Vicinity Centres is set to transform the George Street end of Queen Street Mall after moving to secure full ownership of Uptown in a $212 million deal.
Contracts are expected to be exchanged with co-owner IFM Investors by April, with settlement anticipated in June 2026, pending consent in relation to certain ancillary land rights. Vicinity, which has managed the site and held a 25 per cent stake since 2012, will then own the full 1.27-hectare site outright, spanning 63,025 square metres across six levels at the George Street end of Queen Street Mall.
The deal ends years of partial ownership and stalled planning that have left the centre hollowed out since its anchor tenant, Myer, closed its five-level flagship store in July 2023 after 35 years in the building. With sole ownership now within reach, Vicinity has laid out the most detailed vision yet for Uptown’s future, and Brisbane CBD residents and shoppers will be watching closely.
From the Myer Centre to Uptown: A Long Road
The centre opened on 28 March 1988, just ahead of Brisbane’s World Expo ’88, built on a block previously occupied by Hotel Carlton, Newspaper House and the Barry and Roberts department store. At its peak it housed 180 stores and a five-level Myer department store, the largest in Queensland, and also featured a Hoyts cinema complex and multiple food courts.
For many Brisbanites, the building also holds a particular memory: the Dragon Coaster, an indoor rollercoaster that sat at the upper levels of what was then known simply as the Tops theme park, before it closed in the late 1990s. The building has been renamed, reconfigured and partly redeveloped several times since, but it has never fully replaced what it lost when Myer departed.
The centre has been struggling since Myer closed, which the retailer attributed to failed lease negotiations. In the wake of that departure, early plans floated by Vicinity and its then co-owner included an aquarium, escape room, arcade, laser tag arena and indoor ski-field as possible components of a $400 million to $500 million redevelopment.
Those plans were never formalised, and the building has traded in a state of uncertainty ever since. Listed investment manager HMC Capital entered due diligence to purchase the property but ultimately did not make an offer, leaving Vicinity to exercise its right to acquire the remaining stake outright.
An Emporium-Style Vision for Brisbane
Vicinity’s blueprint for the redeveloped Uptown draws directly on its experience transforming Emporium Melbourne, the Lonsdale Street centre that has become one of the most successful CBD retail destinations in the country, home to premium Australian and international fashion brands including Zimmermann, Camilla and Marc, Oroton and Ralph Lauren.
Vicinity CEO Peter Huddle has described the vision as curating an Emporium-style destination in Brisbane’s CBD, combining fashion, dining, entertainment, leisure and technology in a highly productive multi-level format. This move goes beyond adding floor space; it aims to give Brisbane residents a more accessible, high-quality social hub that makes shopping and dining in the city centre simpler and more convenient.
The redevelopment is expected to cost between $300 million and $350 million, funded through a combination of debt and the sale of other assets within Vicinity’s portfolio. Completion is targeted for 2029. Vicinity notes the CBD currently lacks a large-scale, full-price retail offer of the kind the revitalised Uptown would provide, a gap that has become more acute as surrounding areas, particularly Fortitude Valley’s James Street precinct, have captured much of Brisbane’s premium spending.
Some industry observers have noted that Emporium Melbourne’s transformation involved significantly larger capital investment, and have suggested Brisbane temper expectations of a billion-dollar-style rebirth, with a more curated and refreshed Uptown the more likely outcome. The comparison is worth keeping in mind, though Vicinity’s track record in repositioning CBD retail assets gives the project genuine credibility.
What It Means for Queen Street Mall
For residents and workers in Brisbane’s inner city, the Vicinity acquisition represents the clearest signal yet that Uptown’s long period of drift is ending. The Queen Street Mall precinct as a whole has faced growing pressure from online retail and from inner-city dining and entertainment destinations, and a revitalised Uptown anchoring the George Street end of the mall would materially change the experience of Brisbane’s most trafficked retail corridor.
Upcoming transport upgrades ahead of the 2032 Games will further boost accessibility, linking locals more seamlessly to the site’s 1,450 underground car park spaces.
Vicinity expects to exchange contracts by the end of April 2026, with settlement in June. The company’s website at vicinity.com.au carries further information about the Uptown redevelopment plans as they are released.
Published 23-February-2026.
