Bunnings staff let cat out of the bag on reopening date for flood destroyed outlet
A flood-ravaged Bunnings warehouse will reopen its doors in September after a $60m rebuild, but staff are counting down their final days at a nearby outlet.
It’s been three years coming, but a reopening date for a beloved Brisbane Bunnings destroyed in the 2022 floods has finally been revealed.
The Oxley warehouse had to be demolished due to black mould and other damage.
Since then, customers have had to use a Rocklea outlet which was brought back online following a three-month flood cleanup.
Staff at the Rocklea store have let the cat out of the bag after putting up a sign saying its final day of trade would be on August 31.
The re-built Oxley warehouse would then open on September 1.
Bunnings would not confirm the dates, saying final preparations were needed before it was ready to make an official announcement.
The Oxley Bunnings was badly damaged in the 2011 flood, but the deluge 11 years later was so bad the retailer had no choice but to level the building and start over again.
This time around it was confident of weathering future rain events, with the site raised 4.5m.
The new building included huge metal flood doors to protect essential services such as travelators and lifts. Power supplies were also raised well above flood level.
While the carpark might still go under, Bunnings said the new features would enable them to reopen the store quickly after floodwaters receded.
The new two-storey, $60m warehouse would be bigger as well as better, with an extra 4250sqm of floor space.
Most of the Rocklea team members would move to the Oxley store once it began trading.
Bunnings previously offered Oxley staff the opportunity to move to Rocklea while the new warehouse was being built.
The news was met with mixed feelings by local residents.
“Can’t wait for Oxley to open, but Rocklea has been my go-to for years,’’ Jo posted on Facebook.
Sian posted: “Yahoooooo. Bring it on’’, while Nathan said “Keep it (Rocklea) open, I don’t want Oxley’’.
The Rocklea building, which also has flooded repeatedly over the years, would be leased to other tenants.
Agents Colliers was handling leasing of the 12,585sqm building.
Logistics and industrial tenants were expected to move in due to the site’s good infrastructure and access to key corridors including the Ipswich and Pacific motorways.
