New one-stop entertainment venue to open for general public in Ipswich
11 March 2024
A major Victorian entertainment company will soon call Nicholas Street Precinct home after signing up to open in the Nicholas Street Venue building.
General Public, which operates three outlets in Victoria, will bring their ‘eatertainery’ concept to the Nicholas Street Venue, including state-of-the-art arcade games, 14 tenpin bowling lanes, golf simulators, billiards tables, food and licensed drinking spots.
Ipswich City Council Chief Executive Officer Sonia Cooper said General Public’s signing of a lease last week, following council approval in January, was a major vote of confidence in the Nicholas Street Precinct and the $71.9 million Venue entertainment complex.
“General Public is making its first expansion outside Victoria, and is expected to be operating at the Nicholas Street Venue by late 2024,” Ms Cooper said.
“Nicholas Street Precinct is set to become the premier leisure, entertainment and cultural destination in the heart of a revitalised Ipswich Central.
“General Public will join nationally recognised brands including Hoyts, Gelatissimo, Zambrero, Stellarossa, and Terry White Chemmart, who have already chosen to do business in the Nicholas Street Precinct.
“General Public will soon occupy almost 3,000 sqm of entertainment space on the ground floor of the Nicholas Street Venue, joining the anchor tenant Hoyts Cinema on the first floor and the iconic Hotel Commonwealth.”
Colliers Retail Leasing Manager Ishbel Jones said landing General Public was a major coup for Ipswich.
“We are seeing a trend in the entertainment space leading towards more physical and experiential activities, and the introduction of golf simulators will attract new consumers to the Precinct,” Ms Jones said.
“General Public will support current retailers and attract more footfall to the Precinct.”
General Public Chief Executive Officer and founder Harry Kourbeis said the company was excited to branch out from its southern base with a site in Ipswich.
“This will be a one-of-a-kind entertainment and eating option for Ipswich," Mr Kourbeis said.
"We're excited to be opening in the Nicholas Street Precinct. The region's strong economic growth combined with the location, and the other businesses already in place, were all we needed to make the decision to expand from our Victorian base.”
General Public will include 14 tenpin bowling lanes, billiards tables, darts room, event spaces, a great music ambience, and Ipswich's latest arcade centre with interactive games suitable for all.
“To keep energies fuelled, the one-of-a-kind entertainment centre will boast a restaurant perfect for sharing a meal, as well as bars dotted throughout serving up a huge range of craft beer on tap alongside classic and reinvented cocktails. Whether visitors come for the food, for the games, or for a bit of both, their appetite for fun will be satisfied at all ends,” Mr Kourbeis said.
The $71.9 million Nicholas Street Venue building will be Ipswich’s largest entertainment hub, with 12,500 square meters of multiple leisure and hospitality businesses over two levels.
Up to 10 businesses will lease space in the Nicholas Street Venue once the redevelopment is complete later this year. Information on leasing opportunities is publicly available here https://www.nicholasst.com.au/leasing-retail/
Ms Cooper said construction of the Hoyts Cinema on Venue’s level one was also progressing well, with the cinema set to join Precinct headline tenant Hotel Commonwealth in opening later this year.
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