A masterplan for the 16.9-hectare site was developed following an international design competition in 2013. ARM Architecture Topotek1 won the competition with a flexible design that allowed the cultural precinct to be delivered in stages. The design team worked with the City throughout 2014 to fine tune the site-wide masterplan for HOTA which was endorsed by Council in 2015.
With 3 major components of the HOTA masterplan delivered, we undertook a mid-level review to help Council make decisions on future stages of the project. The review reconfirmed the components of the masterplan already endorsed by Council.
The review also confirmed previous business case work demonstrating a need for a large format 1800-seat lyric theatre and a smaller 800-seat theatre on the Gold Coast. The existing performing arts complex at HOTA is over 30 years old and showing signs of ageing and deterioration.
Investigations found that Gold Coast cultural facilities fall short of those in other comparable Australian cities and even smaller regional centres such as Toowoomba and Dunedin which each have a 1600 seat theatre.
A lack of choice, flexibility and the limited capacity of the existing performing arts theatre sees the Gold Coast community miss out on performances from smaller scale musicals and live music to concerts and events requiring larger venues.
An updated business case in 2023, found that the Lyric Theatre has a strong socio economic benefit of $2 generated for every $1 invested in the precinct.