Global luxury retail giant sues Queen’s Wharf Brisbane before opening

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Less than 3 months earlier Queen’s Wharf is owed to commencement welcoming radical to its 12.8 hectare tract successful the Brisbane CBD, determination are questions implicit the presumption of its promised luxury retail buying precinct.

The Destination Brisbane Consortium down the $4 cardinal analyzable announced successful 2021 that luxury retail elephantine DFS would beryllium an anchor tenant, alongside Star casino, and assistance pull tourists done its relation with question and duty-free goods.

An artist’s content of the Luxe Box, portion of a promised high-end retail precinct astatine Queen’s Wharf Brisbane.

DFS, portion of the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton conglomerate, was expected to person a T Galleria successful a restored three-level practice gathering connected George Street, and spot luxury brands successful 16 different retail spaces successful the complex. The consortium boasted the DFS woody – for 6000 quadrate metres of level abstraction – would make a “jaw-dropping luxury buying precinct”.

At the time, DFS described itself arsenic “the exclusive retailer successful Queen’s Wharf Brisbane” and said it expected to commencement welcoming customers successful precocious 2022. While determination is already a Louis Vuitton store connected Queen Street successful Brisbane, the institution was inactive readying a 2nd store adjacent arsenic the Queen’s Wharf opening day was being pushed back.

But DFS past week launched ineligible enactment against the consortium successful the Supreme Court – details of the assertion are presently confidential – and neither enactment would accidental whether DFS would inhabit abstraction successful the complex.

Construction continues connected the Luxe Box and three-story retail analyzable astatine Queen’s Wharf Brisbane. It was meant to unfastened successful precocious 2022.

“Destination Brisbane Consortium has beardown involvement from retailers to beryllium portion of Brisbane’s astir anticipated tourism and amusement precinct and we are progressing caller and breathtaking opportunities,” a consortium spokesperson said, without answering circumstantial questions astir the destiny of DFS.

The consortium is simply a associated task of The Star Entertainment Group, which runs casinos successful Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney, and Hong Kong-based partners Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises. It has promised to unfastened Queen’s Wharf successful stages from August.

Follow-up questions to the consortium went unanswered, nevertheless the Queen’s Wharf website has been changed to region notation to a T Galleria. The consortium is present lone promising a “luxury section store” successful The Printery building, and is inactive unfastened to leasing inquiries.

DFS spokesperson Mackie Chan did not reply questions astir the company’s plans and said it was argumentation not to remark connected “ongoing litigation”.

Local lawyers for DFS did not instrumentality calls, and the consortium spokesperson would not remark connected the claim, different than to accidental it would respond successful court.

The lawsuit comes aft the consortium settled a abstracted suit from builder Multiplex implicit plan changes and delays to the project. That was expected to outgo the consortium up to $170 million.

Star is besides awaiting a authorities authorities decision, owed May 31, connected whether it would support its Queensland casino licences. It had already paid $100 cardinal successful fines for mediocre firm behaviour and faced further civilian penalties, amid an ongoing NSW inquiry.

In its latest marketplace update, Star reported a 10 per cent driblet successful revenue for Treasury casino successful Brisbane – which inactive raked successful $177.6 cardinal successful six months – owed to steps taken to woody with occupation gamblers, specified arsenic exclusions and time restrictions, and accrued contention from pubs and clubs.

Queen’s Wharf is acceptable to alteration the confederate extremity of the CBD, aided by Cross River Rail and the operation of a caller Albert Street station, owed to unfastened successful 2026. The analyzable volition beryllium connected to South Bank via the Neville Bonner Bridge, and person a entity deck, leisure deck, ballroom, restaurants, bars, apartments and edifice rooms.

While determination has been speculation Myer mightiness unfastened a flagship store astatine Queen’s Wharf, the institution has made nary specified announcements. Myer has been looking for a suitable tract to instrumentality to the CBD, aft vacating the Queen Street Mall buying centre present known arsenic Uptown.

The casino’s pending determination from the Treasury buildings to the caller analyzable has besides near uncertainty implicit a immense agelong of George Street, betwixt the promenade and Queen’s Wharf. A erstwhile woody to merchantability the heritage-listed buildings that presently location the casino and edifice did not proceed, and the agents person yet to denote caller buyers oregon item their plans for the sites.

DFS was co-founded by the precocious American billionaire philanthropist Chuck Feeney, who donated hundreds of millions of dollars to enactment Queensland’s biotechnology sector.