Brisbane Approves 51-storey Sower Above The Vic

Brisbane’s oldest surviving CBD pub is set to gain a 51-storey neighbour, with plans for a luxury hotel tower cantilevering above the heritage-listed Victory Hotel approved by Brisbane City Council.

The $300 million-plus Victory Tower will rise more than 200 metres above the corner of Edward and Charlotte streets, delivering 284 hotel rooms on a tightly constrained 924sq m site.

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But the development also marks a significant change for one of the city’s best-known hospitality landmarks, with the pub’s much-loved beer garden making way for the new building.

Known locally as The Vic, the 1855 hotel has been a fixture of Brisbane’s CBD for more than 170 years. Its outdoor drinking space has been closed since late last year to accommodate previously approved refurbishment works, with the tower now set to permanently reshape the site.

The project’s architectural response, designed by Bureau Proberts in collaboration with heritage architect Ruth Woods and interior designers S.Shyne, seeks to retain the pub’s prominence despite the scale of the new development. A distinctive ‘reverse podium’ design lifts the tower six storeys above street level, allowing the historic hotel and neighbouring Metro Arts building to remain visible beneath it.

Planning documents describe the approach as an inversion of the traditional podium model, intended to create a distinctive public experience while maintaining pedestrian access and activity at street level. The tower is also designed to extend the pub’s hospitality offer upwards, with restaurants, a public rooftop bar overlooking the city and Brisbane River, and a swimming pool on level 40.

The pub itself is undergoing a major restoration, with plans to transform it into four separate hospitality destinations: a refreshed sports bar and beer garden, rooftop garden bar, steakhouse restaurant and basement speakeasy-style bar with a gaming room. While the original beer garden will be lost to the tower, the redevelopment proposes a new setting for the venue’s traditional pub offer.

Precision Group acquired the Victory Hotel for $22 million in 2005. Founder Shaun Bonett said the approval represented a long-term commitment to Brisbane, with the project bringing together heritage, accommodation, hospitality and wellness on a prominent CBD site.

“The Victory Hotel is one of Brisbane’s most recognised hospitality landmarks,” Bonett said. “Our vision is to honour that history while giving the site a new future.”

The development also responds to growing demand for hotel accommodation ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Bonett said the shortfall of hotel rooms in Brisbane was well documented, with discussions already underway with potential hotel operators to anchor the project.

The tower is expected to be completed before 2032. Its delivery will test how vertical development can be integrated into Brisbane’s historic city centre, while raising a question for the community: how can the city make room for future growth without losing the places that give its streets their character?

Images via The Urban Developer