Desmond Brooks wants lagoon next to Surfers Paradise beach as final design legacy

There has never been a better time than now to start from scratch on Surfers Paradise. And Gold Coast stalwart Desmond Brooks has the right idea to transform it, writes Peter Gleeson.

HE designed extraordinary landmarks such as South Bank, the Sheraton hotels in Hawaii and Main Beach and scores of beautiful skyscrapers around the world.

He has rubbed shoulders and done deals with Ralph Lauren, Christopher Skase, Alan Bond and Eddie Kornhauser.

Now, Desmond Brooks, 90 next month, wants his final design legacy to be the rejuvenation of the heart of Surfers Paradise. He wants a South Bank-style lagoon to sit next to Surfers Paradise beach, directly outside the Paradise Centre.

Desmond Brooks is the architect behind the Grand Sheraton Mirage and Palazzo Versace. Picture: Luke Marsden.

The “new heart’’ precinct would stretch from the Soul building south to Laycock Street, and cars would be banned. “For the sake of redirecting the existing road for two or three blocks we allow the centre of Surfers Paradise to flow down to the ocean,’’ he said.

“Cars cannot swim. One would think that a place called Surfers Paradise would allow the city to touch the beach.’’

Brooks knows a thing or two about beachside development. He lived in Waikiki for 20 years and designed 14 major hotels, including the famous Sheraton. Like so many people who have grown to love the Gold Coast, Brooks is not alone when he says Surfers Paradise needs a makeover.

Surfers Paradise skyline. Picture: iStock

In fact, having worked on and off at the Gold Coast Bulletin for the past 28 years, I’d like a dollar for every story written about the need for a Surfers Paradise makeover. The Paradise Centre is being spruced up but is that the best we can do?

Why is it that our political and civic leaders can concentrate on making the entire Gold Coast a better place to live – and they’ve done a sterling job – yet ignore the one place where more tourists come than anywhere else?

Surfers Paradise beach is one of the most iconic tourist destinations on the planet. Yet the brutal truth is that aesthetically, it resembles a dodgy Phuket side street. The only thing missing is the ping pong shows.

Surfers Paradise Beach. Picture: Richard Gosling

With Covid-19 impacting the world’s ability to travel, never has there been a better time than now to start from scratch on Surfers Paradise. With international visitors unlikely to set foot on Gold Coast soil for at least another 12 months, why are we not redoing the master plan for Surfers Paradise? What are we waiting for?

Why are we not blowing the joint up, dodgy T-shirt places, and all? If Surfers Paradise wants to be recognised as a world class seaside tourism destination like Bondi, Cannes or Monte Carlo, it has to change – and quickly.

Tinkering around the edges with modern toilets and fancy statues is play school stuff. The state government, council and one of the major superannuation funds – or even the Queensland Investment Corporation – needs to bite hard and chew like hell.

The timing and opportunity is now. Not in five years or 10 years. Now. The only thing stopping the total makeover of the Surfers Paradise beachfront is apathy and a lack of vision and courage. And for that, decision-makers should hang their heads.

When Desmond Brooks won the design competition to transform South Bank after World Expo in 1988, the stuffy bureaucrats within the state government at first dismissed his lagoon-led renaissance. Brooks walked out of not one – not two – but three design meetings with South Bank executives before they accepted the lagoon.

“They didn’t want the lagoon,’’ he said.

“I said this is Queensland. It gets hot. I said we either run with the beach and lagoon or we forget about it.’’

Brooks won the design competition and the rest is history. The lagoon at South Bank is now one of the most patronised water features in Queensland. It’s hard to even picture South Bank now without the lagoon.

Whatever public and private investors think of Brooks’ latest design, we must have a discussion about a transformation of the Surfers Paradise beachside. Not a debate. We’ve had hundreds of gabfests. The silver lining from the pandemic is that it provides us with a clear runway to rebuild a better, more iconic, heart of the city.

That opportunity should not be lost. International borders will reopen again, one day. Until that happens, we need to be smart and innovative and get serious tourism infrastructure projects underway now to be ready for that fresh influx of holiday-makers. Des Brooks has the right idea.

We cannot be looking this gift horse in the mouth any longer.