Gold Coast City Council super tower for workers to be built by 2032 Olympic deadline

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has shared a timeline on when he hopes the Southport ‘tower of power’ will be built. Read the update

The Southport “tower of power” will be delayed and not built until at least the 2032 Olympic Games but the CBD remains the target for the future home of city council staff.

Councillors in a closed session at Tuesday’s full council discussed a long-term accommodation strategy for the Gold Coast’s second biggest workforce.

In late 2023 councillors voted to put the $300m project – a key site was Southport’s Mal Burke car park — on the backburner and strengthening Bundall as a growing commercial precinct.

Mayor Tom Tate later confirmed Southport would be needed to accommodate future staff needs and he was open to “twin towers” with one non-commercial and boosting housing stock.

“I will be guided by what the market dictates, because it may be a twin tower, one is a accommodation and one is commercial, you have retail on the bottom. I’ve looked at that scenario in Parramatta. They have done very successfully and tastefully, people can live, work and play. The place is not totally empty if it’s commercial only,” he said.

The proposed tower of power project planned for Southport by the Gold Coast City Council

Southport CBD skyline — in the future to include a “tower of power”. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT.

Mr Tate said the key factor driving build timing was the 2032 Olympic Games.

“A five-year time frame in property investment — it’s a very short period. You don’t want to be building while all the stadiums are being built, and a shortage of tradesmen will drive the price up,” he said.

“All the stadiums should be completed (by 2030), would be a good impetus to go. Also us co-hosting the Olympics, the eyes of the world will be upon us. We will be able to find a private public partnership much easier. We don’t need to additional accommodation for now. We strategically have enough of our own.”

Councillor Brooke Patterson — wants to save ratepayer money. Picture Glenn Hampson

Southport councillor Brooke Patterson before last year’s council election admitted it would take a decade to fix Southport’s housing issues and secure a tower of power.

But she is buoyed by the outcomes of the longer-term housing strategy.

“What we are clear on is the City is committed to getting Southport to where it should be. I’ve been clear on this from the start - Southport’s possibility will be realised, that does include it being the government centre for the Gold Coast, State, federal, legal and local government,” she said.

“We are aware of the timing. We want to take care of ratepayer’s money.”

Ms Patterson said she could not see any “viable” reasons for not building a tower to accommodate City staffers prior to 2032.

“The demands on construction in this city and across Queensland are quite shocking between now and 2032. There is so much pressure. We don’t know how they are going to build what they need to build as it is for the Olympics.

“Anything we can take the pressure off, now is not the time for it,” she said.

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