Gold Coast City councillors on fact finding mission to Parramatta to help fix Southport CBD
Southport is to be reimagined as the new Parramatta of Australia, with councillors headed on a trip down south to discover the suburb’s secret in becoming a thriving CBD.
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Southport is to be reimagined as the new Parramatta of Australia, with councillors headed on a fact finding mission to the Sydney’s western commercial district.
This masthead can reveal several councillors including area representative Brooke Patterson will join Deputy Mayor and city planning chief Mark Hammel on the September trip.
Their plan is to discover Parramatta’s secret in becoming a thriving CBD with Australia’s tallest commercial tower, government offices and court precinct, along with trams.
City planning chair Mark Hammel talked up the strong links between the two centres.
“Parramatta uniquely is about an hour drive away from Sydney CBD. On a good day on the M1, Southport to Brisbane is about the same,” he said.
“It has major public transport links, and lot of government employees going from western Sydney into Sydney. It has a light rail network and an open sports field arena.
“The main reason we are going to Parramatta is because of Parramatta Square, which was delivered by Walker Corporation — so the largest commercial tower building in Australia is in Parramatta.”
Mr Hammel said the Square offered 260,000sq m of five star commercial office space.
“It is a demonstration, like we are trying to achieve in Southport, where we want to renew an area that has all the right ingredients — the road access, public transport, proximity to water and public parklands.
“If that can work in Parramatta, why can’t that work in Southport?”
Ms Patterson believes the visit to Parramatta will be critical in opening up pathways for the Coast to secure government offices.
“I have consistently stated the case for a Supreme Court and Federal Circuit Court on the Gold Coast and the Southport CBD is the natural home for that,” she said.
“A study of the Parramatta Precinct provides a blueprint on how to realise that.”
Ms Patterson said Southport was “taking off now” before the 2032 Olympics. The shifting of City staffers to a “tower of power” is planned post-Games.
“The Park Lane application has been lodged, which could see Southport become the home of Australia’s tallest building, plus new high-end dining spots like Fire Baby are just some examples of the new interest that’s already being shown in the area,” she said.
“We know the work the City of Gold Coast and Invest GC are doing will only make it a more attractive place to invest, live, work, and play.”
Ms Patterson said the CBD was a great place to live but future housing was critical.
“A key part of that is ensuring we have the right housing mix to attract strong investment, build for our future, while ensuring people who are working in the area have the opportunity to live there too.”
More Coverage
Welcome to the Gold Coast neighbourhood from hell
Residents of a small Ashmore Gold Coast cul-de-sac claim a neighbour blasts loud music at night, plus an airhorn and yells profanity - but he says his behaviour is “totally fine”.
Inside the boiler room: How Hope Island mum swindled thousands
A Hope Island mum who was involved in scam telemarketing companies that rorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from misled customers - including one that promised financial returns from a professional wagering team that did not exist - has pleaded guilty to fraud.