years and once finished, it would be Brisbane’s biggest park, boasting 64 hectares of green space in the heart of the city.

“This is four times bigger than Southbank Parklands, and it is 20 per cent bigger than the Mount Coot-Tha Botanic Gardens, so this is a massive scale project, and it will create the biggest new green space and parkland area our city has seen in 50 years,” Mr Schrinner said.

The draft master plan for Victoria Park in Herston has been released which includes high ropes courses, edible gardens, water play areas and pedestrian and cycle bridges.

“But when you put it in perspective, this is green infrastructure, people are used to seeing billions of dollars invested into public transport and road infrastructure.”

The draft master plan for Victoria Park in Herston has been released which includes high ropes courses, edible gardens, water play areas and pedestrian and cycle bridges.

Parts of the upgrade such as the equestrian cross country course and adventure BMX track will be paid for by the state government’s Olympic funding pool, with Mr Schrinner confirming council would be approaching both the state and federal governments about further funding opportunities.

“We’ve incorporated that (Olympics) into our planning those facilities will paid for by the Olympics budget, but also there’s an opportunity to partner with the state and federal governments on some of the projects here as well,” he said.

The Victoria Park of the future.

“One of the opportunities we’ve been looking for is support from the other levels of government for some of the major pieces of infrastructure in Victoria Park, including the bridges.

“There are bridges that have to be built across the inner city bypass to connect the park and we’ll be pitching that the bridges can be funded as a part of that city deal.

“What we’re seeing here is a long term legacy well beyond the 2032 games that will live on and be an asset for the people of Brisbane for the long term future.”

The draft master plan for Victoria Park in Herston has been released which includes high ropes courses, edible gardens, water play areas and pedestrian and cycle bridges.

Mr Schrinner said funding estimates would become more apparent when the master plan was finalised in December, allowing the tender process to begin.

At least 80 per cent of contracts will be handed to local businesses with Brisbane’s future fund to be one of council’s major funding mechanisms for the park.

“It (funding) will be staged in a way that’s affordable, and so we will invest what we can afford each year into the park to grow it,” Mr Schrinner said.

The plan includes many water areas.

“To give you a perspective, this year, we are investing $244 million into parks right across Brisbane... we will add to that investment with Victoria Park.

“The one thing I announced when I became Lord Mayor was the creation of a green Future Fund, that is funded by dividends of the city of Brisbane Investment Corporation.

“Every dollar that comes from returns from that fund goes into parkland, and that is one of the funding mechanisms for Victoria Park so to give you an idea this year $15 million is coming from the city of Brisbane Investment Corporation to be investing in parklands, that will grow over time.”

Specific infrastructure like the bridges and cycleways will be completed before the Brisbane Olympic Games with council to take feedback from residents until October 30, before finalising the master plan and relevant land approvals early next year.

Council’s environment, parks and sustainability chair Tracy Davis said council would be hosting multiple popup consultations with the community throughout October, as well as a family-fun ‘Discovery Day’ party at Victoria Park on October 22.

Victoria Park

“Discovery day will be a wonderful opportunity for families to come together not only to provide their feedback on the draft master plan, but there will be food trucks and live music and activities for the children like bungee trampolining and a large slide,” Ms Davis said.

“Not only will it provide an opportunity for people to view the Draft Master Plan, provide their feedback on it but it will be just a wonderful day for the family to come out and enjoy this fantastic park.

The draft master plan for Victoria Park in Herston has been released which includes high ropes courses, edible gardens, water play areas and pedestrian and cycle bridges.

“We’ll have a number of pop ups across the city, there’ll be two here down at the Herston Busway, where commuters will be able to come off the bus and learn about the Draft Master Plan and then be able to provide their feedback, we’ll also be having a pop up in the Queen Street Mall and there’ll be an opportunity for people to come onto a virtual community webinar and participate that way.”

To provide feedback on council’s draft master plan for Victoria Park, visit the council website or call 07 3403 8888.

The draft master plan for Victoria Park in Herston has been released which includes high ropes courses, edible gardens, water play areas and pedestrian and cycle bridges.

Have your say popup event days:

• October 5 – Community consultation at Queen St Mall
• October 11 – Online webinar engagement event at 6pm, registration through Eventbrite
• October 12 and 19 – Consultation popup at Herston Busway
• October 22 – Discovery Day in the Park, hosted at Victoria Park from 10am-2pm
• October 29 – Outdoor cinema and popup event at Victoria Park

One of the artist’s impressions.