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Queen Street Mall may look very different soon, with developers planning to demolish parts of the Wintergarden – including its distinctive butterfly exterior – as part of a redevelopment of the site.
IFM Investors lodged their proposal for the redevelopment of the Wintergarden and Intercontinental Hotel late last month.
Three retail levels under the hotel will be demolished and rebuilt into two floors connecting Queen Street and Elizabeth Street.
“The development will deliver a carefully curated mix of retail offerings designed to activate the streetscape and enhance the public realm, reinforcing the identity of Queen Street Mall as the premier retail precinct in Brisbane,” the development documents said.
The steel screen on the building front Queen Street, including its butterflies, will be demolished. A similar screen from the side of the building fronting Edward Street will also be demolished.
The butterflies, with programmed LED lighting, were added when the site was redeveloped in 2012.
Renders of the plans show a sleek glass and concrete design taking its place, using the existing but currently concealed facade. This facade will be restored and improved.
The wing between the Tattersalls Building and Embassy Hotel will not be altered under the plans, nor will the hotel floors, but the hotel’s port cochere will be reconfigured to create a new tenancy fronting Elizabeth Street.
The InterContinental Brisbane reopened a year ago, rebranded from Hilton Hotel.
The building at 190 Elizabeth Street, which backs on to Queen Street Mall, was designed by architect Harry Seidler and opened in 1987.
Documents attached to the plans also reveal IFM plans to establish office accommodation over the redeveloped Wintergarden mall, and construct a new hotel, office accommodation and residential apartment tower over the vacant site on Elizabeth Street.
This vacant site is the old Regent Theatre, which was demolished in 2011 and 2012. Plans were previously submitted for the site in 2023.
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