Howard Smith Wharves development to breathe new life into Brisbane river
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May 11, 2018
Howard Smith Wharves development to breathe new life into Brisbane river
Brisbane's derelict Howard Smith Wharves site will soon be unrecognisable, with the development of the $200 million riverside restaurant and hotel complex underway.
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Supplied: Howard Smith WharvesPictured: An artists impression of the site -
Supplied: Howard Smith WharvesPictured: An artists impression of the site -
Supplied: Brisbane City CouncilPictured: An artists impression of the site -
Supplied: Brisbane City CouncilPictured: An artists impression of the site -
Supplied: Brisbane City CouncilPictured: An artists impression of the site
The brains behind the development, Adam Flaskas and his sister-in-law Elisha Bickle have big plans for Brisbane's riverside.
Flaskas, the Director for the Howard Smith Wharves development, told WILLIAMS MEDIA he's passionate about bringing sites like the wharves back to life.
"I'm a local and I've lived and worked in New Farm and Fortitude Valley for 20 years now and I love heritage buildings and derelict sites. My specialty is basically taking under-utilized sites and bringing them back to life and creating businesses within them as well," he said.
The vision is to create a new riverside precinct loved by Brisbane's residents and visitors. And if the plans are anything to go by, it will be.
The plans for the development include open public spaces for festivals and markets, a 5 star boutique hotel, parkland and open spaces with access to the cliffs, a 1,500sqm exhibition space and world class dining facilities headed up by some of Australia's finest chefs.
"The concept and development we're building is something that will be here for the people of Brisbane to enjoy for the next sixty, seventy, eighty years. We've chosen long-term decisions to make it as good as we possibly can. We feel so humbled to be able to work with the council and this site to create an entertainment precinct for the locals and tourists to enjoy.
Flaskas cites a brewery in London as his main inspiration behind the project.
"I've loved the wharves site for a long time and a friend of mine had started a brewery in London, Camden Town Brewery, years ago and he told me all about his journey. That was one of the main bits of inspiration when I was looking for a site to build a brewery. This site became available and I thought it was a perfect location.
"I was also looking for a site in Brisbane for larger events and in the end, all of those things were able to be done on the one site," he said.
The historic wharf buildings on the site, dating back to the pre-1940's Port of Brisbane, which have been sitting unused for the last 20 years, will be lovingly restored. During construction of the site, which is currently underway, five historic air-raid shelters have been uncovered, dating back to 1941 and 1942.
Flaskas told WILLIAMS MEDIA he wants to embrace the natural beauty of the cliffs the site already has to offer.
"The philosophy from the start was to keep aura the site already has and enhance it by a less-is-more approach, working with the old heritage buildings and trying not to do too much to them, so they keep that unique feel.
"We're bringing them back to life by putting in restaurants, bars, cafes, a brewery, coffee roastery and everything about food and drink into those spaces.
"We're super excited at the opportunity to build something for Brisbane, by Brisbane," Flaskas said.
Visit the Howard Smith Wharves website to learn more about this exciting redevelopment.
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