Brisbane nightclub venue GPO Hotel undergoes $7 million makeover

The ambitious hospitality group behind the Cali Beach Club in Surfers Paradise is taking over the iconic GPO Hotel in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, with a $7 million renovation already underway.

Built in 1887, the well-known property on 740 Ann Street operated as a popular nightclub for many years before it was shuttered during the pandemic and sat vacant for two years.

An investment firm headed by Sydney Roosters chairman Nick Politis paid $6.765 million for the property last year, title documents show.

Now the building is getting a new lease on life, with Artesian Hospitality signing a 25-year lease for the historic former post office building and two adjoining buildings on site.

“We will be putting multiple venues within the building to establish it as a precinct,” said Artesian Hospitality managing partner Matthew Keegan.

Keegan remained tight-lipped when asked if the new precinct would return as a late-night clubbing destination, only saying further details about the new venues would be announced in the coming month.

Work is already underway on the site, with hopes to throw the doors open to the public at the end of this year, or early next year.

“They’ve already finished demolition,” Keegan said. “Now we’re restoring a lot of the heritage architecture and commencing work on the fit-out.”

The significant $7 million bill for renovations will deliver high-end bars, kitchens, toilets and dining areas, Keegan said.

Artesian Hospitality is making a name for itself in south-east Queensland, building a portfolio of high-end and scaled-up venues.

Its most recent venture, the Cali Beach Club, opened last September following an enormous $10 million fit-out that included four large pools, poolside cabanas, two restaurants and four bars. The company says the result is a luxurious “adults playground”, where partygoers can drink, lounge and dance under the sun and the stars.

“We’ve had an amazing first year,” Keegan said. “It probably exceeded expectations considering the impact of the pandemic. We were surprised by how much support we got from the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and all the way south to the border.”

Covering a massive 5000 square metres, it lays claim to being among Australia’s largest day and night entertainment precincts. And it doesn’t end there.

The group has just inked a 25-year lease to take on the rest of the building underneath the Cali Beach Club. In addition to another three or four venues in the pipeline, Keegan said it would also become home to Artesian’s corporate headquarters. As part of the deal, the building will be named Artesian House.

The group currently operates six venues on the Gold Coast, including Surfers Pavilion and White Rhino Bar and Eats, however, the GPO Hotel marks its first foray into the Brisbane market.

“The natural progression was to move north and south of where we currently are on the Gold Coast,” Keegan said. “The Valley has evolved a lot over the past year, with the advent of James Street and rooftop bars. It’s quite cosmopolitan. It was an easy decision to look to the Valley as the next logical place for us to establish a footprint.”

Going forward, Artesian Hospitality’s sole expansion focus is on “large-scale, multi-venue operations”.

“We’re eyeing national expansion,” Keegan said.