Paradise Centre
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Location | Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia |
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Coordinates | 28°00′09″S 153°25′47″E / 28.00240°S 153.42982°E |
Address | 2 Cavill Ave, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 |
Opening date | January 1981 |
Management | Elanor Investors Group |
Owner | Challenger Group |
No. of stores and services | 90+ |
No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
Total retail floor area | 23,609 m2 (254,125 sq ft) |
No. of floors | 3 |
Parking | 460 spaces |
Public transit access | ![]() |
Website | paradisecentre |
Paradise Centre is a shopping centre in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, Queensland. It is located in the tourist district on Cavill Avenue.[1]
Transport
[edit]Cavill Avenue Station on the G:link light rail line is just outside Paradise Centre and provides tram connections north to the Gold Coast University Hospital via Main Beach and Southport and south to Broadbeach South.
History
[edit]20th Century
[edit]Mid 1970s: purchase of land
[edit]Paradise Centre is built on land that were originally occupied by the Surfers Paradise Hotel, Paradise Shopping Court and the beachfront section between Hanlan Street and Cavill Avenue.
Australian property developer Eddie Kornhauser purchased the sites in 1975 and spent the rest of the decade designing the complex.[2]
The Surfers Paradise Hotel which opened in the 1920s was built Jim Cavill. It was located on the corner of Cavill Avenue and Surfers Paradise Boulevard.
The Paradise Shopping Court was a small shopping arcade that featured a 36-hole mini golf course and an open carpark that backed out onto the beer garden.
The beachfront section between Hanlan Street and Cavill Avenue was jointly owned by the Crown and Gold Coast City Council. Eddie Kornhauser purchased the lease from The Crown and Gold Coast City Council for 50 years to build the centre in return for building a new surf lifesaving club and pedestrian bridge across the esplanade.[3]
1980s opening
[edit]The first stage of the $58 million project opened in December 1980 on the former Paradise Court and beachfront site. It featured 65 specialty stores, a water wall and a glass lift. As part of the agreement a new surf live saving club and a pedestrian bridge linking the centre to the beach was built. Above the centre features two residential towers known as Ballah and Allunga which opened in December 1981. The centrepiece of the complex was Grundy's which opened on 14 March 1981. The Reg Grundy Leisure Organisation paid $5.5 million for a 22-year lease on two floors of the centre.
Since its opening Grundy's was pitched as “The greatest fun event the world has known since America’s Disneyland”. The iconic 17 metre high waterslides opened on 11 April 1981 and was featured in the music video for Australian Crawl's song Errol in 1981. Grundy's also featured a Go-Gator green roller coaster, dodgem cars, mini-golf, a carousel, shooting gallery and many rides and games.[4][5] As well as its ride and games Grundy's also featured a 480-seater international food court known as “Olde Englishe Village” and featured cuisine from China, Germany and Britain and as well as Chuck E. Cheese (known as Charlie Cheese's Pizza Playhouse) which opened on 20 March 1981 and closed and relocated to Carindale in 1982.[6]
In 1983, the Surfers Paradise Hotel and neighbouring Sea Breeze Motel was demolished and the final stage of the project opened in 1985 and included a 406 room Ramada Hotel building, new Surfers Paradise Hotel, Surfers Paradise Beergarden, Birdwatchers Bar, Safeway supermarket (rebranded to Woolworths in the 1990s) and many specialty stores.[7]
The Ramada Hotel was purchased for $47.5 million in 1986 by the Japanese tourism group, the Kokusai Motorcar Company. In December 1988 they also purchase Paradise Centre below for $170 million.
In 1987 the famous waterslides at Grundy's were closed and removed. In June 1993, the vice president of leisure and administration of Grundy's Organisation Robert Graham announced the closure of Grundy's which closed down in September 1993.[8] Timezone which took over the lease opened in 1993 and is the largest the Timezone in the world.[9]
The Birdwatchers Bar closed in March 1995 and was replaced by Hard Rock Cafe which opened on 22 March 1996.[10] In 1997 the Surfers Paradise Tenpin Bowling Centre opened.
The Ramada Hotel was rebranded to Courtyard by Marriott in early 1999.[11]
2000s
[edit]In March 2000, MCS Property of Melbourne had purchased the Paradise Centre for $88 million from Kokusai Motorcar Company with the deal finalised by May 2000.
In 2006, Paradise Centre was sold to Centro for $88 million and it rebranded as Centro Surfers Paradise. After many previous failed sale attempts, Centro Surfers Paradise was finally sold to Challenger Group for $162.5 million in 2012 and the centre was rebranded back to Paradise Centre.[12][13][14]
On 22 July 2019, Timezone closed for refurbishment and reopened on 9 November 2019.[15][16] This refurbishment includes a 200m² bumper car track (known as Spin Zone), a high-end laser tag arena, glow-in-the-dark minigolf course, a new prize shop, cafe and as well as over 300 of the latest arcade games.[17] This 5000m² Timezone is still the largest in the world.[18]
On 22 March 2021, Hard Rock Cafe celebrated its 25th birthday with performers Jimmy Barnes, Shannon Noll and Thirsty Merc there.[19] However just weeks after the anniversary the restaurant closed down over dispute between the restaurant’s international arm and management of the centre.[20] The famous 17m-tall guitar was removed on 7 March 2023.[21]
The Surfers Paradise Tenpin Bowling Centre was refurbished in 2021 and rebranded to Zone Bowling. It opened on 23 December 2021 and features 12 lanes.[22]
The area fronting The Esplanade was in a 'run-down' state and in need of refurbishment during the 2010s. In October 2020, Gold Coast City Council voted to replace Challenger Group's lease which was due to expire in 2031 with a new lease set to expire in 2050. As part of the deal is that redevelopment must begin within 12 months of the lease being finalized and a facelift of the centre is required every 10 years. The council’s rent on the site has increased from $26,000 to $420,000 annually.[23]
In July 2021, work had begun on the area fronting The Esplanade with demolition of the derelict section of the beachfront and the $30 million replacement.[24] The development took two years to complete and officially opened on 9 September 2022.[25] It featured a “world-class” public plaza, with million-dollar views of Surfers Paradise. Eight new dining retailers including TGI Fridays and Wahlburgers opened in the two-level beachside dining precinct. Also opened were Maniax Axe Throwing, Freak VR and Padlock'd Escape on level one.[26] The eastern section of Paradise Centre was refurbished and featured new retailers including Baku Swimwear, Rip Curl and Stateside Sports alongside the recently launched Surf Dive N’ Ski and Vans.[27][28][29]
On 14 June 2024, The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines microbrewery sports pub opened in the former space of Hard Rock Cafe.[30][31]
On 15 January 2025, American fast-food restaurant Wendy's opened its first ever store in Australia on Cavill Avenue.[32][33][34]
Tenants
[edit]Paradise Centre has 23,609m² of floor space. The major retailers include Woolworths, Timezone, The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines, Surfers Paradise Beer Garden, Maniax Axe Throwing, Freak VR and Padlock'd Escape.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Paradise Centre". Elanor Investors Group. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ "EDDIE KORNHAUSER". Australian Financial Review. 6 April 1990. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ Potts, Andrew (13 January 2021). "Paradise Centre: 40 years since Surfers Paradise shopping centre opened". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ "Coast's first theme parks". Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ "Gold Coast remembers Reg Grundy". Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ studies, local (1 December 2017). "Grundy's Entertainment Centre". Gold Coast City Libraries. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ 7thVision (31 March 2016). "Surfers Paradise Hotel". Gold Coast City Libraries. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Potts, Andrew (17 June 2018). "Flashback: 25 years since the Gold Coast said goodbye to iconic Grundy's Entertainment centre in Surfers Paradise". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/.
- ^ "Play at the biggest entertainment centre in Australia!". www.timezonegames.com. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ Potts, Andrew (21 March 2021). "Hard Rock Cafe Surfers Paradise: Secrets and valuable memorabilia revealed on 25th anniversary". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ "Grundy's Entertainment Centre, Cavill Avenue, Surfers Paradise. | Passing Time". Patreon. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ Challenger acquires Centro Surfers Paradise Mall for $162.5 million Property Observer 20 January 2013
- ^ "Challenger acquires Centro Surfers Paradise Mall for $162.5 million". Urban.com.au. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ Paradise Centre up for sale The Australian 26 August 2015
- ^ "Home". TEEG. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "Timezone Surfers Paradise enters new era". gcmag.com.au. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ Paraskevos, Kate (9 November 2019). "Timezone Surfers Paradise officially reopens this weekend after extensive renovations". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "Home". TEEG. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "Hard Rock Cafe Surfers Paradise to celebrate 25 years of burgers, beers, music and memories RED CARPET: 5pm to 7pm". Mirage News. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
- ^ Potts and Fellows, Andrew and Taylah (2 May 2022). "Gold Coast Hard Rock Cafe closes doors after more than 25 years". www.couriermail.com.au/. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
- ^ Potts and Fox, Andrew and Crystall (8 March 2023). "Hard Rock Cafe Surfers Paradise: Giant guitar removed from Paradise Centre a year after closure". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
- ^ "Zone Bowling". Hello Gold Coast. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ Potts, Andrew (28 October 2020). "Gold Coast development: Paradise Centre Surfers Paradise redevelopment goes ahead after council vote". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Potts, Andrew (4 July 2021). "Gold Coast development: Construction begins on Paradise Centre's $30m redevelopment plans revealed". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ "In pictures: Paradise Centre's official opening". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ Belinda (2 August 2022). "MANIAX Axe Throwing opens at Paradise Centre". Inside Gold Coast. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ "Paradise Centre to unveil beachside dining precinct next month". www.shoppingcentrenews.com.au/. 15 August 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Paradise Centre set to open Beachfront dining precinct". gcmag.com.au. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ Belinda (28 August 2022). "Sound the alarm – Paradise Centre 2.0 is coming!". Inside Gold Coast. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ Jansen, Ashleigh (13 June 2024). "The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines Brewery opens in Surfers Paradise". www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ward, Sarah (17 June 2024). "Now Open: The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines Is the New 1000-Person Brewpub in Surfers Paradise's Old Hard Rock Cafe". Concrete Playground. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ "Cult US burger chain opens first Aussie store". news. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ Ward, Sarah (23 January 2025). "Now Open: US Burger Chain Wendy's Has Opened Its First-Ever Australian Store on the Gold Coast". Concrete Playground. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ "Wendy's Opens First Australian Location on the Gold Coast". gcmag.com.au. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.