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Nicholas Street Mall
The development of the Ipswich Mall and Ipswich City Square 1985-1988
In March 1984, Kern Corporation agreed to redevelop the four inner city blocks which at that time formed the retail heart of the Ipswich CBD. The city suffered from a retail slump as businesses began to close in prepartition for the redevelopment.
Andrew Blythe in A Retailing History of the Ipswich Central Business District (CBD) from the mid-1970s to 2003, wrote:
The Story of Kern's oscillating involvement and the eventual realization of its retail creation marks this pivotal period in the history of Ipswich CBD retailing. Construction of the complex severely tested the limits of civic intervention and challenged Ipswich people to think about their retail buildings as an expression of their civic identity, not only in the 'new' that they were embracing but also in the 'old' with which they were prepared to dispense. When completed, the complex changed the visual profile of the CBD and introduced new and untried retail formats and businesses, binding them under the auspices of a corporation that was beholden only to its shareholders.
Robin Gibson was selected as the project architect. Stage 1 of the development opened in August 1987 and Stage 2 in November 1988.
Blythe noted:
The square, with its emphasis on marketing and new forms of retailing, had been conceived to bring the Ipswich CBD out of the retailing 'doldrums'. In the eagerness to make the development happen, Kern had demolished four city blocks and built a monolithic complex, that along with the Council's mall, represented the largest provincial CBD redevelopment ever undertaken in Australia.
Nicholas Street Precinct Redevelopment 2009-2019
The Nicholas Street Precinct Redevelopment was the largest transformation to be undertaken in the CBD in over three decades. It included a new Council Administration Building (1 Nicholas Street), two libraries and a civic space (Tulmur Place), and retail offerings.
Summary of timeline from Nicholas Street Precinct Redevelopment, Ipswich City Council website.
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2009 |
Council proposed a plan to form Ipswich City Properties (ICP) to purchase Ipswich City Square
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2010 |
ICP engaged Leighton Group for development of Icon Tower 1
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2011 |
Construction began on Icon Tower 1 (a nine-storey building)
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2014 |
ICP purchased Murphy's Hotel
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2016 |
ICP announced plans to relocate the Ipswich Central Library and the administration building to new facilities in Nicholas Street
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2017 |
epc.Pacific engaged to develop the new administration building. Works began in June with demolition of Ipswich City Square. Works began to deconstruct Murphy's Pub
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2018 |
· In February, the development contract with epc. Pacific was cancelled · ICP purchased Ipswich City Plaza · Ipswich City Council dissolved and an Interim Administrator appointed · The process of integrating assets and operations of ICP into Council began · JMAC engaged in November to carry out works in Nicholas Street and Union Place · Work commenced on the new one-way Nicholas Street road
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2019 |
· In September, Hutchinsons Builders were awarded the contract to build the new main library, administration building and the civic plaza
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2020 |
· 28 November, Nicholas Street was officially opened · 7 December, the new Ipswich Central Library opened
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2021 |
· 28 June, the new administration building and customer service centre, 1 Nicholas Street, officially opened · On the same day, the first dedicated children’s library in Australia, opened on the building’s ground floor · In June, restoration works to the Commonwealth Hotel reached practical completion
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2022 |
· Works to expand the Commonwealth Hotel commenced in October
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2023 |
· The ‘topping out’ ceremony was celebrated in November for the future home of Hoyts Cinemas in the Nicholas Street precinct
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2024 |
· In November, ribbon cuttings occurred for the opening of the Hotel Commonwealth and the Nicholas Street Venue building
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Researched & Written ByTanya JenReferences (online)A Retailing History of the Ipswich Central Business District (CBD) From the mid-1970s to 2003, Andrew Blythe, 2002Nicholas Street Precinct Redevelopment, Ipswich City Council website [accessed 27.02.2026]