Ashmore Seafood & Steakhouse restaurant site to become food-lovers destination, shopping centre, medical hub
Plans for an exciting new food-lovers destination at the site of an iconic Gold Coast restaurant have been unveiled. SEE THE PHOTOS.
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The iconic Ashmore Seafood and Steak restaurant site is set to be transformed into a $50 million food-lovers destination featuring a shopping centre, medical hub and speciality retail stores.
Plans for Ashmore Markets are expected to be lodged with the Gold Coast City Council this week by Churchill Development Group, who is developing the site in collaboration with Steer Developments.
Churchill Development Group’s executive director Jonathan Leishman said Ashmore Markets would pay homage to the site’s gastronomic heritage by transforming the 9020sq m site into an “epicurean emporium”.
Mr Leishman said there was never any doubt the site at Reed St would remain serving up great food.
“Renowned local restaurateurs Nick and Jim Carkazis spent decades building this site into a ‘must-go’ food destination. Why change it?” said Mr Leishman.
“In fact, we want to build on their legacy and shape the site into a food emporium and retail destination like no other on the Gold Coast.”
Churchill Development Group, in conjunction with Steer Developments, intends to create a premium retail and food marketplace taking up 5300sq m of the site.
“A focus for the development is fresh, fabulous local food and wine, but as a community hub we see a need for a medical offering also and as such we’ll be offering a state-of-the art medical space with several other specialty retailers,” said Mr Leishman.
The architecturally designed two-storey building will feature a floor-to-ceiling glass facade to allow an abundance of natural light.
“We want to build an environment where nature is maximised both inside and out,” Mr Leishman said.
“The building will be surrounded by green spaces and tree-lined avenues, and even the car park is surrounded by trees to keep a suburban street feel.
“Bigger isn’t better. The Churchill philosophy is beautification is better.
“When the site came up for sale, we knew it was something special and could see the potential in a corner block, close to transport, other retail outlets, cafes and restaurants.
“Although building a tilt slab same-same shopping centre on the site would be easy to lease – it wasn’t the type of development we wanted to see come to life here.
“Every village needs easy access to shops, but the shopping centre no longer needs to take over the village.”
Steer Developments founder Robert Steer said his company had jumped on-board because he could see the significance in restoring the site back into a highly valued community hub.
“Churchill and Steer have invested significantly in the design to make sure Ashmore Market has that ‘wow’ factor to attract exceptional tenants, that it looks good and will best serve the community,” Mr Steer said.
“With the area forecast to grow considerably over the next 20 years, the region needs to build now to provide for that growth.
“Not only will this be one of the Gold Coast’s most stylish centres, it will provide employment and business opportunities for locals.”
Mr Leishman said the site was already attracting significant interest with leasing for spaces from 150sq m to 2700sq m well underway.
“We understand that in the past, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate used to frequently drop in to enjoy a steak here. By the end of 2023, we hope Tom will be back at Reed Street to again enjoy some of the best produce the Gold Coast has to offer.”
When hearing about the Ashmore Markets development, Mr Tate said the steak and seafood double at Ashmore had been a favourite of his for years.
"Ruth loves it too as I don’t need to eat for a day after visiting there, so no home cooking," he said.
"I’ll be first in line to try out the new offerings once the markets reopen in 2023."
What’s happening to site of popular restaurant
August 17
THE future of an iconic restaurant located within a prime parcel of commercial land has been creating plenty of buzz after the site was listed as ‘under contract’.
The complex at 1-7 Reed St, Ashmore has been on the market for several years and boasts multiple commercial tenants including one of Mayor Tom Tate’s favourite restaurants – Ashmore Seafood and Steakhouse.
But there has been renewed interest after GV Property Group’s listing for the site was marked as ‘under contract’.
The Gold Coast Bulletin has since been advised this was simply a “computer glitch” and the site remains for sale.
With a prime corner position on Ashmore Rd and Reed St, the complex is considered a developer’s dream due to its huge potential and proximity to public transport, shops, cafes and restaurants.
Watch this space.
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