Double Milestone: The Sky Deck at Queen’s Wharf Brisbane tops out at The Star Grand hotel

Double Milestone: The Sky Deck at Queen’s Wharf Brisbane tops out at The Star Grand Hotel

• Sky Deck completed with final section engineered into place 100m above the Brisbane River
• Sky Deck tops out The Star Brisbane’s luxury 5-star, 340 room The Star Grand hotel
• The Star Brisbane Chief Operating Officer Kelvin Dodt labels the double milestone a ‘defining’ moment for the $3.6 billion transformational Queen’s Wharf Brisbane

The third and final section of the iconic Sky Deck at Queen’s Wharf Brisbane has been masterfully engineered into place 100m above the Brisbane River, transforming the skyline of the Olympic city.

The connection of the striking 250m long crescent shaped Sky Deck, offering spectacular views from the CBD to Moreton Bay and Mt Coot-tha, also tops out The Star Brisbane’s luxury 5-star hotel, The Star Grand.

The centrepiece of the $3.6 billion riverside tourism development, the open-air rooftop Sky Deck is a first for Brisbane, open 365 days a year for up to 1,500 people with a signature restaurant, all day casual dining, a hero bar and a sky-high events space.

A glass floor viewing platform at the mid-way mark will further enhance the vista and photo opportunities for the millions of locals and international tourists who will visit the landmark location every year.

The $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development is being delivered by Destination Brisbane Consortium – a joint venture led by The Star Entertainment Group, alongside its Hong Kong based partners, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium, creative thousands of jobs including close to 2,000 construction workers on site at peak and thousands through supply chains.

Queen’s Wharf Brisbane will transform the CBD with four new luxury hotels, including The Star Grand, more than 50 new restaurant and bars, around 1,500 residential apartments and more than 12 football fields of public space including stunning art works and the restoration of nine heritage buildings.

It is the first development in Brisbane to be awarded the coveted 6-star Green Star Communities rating in recognition of its social, environmental, and economic sustainability designs that will benefit locals and future visitors to this world-class integrated resort development.

1.4 million additional tourists are expected to visit Brisbane each year when the development commences a staged opening from April 2024.

Quotes to be attributed to Chief Operating Officer of The Star Brisbane, Kelvin Dodt

“The double milestone is a ‘defining moment’ for the transformational Brisbane project.”

“This is a special and long anticipated moment for Queen’s Wharf and The Star Brisbane but more widely it is a game changer for Brisbane and Queensland tourism.”

“This will become one of the city’s most recognisable skyscapes elevating Brisbane’s already growing international reputation as a must-visit destination ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

“Just as importantly, Sky Deck will be for the people of Brisbane as a vibrant public space to enjoy day and night, whether for important occasions, a casual catch up or just to take in the views.”

“We are well underway with the internal fit out of The Star Grand hotel, which will offer direct access to one of the city’s largest ballrooms and other new, exciting entertainment, dining and tourism spaces as part of the integrated resort.”

“Our city and Queen’s Wharf was featured in TIME as one of the 100 world’s greatest places of 2023, alongside the pyramids of Egypt and Barcelona, so The Star is thrilled to be further focussing the spotlight on Brisbane and our great state.”

Quotes to be attributed to Acting Premier Steven Miles:

“The Sky Deck is poised to become a tourist magnet as the centrepiece of the world-class Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development, so to be here to mark this milestone is great.

“As we move closer toward the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, all eyes will be on this city and it’s developments like this that will attract even more people to town to get their picture on the glass floor viewing platform, to visit a restored heritage building or have dinner overlooking Brisbane.

“Seeing the finished Sky Deck is extra special, as the completed deck is made from Australian steel, manufactured just up the road at Beenleigh.

“The massive Queen’s Wharf Brisbane project is delivering nearly 2,000 jobs during peak construction and 8,000 jobs in total including through the supply chain and hospitality once it’s open.”

Quotes to be attributed to Destination Brisbane Consortium Project Director, Simon Crooks

“The consortium team is proud to be delivering a one-of-a-kind, world class precinct.”

“It’s wonderful to see the design come to fruition after three complex, heavy engineering lifts and installations.”

“More than one quarter of a million cubic metres of concrete has gone into constructing Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, all strengthened with more than 22,000 tonnes of steel.”

“With 375 tonnes of steel lifted into place to complete the final piece of Brisbane’s newest attraction, we will now focus on completing the Sky Deck structure and hospitality features that sit on the upper terrace of the Sky Deck as well as the internals of The Star Grand hotel.”

Construction Facts

• The Sky Deck was lifted in three parts
• The first lift was on 14 September 2022 and the second lift on 6 March 2023
• Sky Deck total 725 tonnes of steel

Steel used to date (not including the Neville Bonner Bridge):

• Structural steel: 7,200 tonnes
• Reo: 15,400 tonnes
• (Story bridge has 13,400 tonnes in total)
• The structural steel is Australian made and manufactured in Beenleigh, South East Queensland

Weight of Sky Deck structures:

• First Sky Deck link section:150 tonnes
• Second Sky Deck link section: 220 tonnes
• Third Sky Deck link section: 375 tonnes
• More than one-quarter of a million cubic metres of concrete has gone into constructing Queen’s Wharf Brisbane all strengthened with more than 22,000 tonnes of steel

Method:

• The Sky Deck has three separate spans that were lifted into place using a strand-jacking technique to connect to all four towers to the platform.
• 60 strand-jacks were used in total for the three lifts.
• Multiplex engaged the same heavy lifting specialists that worked on Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands for the installation.

Concrete used to date:

• 215,000 m3 out of 220,000m3 total (or 97% of concrete has been poured for the integrated resort excluding QW Residences tower)

Employees onsite at present:

• 1,500, at peak close to 2,000

For more information

Karryn Wheelans, Head of Media, The Star Entertainment Group, +61 431 141 009

Graham Witherspoon, Stakeholder & Communications Manager, Destination Brisbane Consortium, +61 424 435 345.