$500M Grand Central redevelopment enters final stages

External construction is complete on the $500 million redevelopment of Grand Central shopping centre in Toowoomba, owned by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), and the project will be complete within months, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said today. 

The Premier said Grand Central had doubled in size to around 90,000m2 and will support an extra 1000 local retail and hospitality jobs on top of the 1500 jobs created during the construction phase. 

“Currently the Centre is finalising a new and exciting fresh food precinct and dining destination, including a range of restaurants and cafes,” she said.

“Grand Central will clearly become an exciting and unrivalled lifestyle destination to shop, eat and be entertained in this growing region.

“Once the development is complete, up to another 160 specialty retailers will have been added to the centre.”

Treasurer Curtis Pitt said the vision for Grand Central was to create a magnetic place for the community to come together which embodies the pride, tradition, culture and opportunity of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs region, and complements the existing dynamic retail offer.

"This is a great example of 'Queensland investing in Queensland' - a Government owned corporation delivering jobs and economic activities for regional economies," he said.

“In March 2016, Grand Central and TAFE Queensland announced a partnership between the two organisations to deliver practical, industry-relevant retail and hospitality training in the Toowoomba region.”

“There has been a very positive response to the program so far – 186 students have accessed the Grand Central subsidy, most studying retail. Over 100 students have received their qualifications.”

As owner of the centre, QIC have been working closely with the Toowoomba Regional Council over many years to develop this shared vision for Grand Central, and one which complements Council’s City Centre Master Plan.

QIC is the Queensland Government-owned corporation based in Brisbane. QIC is a global leading funds manager with over $81 billion dollars in clients funds invested across a range of asset classes including real estate, infrastructure, private equity and multi assets. 

Media contact: Kirby Anderson (Premier’s office) 0417 263 791