BRISBANE’S NEW MEDIA HUB

Australian media giant News Corp has confirmed plans that it will be developing a $2 billion "world-class innovation and media hub" in Brisbane's Bowen Hills.

Brisbane's property industry had been awash with speculation of the development, which has been in the pipeline since 2015.

The proposed urban redevelopment, Millennium Square will take up the company’s current four-hectare base in Bowen Hills, which has been the company's Brisbane base for the past 50 years.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) is leading the Millenium Square project as News Corp starts the process of securing a joint venture partner.

The Millenium Square project will add another billion-dollar project to the wave of major development and infrastructure projects in Queensland's capital.

Architecture firm Archipelago said that the end result will be an extension of the Brisbane CBD and provide “a highly desirable lifestyle and residential precinct”. The "city within a city" masterplan will include a state-of-the-art multimedia hub, residential towers, lifestyle and entertainment facilities and a one-hectare public garden.

PwC managing director Rob Cavallucci told The Urban Developer that the project presents a unique opportunity to create a new, world-class digital media and innovation precinct where media leaders, partners, collaborators, start-ups, educators and other allied new knowledge industries will coalesce.

"The opportunity with Millennium Square was to take a location that was iconic and create a world class precinct," Cavallucci said.

"With the commercial opportunity underpinned by News Corp Australia’s long-term commitment to the site the precinct will be complemented by high-quality residential [and] lifestyle and entertainment facilities surrounding a one-hectare landscaped public realm which provides a multitude of different experiences for its community, offering a series of connected open spaces which encourage people to stop, interact and engage."

Millennium Square will comprise 44,000sqm of commercial space and around 42,000sqm of retail. There is expected to be seven residential towers in total, providing up to 1700 rooms across along with a 187-room hotel. The entire hub will eventually link with the redeveloped Bowen Hills train station.

Construction of Millennium Square’s first stage could start by the end of next year, which would include the commercial section of the precinct. The remaining residential and retail elements are earmarked for a 2021-2022 start.