City Recasts Surfers Paradise Bus Station as Music Venue

The volume is being turned up on the proposed transformation of the Surfers Paradise Transit Centre into a live music venue. Detailed design elements of the planned redevelopment of the council-owned asset have been revealed in documents filed by the City of Gold Coast. The Gold Coast Civic and Music Hall—as it has been dubbed—would have an audience capacity of 2800 people and be equipped to host concerts, conferences, banquets, ceremonies and other functions. Integrated into the plans is a dedicated food and beverage component that includes The Music Garden—a space to the south of the building that could be used as an open-air venue, a beer garden or a food truck zone. Surfers Paradise Transit Centre (SPTC) was opened in 1991 as the city’s main terminal for long-distance bus services and includes five levels of basement carparking. It occupies a 16,290sq m site at 10-14 Beach Road and also fronts Remembrance Drive. “The proposed music hall involves the modification and expansion of the existing SPTC, while thoughtfully incorporating the unique architectural features of the existing building, to create a purpose-built facility designed specifically for live performances and associated functions,” a planning assessment prepared by Town Planning Alliance said. Under the plans, the three-level venue is targeting “larger-scale performances and events that support the city’s role as a regional entertainment destination”. It would provide ground-floor standing room for 2000 concert-goers and a wrap-around balcony with an additional capacity for 800 people. Pending approval, the $40-million council project is slated to begin early next year with completion expected in late 2027. The design for the building’s adaptive reuse has been undertaken by ARM Architecture, the firm behind the Home of the Arts (HOTA) gallery, the centrepiece of the Gold Coast’s cultural precinct. ▲ A concept render of the venue interior of the proposed Gold Coast Music Hall. ARM Architecture director Jesse Judd said design inspiration had been drawn from iconic music venues around the world such as The Vermont in Hollywood, New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the House of Blues, and San Francisco’s The Fillmore. “The Gold Coast Civic and Music Hall aims to be a venue of that calibre,” he said in a submitted design statement. “This is an exciting opportunity for the city to fill a well recognised gap in its cultural scene while also breathing new life into an underutilised space. “The Gold Coast has a long and vibrant history as a live music hotspot, with legendary venues dating back to the 1950s. “From the Chevron Skyline to The Playroom, Bombay Rock, The Rose and Crown, and the Coolangatta Hotel, music has been at the heart of our surf culture and played a huge role in shaping the city into the global tourist destination it is today. “But over the years, many beloved music venues have disappeared due to urban development, leaving a clear gap for indoor live music spaces.” “The transformation of the Transit Centre into a music and community venue is another key step in making Surfers Paradise an even more vibrant, cultural, and exciting place…[and] will bring fresh energy to the area, reconnecting locals with the heart of Surfers Paradise and reinforcing its status as an iconic destination for live entertainment.” ▲ A rendering of the planned adaptive reuse of the transit centre as a live music venue. Judd said the project’s detailed design phase had confirmed that “with some smart modifications and a strategic expansion—including selective demolition—the existing Surfers Paradise Transit Centre can be adaptively reused and transformed into a versatile venue … that meets the critical size and specifications required by promoters and touring artists”. “This flexible space can be easily adapted for different events, from live music and cabaret performances to banquets, exhibitions, and even a potential Hall of Fame—celebrating the Gold Coast’s rich musical history,” he said. “Beyond live music … [the venue] has the potential to offer even more, with the inclusion of co-working spaces or creative industry studios. These would provide a hub for collaboration, fostering new opportunities for local businesses and artists in related industries.” Judd said with the commitment by the City of Gold Coast to extend the lifespan of the asset by another 50 years, modifications to basement carparking have also been considered in the design. The move to relife the Surfers Paradise Transit Centre as a live music venue comes as an increasing number of local councils around the country plug into music urbanism —the catchphrase for an urban planning strategy—through the creation of designated Special Entertainment Precincts. Two decades ago, Australia’s first designated Special Entertainment Precinct was created in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, where live music-loving builder Scott Hutchinson subsequently pumped $45 million into building what he calls his “temple”—Fortitude Music Hall. Similar precincts have since been established in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast and the Southport CBD on the Gold Coast as well as across Sydney.

City Recasts Surfers Paradise Bus Station as Music Venue

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