Star hits the ground running as it kick-starts construction of new hotel
When The Star Entertainment Group said it was fast-tracking a new $400 million, 63-storey tower at the Gold Coast, continuing the massive overhaul of the Broadbeach Island on which the casino sits, they werenāt kidding.
Star and its joint venture partners today broke ground on the new five-star hotel and apartment tower more than a year ahead of schedule and just three weeks after announcing construction would be accelerated to be ready for when international tourism demand returned.
The start of work on the new tower lifts Starās current investments in south east Queensland to almost $4.5 billion.
The new tower, expected to be operated by the Marriott Groupās premium W Hotel brand, joins the under-construction Dorsett Hotel and the luxury all-suite The Darling hotel to eventually create four hotel options for visitors to the Gold Coast casino resort.
The Star Entertainment Group CEO Matt Bekier said the Gold Coast development would be expanded to the size of Brisbaneās Queenās Wharf
āThat says one thing. It says that we have unbelievable confidence that tourism is going to come back and that Queensland, and particularly south east Queensland will continue to be the engine room of tourism in Australia,ā Bekier said.
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āThatās why we are betting a lot of money and a lot of our future on these developments.ā
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Starās investment was a vote of confidence in Queensland.
āItās a vote of confidence in the tourism industry, itās a vote of confidence in the construction industry, but itās also a vote of confidence in the people of this state,ā she said.
Sydney and Melbourne buyers have dominated pre-sales in the new Gold Coast towers, continuing a trend of interstate migration that is contributing to a construction boom.
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Palasszczuk said Queensland had experienced a positive net migration of around 7,000 people between October and December 2020, and expected the domestic trend of people moving north from southern states to continue.
Star Chairman John OāNeill said the past 12 months had been challenging, but Queenslandās smashed tourism industry would recover.Ā āThe Gold Coast will remain Australiaās tourism diamond,ā OāNeill said.
The Star is also progressing the $3.6 billion Queenās Wharf development in Brisbane, together with partners Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium.
Both major developments are expected to appeal to the Groupās target market, in which they have strategically moved away from the high-roller market to what it refers to as āpremium massā business.
No integrated resort in Australia currently boasts four hotels.
The Star Gold Coast and Queenās Wharf Brisbane will reach that landmark once the current under-construction hotels are completed in 2024.
However, the Gold Coast has the capacity for another three hotels, taking it to a total of seven, under its masterplan approved by the State Government in 2018.
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