Ipswich locks in $53m Hilton Garden Inn
A $53 million Hilton Garden Inn is officially locked in for council-owned land in the Ipswich city centre.
Set to rise seven storeys on vacant land on Ellenborough St beside the Nicholas Street Precinct, the 160-room hotel is being pitched as the centrepiece of the broader $311 million redevelopment of the precinct — and a serious statement about Ipswich’s tourism ambitions.
City of Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding didn’t hold back on the scale of the project.
“It’s a high-quality hotel with a pool, restaurant, bar, fitness centre, conference rooms, shop,” she told The Courier Mail.
“The flashest hotel in Queensland.”
The hotel is expected to create 50 local jobs once complete and inject an estimated $2.7 million into the local economy each year. It also comes at a time when Ipswich is preparing for significant growth, with the population forecast to climb from 270,000 to just under 500,000 by 2044.
Tourism numbers are already trending upward.
“In 2024, our tourism figures for our day trippers went up 29 per cent,” Harding said. “We actually get more day visitors than Noosa.”
Despite that, council has identified a shortfall of 310 short-term accommodation rooms ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Games — a gap the Hilton Garden Inn will help close.
Councillor Pye Augustine said the location could prove particularly attractive to sporting teams looking for privacy and space during the Olympic lead-in.
“Being a 35-minute drive up the highway is just perfect to get away from the hustle and bustle of Brisbane, where teams want to have security — not prying eyes on them,” Augustine said.
Hilton Australasia head Paul Hutton said the hotel is well matched to Ipswich’s next phase of growth and that the brand is thinking long term.
“We have over 1,100 amazing Hilton Garden Inns all around the planet and we have 230 of them here in Asia Pacific,” Hutton said, noting its customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Korea are likely to come to Ipswich while visiting their kids — or on business trips.
“We truly hope that with the Nicholson Street precinct there, it’s going to add something significant to the city.”
The Nicholas Street Precinct itself has been a major investment for council, with $311 million poured into revitalising the area in a bid to draw private sector backing and stimulate CBD activity.
Ipswich already hosts major operations including defence manufacturer Boeing, Queensland’s only L’Oreal distribution centre and what is described as the largest meat processing plant in the southern hemisphere. But city leaders say there is still plenty of room to expand.
“Ipswich has more greenfield industrial zoned land than any other council in Queensland,” Harding said.
“We have more than all the other southeast Queensland councils combined.”
Construction will be delivered by Ipswich Hotel Group, with director Rupert Yang describing the project as an “exciting opportunity”.
The hotel will operate under a 50-year lease on council land, with two additional 25-year extension options. If timelines hold, construction is expected to begin in late 2026, with doors set to open in late 2028.
Jonathan Jackson, 12th February 2026
