The Queen’s Wharf casino resort project aims to boost Brisbane’s tourism market. In addition to being home to a state-of-the-art casino and luxury hotels, the property will also feature a shopping centre that caters to all types of visitors. A promotional video for the development states: “New shopping experiences also rank high on our target visitors’ wish list.

Whether they are seeking highest quality premium or local artisans’ wares. From ultra-modern, new world boutiques to unique department stores in one of Brisbane’s most famous heritage buildings to explore riverside market stalls and popups”.

According to report in the Brisbane Times, the development will feature an underground shopping centre beneath the Queensland Treasury Building on Queen Street, running underneath Elizabeth Street and Queens Park. The first two floors of the development will be a department store which will lead visitors down into the underground shopping plaza.

The department store will be located in the Treasury Building – where the Treasury Casino currently lives. Echo Entertainment feels that this is a better use of the space, and aims to restyle the gambling venue as a high-class retail provider should the casino operator win the bid.

“When you step into the front steps of the Treasury Building, you walk into a department store, when you get over towards Elizabeth Street, you will go under Elizabeth Street and you flow right underneath Queens Park," says Geoff Hogg, Echo Entertainment's Queensland managing director. Echo Entertainment also aims to repurpose several other buildings in Queen’s Wharf.

For example, the old State Library on William Street will be made into a tourist centre. Currently, the Queensland's National Trust is located in the old Immigration Building, and Echo Entertainment would move it to the State Library. Then, the Immigration Building would be made into an entertainment complex featuring restaurants and bars that overlook the river.

The state government continues to weigh the options, considering whether Echo Entertainment or Crown Resorts should be granted the license to redevelop Queen’s Wharf. A decision is expected in just a few months.

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