Flashback: The 1990s plan to build a casino in Surfers Paradise on old Chevron Hotel site

THIS weekend’s proposal to create the Gold Coast’s second casino in Southport has turned heads and raised eyebrows, just like this proposal to have it in central Surfers Paradise.

Artist impression of the HPL casino

DEVELOPERS and political leaders have long looked to build a second casino on the Gold Coast.

Today’s revelation of plans to create an integrated resort and casino in central Southport come just weeks after the State Government axed plans to build one on The Spit.

This latest roll of the dice comes 20 years after plans were unveiled to build Australia’s biggest ever hotel in central Surfers Paradise.

The Chevron Hotel circa the 1950s.

It’s August 1997 — Princess Diana’s death is two weeks away, Gary Baildon is mayor, Austin Powers is in cinemas and Seinfeld is on TV.

On the Gold Coast, Singapore-based developer Hotel Properties Limited announced plans for a $350m, 1570 hotel.

The project, set to be the largest in Australia at the time, was proposed for the old Chevron Hotel site and was tipped to have a “spaceship-like’’ design.

HPL bought the land for $42 million in 1995 with plans for a 29-storey tower which would be double the size of the nation’s then-largest project, the 645-room Nikko Hotel in Darling Harbour and the 1000-room Crown casino in Melbourne.

1984: The second Chevron Hotel which was to become the “Concorde Hotel’ under the HPL pan.

The development application was lodged with the council in 1996 and said it expected to create 1500 permanent jobs.

Architect Desmond Brooks told the Bulletin the hotel would be like a huge intergalactic space station.

Ong Beng Seng, the boss of HPL was the creator of the casino plan.

“To me, it looked like a massive three-legged space station which had descended from above and touched down in central Surfers Paradise,’’ he said.

“We wanted to design a project befitting the dawning of the 21st century. We have developed a triarch-shaped floor plan for the tower which is very efficient and the shape also breaks down the scale of the development, because you only ever see two arms of the hotel from most

viewing points,’’ Mr Brooks said.

The Casino was a controversial project.

HPL executive vice-president for hotel developments Timothy Stableforth said the new hotel would be linked to the existing Chevron Hotel, which was undergoing a $3 million upgrade and would be renamed Concorde Hotel.

Among its features were set to be a Planet Hollywood cafe, shops, including the Brash’s music chain a rooftop helicopter landing pad and pool

HPL began negotiating with the Borbidge Government to gain a casino licence, saying it was essential to the project’s success.

Premier Rob Borbidge, 1997.

However, Rob Borbidge, the state’s conservative Premier, was not in favour and said no new licence would be considered, a stance backed by Gold Coast deputy mayor Colonel Kleinschmidt.

HPL throated to abandon the project unless they got a licence, which ultimately ended the plans.

In December 1998 HPL sold the site for $30 million to the Raptis Group which in turn unveiled its own plans in April 1999 for a $400 million retail and residential resort.

December 2000: The Chevron Renaissance opened.

This development proved to be far more successful and it finally opened in 2001: the Chevron Renaissance which continues to be one of Surfers Paradise’s major landmarks today.

While HPL’s casino never went ahead, talk of creating another competitor for the then-Conrad Jupiters Casino was revived in 2012 following the election of Mayor Tom Tate.