Venues in million-dollar rush of leasing deals as Fortitude Valley hub hits new beat

Some of Fortitude Valley’s most infamous properties are being given a new lease on life with venue operators sealing a string of leasing deals amid renewed excitement in the entertainment hub.

The landmark red brick building at 648 Ann St, Fortitude Valley.

A BUILDING with a shady past has become the home of a new venue for the first time in a decade, shedding light on renewed activity in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.

The four-level red brick property at 648 Ann St has undergone numerous incarnations over the years.

Most infamously it once housed former Brisbane nightclub baron and Fitzgerald Inquiry figure Tony Bellino’s Pinocchio’s Restaurant.

It was one of the Valley’s seedy backdrops to a range of illegal activities exposed in evidence at the inquiry into crime and corruption in the late 1980s.

Leasing specialist Danilo Maruca from C Property outside 648 Ann Street. Picture: Tertius Pickard

But now the landmark building — complete with bricked-up bolthole that was once used as a secret escape hatch during police raids — is at the centre of a new era of reinvention for the entertainment precinct’s venues.

According to leasing specialist Danilo Maruca from C Property, the commitments are among more than $1 million in new venue leases brokered over the past three months.

The 414sq m ground floor and basement tenancy at 648 Ann St — previously occupied by x & y bar, which traded for 10 years before closing its doors — has recently reopened as the new location for Shades nightclub.

The building at 648 Ann St, Fortitude Valley.

It is one of two recently signed deals brokered by Mr Maruca along the Valley’s Ann St strip.

On the opposite side of the road, the high profile corner at 621 Ann St is also being given a new lease on life after sitting vacant since August 2018. The new tenant of its 413sq m ground floor tenancy is set to launch a Los Angeles-influenced venue later this year.

Both leases are for five-year terms plus options and have been struck at gross rental rates of $227,150 and $248,000 a year plus GST, respectively.

The high profile corner at 621 Ann St, Fortitude Valley. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Mr Maruca said the deals reflected the renewed focus on entertainment opportunities and resurgence in activity in the Valley.

“The Valley is so dynamic and so exciting and so versatile, there’s no other precinct like it,” he said.

“There’s a renewed excitement in the precinct. It’s developing its own thriving economy — day and night.

“And despite the success of new entertainment hubs such as Howard Smith Wharves it hasn’t negatively impacted on the Valley. A lot of operators are looking at opportunities, relocating and taking new space within the precinct.”