Big plans for former Quiksilver headquarters

The entrance of the Boardriders building that once served as the Quiksilver headquarters.

PLANS are afoot to turn the former Quiksilver headquarters on Torquay’s Baines Crescent into a mixed use building that would include a five-screen cinema, office spaces, a micro-brewery, a cafe and a wellbeing centre.

The Surf Coast Shire Council recently received a planning application permit from the consortium that purchased the block in September last year.

The proposed works will cost about $13 million.

The Torquay site was sold for a reported $15 million after American-based company Boardriders purchased Quiksilver and decided to move the surf label’s head office to the Gold Coast.

Tract Consulting Pty Ltd prepared the plan that has recently been sent to council. In their plan, they state the proposal will reinvigorate the presently underused building.

“The proposal provides a modern, contextually responsive development that balances the commercial and cultural history of the Site as home of Boardriders, while breathing new life into the currently underutilised building through a series of targeted design interventions and layering of complementary land uses spanning commercial, hospitality and recreation.”

The investors held an initial meeting with the Surf Coast Shire on May 29 this year. One of the main points to come from that meeting was the need to develop an acceptable parking strategy that would accommodate the increased visitation to the site.

The planning proposal was then further revised after the council’s request for more information on July 26. The site itself is just under two hectares.