OPPORTUNITY

Ashmore City sits within one of the Gold Coast's key growth corridors. Occupying a prominent location in CoGC Centre zone, the site benefits from strong road exposure, an established residential catchment, expansive views, close proximity to the GC hospital and universities, and direct access to surrounding parks and M1. The fundamentals are there, but the site is no longer performing to its potential.

The existing retail offer is ageing, the centre lacks a clear identity and the broader landholding is underutilised. At the same time, increasing demand for housing, employment and local services is creating pressure for higher-performing mixed-use centres across the city.

The opportunity is not simply to redevelop a shopping centre. It is to reposition the site as a contemporary mixed-use precinct — one that strengthens its current retail performance while unlocking the long-term value of the land around it.

DISCOVERY

The study revealed that retail remains the most important component of the site's future success - it forms the base to feed all the parts of the puzzle off. These parts are residential and commercial uses, increasing yield, creating long-term value. Together these uses drive activity, supporting day-to-day visitation and creating the foundation for future growth.

The site's challenging topography also presents unexpected opportunities. Rather than fighting the steep terrain, the masterplan explores ways to use it strategically — stepping parking levels through the site, improving access and unlocking elevated views across the Gold Coast landscape.

Three masterplan scenarios were developed and tested, each built around a common principle: resolve the operational fundamentals first.

Servicing, loading, traffic movement, parking and customer experience was carefully considered to ensure the centre could function efficiently both during transition and into the future. Operations needs to be designed behind the seams, seamlessly, allowing the public experience of the precinct to remain intuitive and connected. From this foundation, different residential, commercial and mixed-use opportunities were explored, providing flexibility to respond to changing market conditions while maintaining a strong retail core.

CHANGE

The masterplan establishes a strategic framework for the site's long-term evolution. Retail was repositioned as the economic heart of the precinct, supported by new residential and commercial opportunities that increase activity, strengthen viability and create a broader day-to-night population.

The study demonstrates how the site could grow incrementally, allowing investment to be staged over time while maintaining operational continuity and protecting existing trade. Alternative development scenarios provide flexibility around future market demand, enabling the northern portion of the site to evolve strengthening the wider precinct.

Rather than replacing an ageing shopping centre, the masterplan reveals how a strategically located but underperforming site could become a more connected, commercially resilient and valuable urban destination. The result is a roadmap for growth that works with the site's constraints, capitalises on its strengths and unlocks the full potential of a key Gold Coast centre.