Mirvac’s masterplan for Toombul Shopping Centre: High-rise apartments, hotels, offices
Property giant Mirvac had plans five years ago to transform the flood-prone Toombul Shopping Centre into an urban neighbourhood incorporating high-rise units and hotels.
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Property giant Mirvac commissioned a masterplan for flood-prone Toombul Shopping Centre five years ago that envisioned an urban neighbourhood incorporating high-rise residential, offices, hotels and a dining precinct.
Mirvac, under fire from tenants following last week’s decision to close the 54-year-old centre permanently, this week said it had “no current masterplan for the site and continues to work through the future plan.”
But in 2017, a year after buying Toombul for $233.3m, Mirvac commissioned Sydney-based Leonard Design Architects to produce a masterplan that would “transform the existing suburban shopping centre into a new urban neighbourhood.”
Mirvac last week announced it was terminating all leases at the centre and shutting the centre permanently, built in 1967, after it was severely damaged during February’s floods.
According to the mothballed masterplan the new centre would have incorporated “residential, office, hotels, retail, a dining terrace and a transport interchange connecting the existing rail station to a redeveloped bus terminal and the airport.”
A new dining terrace provided for 11 new restaurants and a leisure destination including a mix of new local businesses and more established food offers.
Leonard Design Architects and Mirvac were contacted for comment.
Mirvac has been accused of “unscrupulous and disgusting” behaviour after refusing to pay a cent of compensation to tenants of the now shuttered centre.
Function Well owner Darren Bain said he spent more than $3m on a fit-out of his gym last year on the upper floor of Toombul, but Mirvac had not lifted a finger to help him and other tenants get back on their feet.
He said when he signed the lease with Mirvac last year he was aware they had long-term plans to redevelop the site incorporating residential, retail and fitness facilities.
“That is why I wanted the demolition clause in the lease,” Mr Bain said.
Mr Bain said his lease provided for compensation in the event the centre was demolished but Mirvac claimed they did not have to pay if the building was damaged and could not be repaired. Mirvac claims the centre is too heavily damaged to be reinstated.
Further comment on the demolition clause in the lease has been sought from Mirvac.
QUT retail expert Gary Mortimer said it appeared Mirvac had plans to redevelop Toombul from the beginning.
“I am surprised they did not go ahead with it then,” he said.
“They realised they were sitting on a valuable piece of land with good transport connections. I am not sure why they let the centre tenants proceed with expensive fit-outs (if they had redevelopment plans,” he said.
He said the current centre with its large outdoor car park would not give the same return on investment that the urban centre proposed in the masterplan would provide.
“I’d like to know why they decided not to move ahead and ended up mothballing it,” Dr Mortimer said.
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