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THE Star has secured approval to build a $500 million 4.5 star hotel at Jupiters Hotel and Casino as part of the ongoing redevelopment of the property, which could include a further four towers.
Construction is expected to start in 2017, subject to successful apartment pre-sales and will take three years.
The development is a joint venture between The Star, and Chow Tai Food and Far East Consortium.
The Queensland Government's approval of the project comes as construction of the new 17-storey 6 star hotel on the same property reaches its half-way mark.
The Star has invested $850 million at the Broadbeach site to increase accommodation to almost 1,400 rooms, generate 1,000 construction jobs and increase Jupiters' workforce to around 2,300 employees once operational.
The tower will provide the property's first residential apartments - of its 700 "keys", just 300 will be hotel rooms that will offer a lower price point for guests compared to the existing five-star and new six-star hotels. It will also include a day spa, restaurant and bar.
Matt Bekier, managing director and CEO of The Star Entertainment Group, says The Star has "great confidence" in the tourism outlook for Queensland, where it is making a $3 billion investment in Jupiters and its planned Queen's Wharf Brisbane.
"With increasing visitation forecasts out of Asia and China, together with strong domestic tourism figures, Queensland is well-placed to capture this growth but needs enhanced tourism product to meet the demand," says Bekier.
The Star managing director Queensland, Geoff Hogg, says the transformation of the casino and resort, which will culminate in the rebrand to The Star Gold Coast, is progressing well.
The resort that is already under construction is on schedule to open ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the refurbishment of the existing hotel is almost finished.
"By the end of the year, we'll have completed the refurbishment of the almost 600 rooms in the existing 31-year-old hotel, together with the addition of new food and beverage outlets," says Hogg.
The company is also looking to improve connections between the nearby Pacific Fair shopping centre and the surrounding Broadbeach precinct as part of the masterplan it released earlier this year.
"If approved, our master plan would create a seamless flow of phased developments to provide the ultimate dining, retail, recreation, and gaming experiences in the Gold Coast," says Hogg.
"It would ensure our current projects complement and support our longer-term investment plans, with overall design that achieves the right mix of accommodation and leisure offerings and, importantly, improves connectivity throughout the local Broadbeach precinct."
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