Mercedes Benz wins approval to build Australia’s first Autohaus at the former Breakfast Creek Wharf in Newstead

IT is prime inner-city real estate that’s just never really taken off. But that could all change now that Brisbane City Council has given Mercedes Benz approval for a multi-million dollar redevelopment.

An artist’s impression of the first Mercedes Benz Autohaus to be built in Australia at the former Breakfast Creek Wharf site at Newstead.

BRISBANE is set to house Australia’s first Mercedes Benz Autohaus with the city council approving a multi-million dollar plan to transform a derelict inner city site.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the flagship development at 194 Breakfast Creek Rd, Newstead, would be the first of its kind in Australia and represented a major coup for the country’s New World City.

“The Mercedes Benz site sits on a major gateway linking the airport to the inner city and beyond, and will join other major brands contributing to the growth and prosperity of the Newstead and Teneriffe industrial area,” he said.

What the Mercedes Benz Autohaus will look like.

The development includes a full service dealership, also incorporating a Mercedes museum and service centre. On top of a new luxury brand base, the proposal includes a range of hospitality and retail options, with shops, restaurants and a rooftop function centre overlooking the river forming a key part of the plan.

Early this year the world’s largest distributor of Mercedes Benz, Lei Shing Hong, paid about $26 million for a 7843sq m riverfront commercial property which was once famous Breakfast Creek Wharf opposite the Breakfast Creek Hotel.

The purchase price was about four times on what it changed hands for in 2012 when it was bought New Zealand-born developer Balfour Irvine.

The autohaus will be at the Breakfast Cheek Wharf.

Cr Quirk said Mercedes Benz was the latest multinational company to relocate to the industrial precinct, and would help energise economic activity and create jobs.

“As well as generating local employment in automotive dealing and care, the development will create at least 250 on-site jobs during construction and around 100 additional jobs post-construction through its museum, staff training centre, restaurants and retail spaces,” he said.

“Brisbane is quickly becoming an established centre in the global business landscape, with large multinational corporations seeking to establish a more significant presence in the Australian market.”

The development will create at least 250 on-site jobs during construction and around 100 additional jobs after construction.