Southport: First pictures of Nerang Street redevelopment as masterplan calls grow

Southport business leaders have called for the Gold Coast’s central business district to get its own masterplan as new images reveal its planned transformation.

Southport business leaders have called for the Gold Coast’s central business district to get its own masterplan in a bid to fast-track its revitalisation.

Developers and city leaders have long been disappointed by the lack of major projects which have been completed in the decade since Southport was given Priority Development Area (PDA) status by the state government in the hopes of kickstarting billions of dollars in major projects and jobs.

Instead, some developers gained council approval for development applications to lift the value of the site, before selling.

Artist impression of the proposed revamp of central Southport. Picture: Supplied by the Gold Coast City Council

Southport Chamber of Commerce president Ariana Margetts said it was critical a masterplan was developed to ensure the suburb got the most out of the next decades.

While the Health and Knowledge precinct was growing rapidly, she said the Southport CBD was “another story”.

“We’ve got hundreds of millions of dollars worth of development that have failed to be realised. We’ve got land-banking. We’ve got land values so high it’s no longer commercially viable to buy and develop,” she said.

Ariana Margetts, President of the Southport chamber of commerce Picture: Tertius Pickard

“We’ve got a significant lack of quality commercial floor plates, with real estate agents telling me they’ve got enough rental interest to lease a 10-story building tomorrow.

“For Southport to realise its true potential in the next decade, we need a catalyst to get things moving and to look forward, we must first look at where we are right now.

“I truly believe we need a Council-led, state-supported Southport CBD Masterplan with bipartisan support like we have seen work so well with the Health and Knowledge Precinct and Spit Masterplan.

“With the right people around the table, the right conversations being held, and a shared understanding of the true problem at hand, we will then have a baseline to build a new blueprint for Southport.”

Ms Margetts said it was critical to get the plan right.

Artist impression of the proposed revamp of central Southport. Picture: Supplied by the Gold Coast City Council

“Without a masterplan, we lack a shared vision and have no chance for co-ordinated action moving forward,” she said.

“With one, we have a stronger proposition to attract investment – which is the last piece of the puzzle for Southport to realise its true potential.”

Business leaders have long backed a proposal to have the Gold Coast City Council consolidate its staff and headquarters in central Southport.

However a mooted $300m “towers of power” project on the site of the Mal Burke Carpark is tipped to be a at least a decade away.

Area councillor Brooke Patterson has secured a council resolution requiring the creation of a long-term accommodation strategy guide by the end of 2024

Councillor Brooke Patterson . Picture Glenn Hampson

“This will provide full analysis of case for making Southport home for a city staff as well as council chambers,” she said.

“For our city to consider a strategic accommodation site for its workforce in the city that is not on the light rail would be a failure.

“That is why I am pleased we got the agreement in the August council meeting that the case for the move be presented to council by Dec 2024.

“Now officers are preparing the work to present the case.”

Also coming in 2024 is a revamp of Southport’s Nerang Street by council.

A draft concept plan has been developed, with the final designs to be presented to local businesses early in the new year.

It will allow the area to have more outdoor dining on footpaths, extra public seating, decorative road treatments and tree lighting.

Artist impression of the proposed revamp of central Southport. Picture: Supplied by the Gold Coast City Council

Council hopes to use the Nerang Street masterplan to add more restaurants, cafes and a different mix of commercial businesses in the area as part of a push to improve both the day and night-time economy.

Committee of Southport head and engineer John Howe said the suburb was a “key intersection” of public transport and key legal, health and business.

Mr Howe said he was supportive of council’s latest plan to rationalise and consolidate its space requirements and said Southport was the perfect location.

John Howe. Picture by Scott Fletcher

“I would also encourage the continuation of this study to work with the local and state government to rationalise their collective large land holdings in Southport and to come up with a vision for the use of this space,” he said.

“It is absolute hypocrisy for any level of government to not have their considerable work forces consolidated around the light rail system.

“It is eight years until the 2032 Olympic Games and, just as we did leading up to the 2018 commonwealth games, we need to set a plan in place for the CBD and have clear objectives and deliverables.”