Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 10 : Record of press coverage, March 1982 - May 1984

,r --- Th e Weekend Australian 21 May 1983 1----- Brisbane pins its hopes I on Expo '88 go-ahead BRISBANE is moving into top gear to be host city for the $140 million Expo '88, with the South Brisbane Stanley Street river frontage promoted as the likely site. A submission to Paris next 111onth is expected to end long– standing speculation over the future of this large tract of Brisbane's most valuable and as yet unexploited real estate. which looks directly onto the city itself. si te with easy access to lacl11- ties capable of providini: Lht• social. business and recrea– tional needs of the severa l mil– lion visitors expected to a tLrnd during the Expo's six-month life. The anticipated South Bris– bane site was just one ol sev– eral in the city and surround– ing areas inspected by rrpre– sentatives of the Bureau and · their Queensland hosts last. month. lrve l otrkrs dc,u111g Bnsbant• , city's skyl111r 1hr Pan.~ drc1- 1 sion cou lcl :;ounrl t ha111!r-s a/ lltl ft• C'IOSN t,i h IIIP Th e dec1s1C•11 , oulrl :ib,) 111pa11 a1 las1 , •·~ol•:1J1i, the 111rect1011 n1 1.i1.1n · ?.<Jllll,i! tor Lhe i111 ml'rl1a1,, ::C:•111111 Brishane area 111a11.v n·ga1·r1 ~~ flu• ,·11y\ counte rpart 1111-rrn11·th a11,1 cJe- 1•elop111p111 p<otPnLJal to Syd– nry·s c01n1111 •rl'1a! lowrr North For the Queensland State Government and the Tourist Bureau the June 15 submis1 sion to the Paris-based Inter– national Bureau of Exposi– tions marks the culmination of intense lobbying to site the projected $140 million Expo '88 in Brisbane. Among proposals linked to the Expo are a 500-room inter– national hotel, up to 70,000 sq m or indoor exhibition space and indoor amphitheatre seating for 6000. All this and more on ·a 40ha Shore. While the mooted develop– ment cost of the project. in– cluding possible land acquisi– tion, has resulted in a lack or counter bids from other States '- and a certain caution on the part of the Federal Govern– ment - Brisbane co-ordina– tors have few doubts about tlw Expo's viability. If c11n, 0 111 ., p1·culat1011 br.- 1 comes fa ct and Expo '8/J is ac– tually earmarkc>d lnr Brisbane Ril'r r ·s .\ OU th c>rn banks. iL will rc>quire the chan gr 111 tlu• ,·ur- rcnt 1-!'P neral industrial zoning which leadil1 1-r C/C'\'r.lopcrs believe i., long m·crclur. Or tor that matter its posi– tive impact, backed by the suc– cess of the Commonwealth Games, on any application by Brisbane to host the next Olympic Games. · The_v a rgue tl1at c,,mmercial development m Ll1(• prime Stanley and Gray Street regions betwce11 Captau, Cook , and Victoria briclges would be on ly minines Iron, Brisbane·.~ GPO and main cnmrnncial heart But for many property deve– lopers housed · in the multi- Furthrr. it ha., reart.1· access Lo the .southern frceway, we.~t via Coronation Drivr and horth across the Storey Bridge. More importantly, they note, are the significant changes in the industrial character·of the area resu ltin g in recent years from the const,ruction or the prestigious multJ -rnillion dol– lar Queensland ~rt Gallery and the n eighbor~IJut as Yet lllCOIT)plete, Perfor111ing Arts Centre bordPring Stanley Street itself. Yet despite Brisban" City Counc:11'.s apparent relu ctance to permit a ny form or new conunercial or residential ' development in Lhc a rea. 20- perch industrial site.~ are on the rnarkrt fo r about S200.000 upwards. s ugge~tlng buyers, -apprecia1,. thr arPa ·s poten tiat . •·