Sad and sorry: the fate in store for our abandoned buildings
They’ve been crumbling for years. We take a look at some of our abandoned or vacant buildings, and what is in store for them.
Property
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Some regularly make the headlines, like Lamb House and the Broadway Hotel, but many of our abandoned or empty buildings have been quietly crumbling for years.
We take a closer look at some of these once grand properties, why they have been forgotten and what is planned for their future.
SEVEN HILLS TAFE
Abandoned for more than a decade, the derelict Seven Hills TAFE has been a source of complaint for years by neighbours tired of trespassers and vandals.
The site, purchased by the Heran Building Group in 2011, has finally begun its transformation into a stylish residential community, called Clearview Urban Village.
It will feature more than 400 new dwellings and a 100-bed aged care facility once completed.
Some stages are now complete and have sold, but as late as December last year the sprawling 9ha site was still attracting trespassers.
Police made several arrests in 2020 alone.
At the time, Heran defended security at a Griffith Place site, where a contentious seven-storey tower with full-line supermarket was proposed.
Council had refused to approve the project, stalling redevelopment plans.
Council said at the time that it was working with Heran to address issues around the “size and style” of the proposal.
PINK PALACE, NORMAN PARK
Once one of the most expensive and glamorous residences in Brisbane, the former Keith Lloyd-owned pile fronting the Brisbane River at Norman Park has had tongues wagging in recent years.
Nobody seems to be at home and — at least from the river — the 3450 sqm property looks like it could do with a good lick of pink paint.
The wooden shutters are also in need of replacement, the pool appears to be drained and pylons on the jetty have seen better days.
Media tycoon Konrad Lin bought the so-called “pink palace’’ at 62 Wynnum Rd in 1993 for $6.8 million from controversial Brisbane businessman Keith Lloyd.
It has an underground carpark, lower-level boat storage with direct access to the river and a housekeepers’ residence/guesthouse that is the size of a large suburban home.
The sandstone swimming pool, complete with gold-look statue, once had a water jet so keen swimmers could test themselves.
CARINA HEIGHTS NURSING HOME
A huge fire ripped through the abandoned Salvin Park Nursing Home at 880 Creek Rd before the property was finally demolished.
It was the culmination of a series of major fires and vandalism attacks over the years.
The former aged care home property was acquired by TriCare which has since begun a huge, staged development with a 173-bed aged care facility and 191 independent living units.
Council approved its redevelopment plans in 2016.
Residents had complained for years and (then Deputy) Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner started an online petition pushing TriCare to speed up demolition.
Work has finally begun, although it will take years before being fully completed.
ALBION AUSTRALIA POST DELIVERY CENTRE
The former Lever St Australia Post delivery centre, once earmarked for residential redevelopment, could instead get a second lease of life as a parking garage and construction depot.
Plans submitted to Brisbane City Council in July last year proposed the former industrial site be transformed into car parks for commuters, despite having been rezoned as medium-density residential.
The application also wants the facility to be used “for warehousing for the storage of construction and building materials used in association with building and maintenance projects within the inner northeast suburbs of the CBD”.
Developer Reeljez said in its application that reusing the site was currently the only option.
“At this current time, reuse of the site for a large medium-density residential redevelopment is commercially premature,” the application said.
ICON UNIT TOWER, MILTON
Work on the Chinese-backed $175 million, 260-apartment development stalled in 2019.
Residents complained about being stuck with a concrete eyesore even though sales information at the time claimed “most of the units” had already sold.
GH Properties, a local subsidiary of Hong-based private company Golden Horse Nine Dragon Lake Holdings, heavily promoted Icon to Asian investors.
The site was cleared in 2017 and work started on the Walsh St project with the construction of a five-level basement to accommodate almost 300 vehicles.
Melbourne-based Kokoda Property recently resumed work on another nearby stalled highrise, The Ambrose, at 19 McDougall St, but there is still no word on the fate of Icon.
OXLEY STATE HIGH SCHOOL
Neighbours of the former school couldn’t be happier that the property will finally be demolished and redeveloped, 21 long years after the school closed.
As well as trespassers and vandals, in 2018 they faced asbestos fears after a fire.
Ray White Sherwood and Graceville principal Cameron Crouch said there had been insatiable demand for the first land blocks.
So far 26 blocks worth more than $14 million have been snapped up by buyers looking to build their dream home.
The former State Government land is being developed by Economic Development Queensland. Mr Crouch said no two homes would be the same on the site due to the natural shape of the land.
The Property Council of Australia put the Government “on notice’’ in 2018 over its “ineffective” repurposing of the site.
“They’re only really used by graffiti artists,” it said.
ZOO/HAUNTED HOUSE SITE, LOGAN
The latest plan for the long-vacant building on this prominent site, fronting the M1 in Logan, was hatched last year when a businesswoman proposed a haunted house attraction.
It would include an indoor and outdoor maze, an evil clown, ghosts and its own chainsaw massacre.
But, to date, nothing has happened at the property which has lain vacant since 2008.
Logan businesswoman Jaye Rose said the former Antiques Market, owned by Logan City Council, was ideal for her spooky venture.
Much of the delay in repurposing the land has been due to Council battling a legal dispute with Alma Park Zoo owner John Quinn, who was to have set up a zoo at the property.
That court row ended when the Transport Department stepped in and called for ownership of the site to build its Coomera Connector in March last year.
The Government said at the time that a building on the site would be demolished some time after 2026 to make way for a second M1.
ST BRIAVELS AND MIDDENBURY HOUSE, TOOWONG
A nine-level unit tower will be built next to the old ABC Toowong site, which sold recently sold for $43 million, angering neighbours who say it will block river views from heritage-listed American inter-war home St Briavels.
Neighbours unsuccessfully fought a previous plan to build a three-level unit project on the site, saying it would have blocked St Briavels’ river views.
Another developer has now bought the rundown property off former owner Sunland, which put the ABC site on the market last year.
Meanwhile, Consolidated Property Group, which recently bought the ABC site, revealed it would spend millions renovating nearby heritage-listed Middenbury House.
Middenbury, which dates to the 1860s, had been leased to engineers McNab which used it to store building materials.
They found a squatter had moved into the property, which had been vacant for years.
Middenbury and its sight lines to the Brisbane River are both protected.
CPG chief executive Don O’Rorke said he would convert Middenbury into a restaurant or day spa.
3 STATION ST, WELLINGTON POINT
Redlands Mayors Karen Williams said in January that the State Government would intervene to temporarily prevent the demolition of this historic Wellington Point homestead.
Cr Williams wrote to Communities and Housing Minister Leanne Enoch requesting a stop work order to allow time for other options to be explored.
The 1800s home was part of the historic Burnett estate and has slowly crumbled over the years. It sold for $1.25 million in December, 2020.
Cr Williams said the order would prevent any work which could be detrimental to the property, but only for 60 days.
Council had identified the property as having historical value and was in the process of adding it to the local heritage register.
49 BROWNE ST, NEW FARM
The uninhabitable dump, with no back door and boarded-up windows, still managed to attract a winning auction bid of $2.109 million in March this year.
Almost 60 registered bidders took part and 200 people checked out the dilapidated property.
Severed electrical wires could be seen by the auction crowd, as well as a vast number of garden statues including giant dolphins standing guard over crumbling front stairs.
But it was the 500 sqm double street frontage land that drew so much interest.
LAMB HOUSE, KANGAROO POINT
Brisbane’s most famous derelict home, this once grand colonial property is now considered a fire risk due to years of accumulated rubbish and the activities of squatters.
Both Council and the State Government have blamed each other for its sad demise, but at the end of the day current laws do not allow either to force reclusive owner Joy Lamb to fix up the abandoned pile.
In February, Council said it planned to sell the property to recoup rates.
Multi-millionaire developer Kevin Seymour even offered to buy the house and restore it, but Ms Lamb responded with fury to his offer.
BROADWAY HOTEL, WOOLLOONGABBA
And if Lamb House is Brisbane’s most famous abandoned home, then the once glorious Broadway is the city’s most notorious abandoned pub.
The distinctive mansard roof long ago collapsed, allowing rain to flood it, following three fires and years of vandalism.
Several of the blazes were believed to have been caused by squatters.
Owner Dr Malcolm Nyst flagged in March that he would put the property on the market, but hotel and real estate experts said that without a pokies licence — and because of the proliferation of nearby units — it might prove hard to shift.
A previous 27-level highrise proposal, pushed by former Lord Mayor Campbell Newman’s brother-in-law, fell through several years ago.
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