Nearly a year after vacating its landmark Brisbane CBD home of 39 years, Hilton is heading west.
Vacant council land will become the site of a new Hilton hotel in Ipswich, as the global accommodation giant continues its push into Australia’s regions and suburbs through the rollout of its more affordable and smaller-scale Garden Inn brand.
The $53 million, 160-room hotel will be built by Rupert Yang – the same developer behind the yet-to-be-completed $50 million Hilton Garden Inn in Spring Hill, on the fringe of Brisbane’s CBD.
Since launching the Garden Inn brand in Australia in 2021, Hilton has opened three hotels – in Albany and Busselton in Western Australia, and in Darwin – and has announced the development of at least five more.
But four – including the Spring Hill offering and hotels planned for Kingswood in western Sydney, Box Hill and Bundoora in Melbourne’s middle suburbs – are yet to open their doors, with Hilton’s head of Australasia, Paul Hutton, pointing to the difficult construction climate.
“Across the industry, many hotel developments have experienced delays since the pandemic, largely due to well‑documented commercial construction and supply‑chain challenges that affected timelines for projects of all types,” Hutton said.
“While each hotel is delivered by an independent ownership group, we continue to work closely with our partners as their developments progress.”
Work at the Spring Hill site has resumed, with three basement levels and the ground-floor podium complete, and the third level due to be poured next week.
Yang, the developer behind the Spring Hill and Ipswich hotels, said his partnership with the Hilton brand remained strong.
“We are thrilled to be again partnering with Hilton to deliver the Hilton Garden Inn Ipswich,” he said.
“This will be a sister property to our Hilton Garden Inn Brisbane City Centre North and is a clear demonstration of the mutual trust and confidence that Ipswich Hotel Group and the Hilton management team have in each other.”
The Hilton has been granted a 50-year lease for council land, on Ellenborough Street next to the Nicholas Street Precinct, with two 25-year options to extend.
Construction is due to start late next year and finish in late 2028.
Hutton said Ipswich was an obvious choice for a Garden Inn.
“It’s exactly the kind of city where our brand thrives. With strong population growth, major infrastructure investment and a clear need for more quality accommodation, Ipswich is a natural fit for a hotel designed for dynamic urban and suburban markets,” he said.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the council had identified a shortfall of 310 hotel rooms in the region ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games, with the new Hilton set to meet half that demand.
The population in Ipswich, located just under an hour from Brisbane’s CBD, is expected to grow from 270,000 to 530,000 within the next 20 years.
Ipswich had more day trippers than Noosa in 2024, Harding said, with thousands of visitors attending the CMC Rocks Festival, Winternationals drag racing event, the Ipswich Cup and the Ipswich Show, as well as the Supercars at Queensland Raceway.
“We’re looking at how do we convert people to stay overnight and for the weekend, or a few extra nights,” Harding told 4BC Radio.
Hilton opted out of a management deal on its landmark Elizabeth Street hotel in Brisbane’s CBD after nearly 40 years in the location.
It vacated the Harry Seidler-designed building in March last year, after negotiations to extend its lease with landlord ISPT failed, making way for a new InterContinental Brisbane and a major redevelopment of the site.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
