What Happened to Southport?

WORDS: Wildcat PHOTOGRAPHY Patrick Ryan @unsplash

Once the corporate heart of the Gold Coast, Southport now faces its toughest test – can it be revived, or has the city’s CBD been left behind

Once touted as the business heart of the Gold Coast – the corporate pulse of the city – Southport is now struggling, a rundown shadow of its former self.
Worse, it’s not the sort of place you want to be after dark, amid a homelessness crisis that is damaging the suburb’s image.

For more than 30 years, the Gold Coast City Council has been reheating master plan after master plan to rejuvenate Southport and transform it into the city’s economic powerhouse. It has failed n several key levels.

First, the council has been unable to attract key developers to seriously consider reshaping the CBD. Second, it has not engaged the local business community to be part of such a vision.

Third, it has failed to secure support from successive State Governments – predominantly Labor – to bring in the necessary government departments to breathe new life into the precinct.

For example, where is the commitment to a Supreme and Federal Court jurisdiction?
Where is the local cathedral, Catholic or Anglican, which would then enable the Mayor to be a Lord Mayor, not just a Mayor?
Why is the Department of Tourism not based on the Gold Coast?

These are legitimate questions that haven’t been properly answered by local, state, and federal representatives over many decades.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The Gold Coast City Council has wisely set up a business investment arm, known as Invest Gold Coast, whose main charter is to bring big business to the city. That includes striking up joint ventures with companies aimed at rejuvenating parts of the city, including Surfers Paradise, Bundall, and Southport.

It’s a high-powered organisation, headed by former Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman. Other high-profile board members include businesswoman Katie Page, developer Soheil Abedian, and leisure operator Gary Weiss, as well as Mayor Tom Tate and council CEO Tim Baker.

One of its first major economic drivers is the proposed Gold Coast Arena at Southport, which will be a destination for international touring artists, sports, entertainment, and major cultural events. A formal global expressions-of-interest process has just begun for the 12,000-seat stadium.

Invest Gold Coast believes the stadium will kick-start the revitalisation of Southport and give investors the confidence to secure sites and build world-class developments.

This is the new paradigm in government–private enterprise partnerships. Experience Gold Coast is another perfect vehicle for helping to put the Gold Coast, and Southport, on the map. It is making huge strides in promoting the city and its latest campaign is a winner.

The council has a golden opportunity to realise the potential of major suburbs such as Southport, Surfers Paradise, Coomera, and Robina.

It must be bold and visionary in its approach to the next decade. Invest Gold Coast is well-placed to champion that message.