Former Park Hotel in Brisbane’s Spring Hill to become housing for the homeless

A former Brisbane hotel is the latest big-ticket purchase by the state government for long-term homeless accommodation.

The Park Hotel in Spring Hill.

A former hotel in Spring Hill being used to shelter the homeless long-term has been snapped up by the state government under its ongoing program of big-ticket purchases to supply housing to the vulnerable.

The state government has bought the former Park Hotel on Wickham Terrace in Spring Hill, securing 84 rooms at a cost of $33.8m.

The property had been leased by the government since 2021 with the purchase to provide long-term surety and allow authorities to refurbish rooms and communal spaces.

St Vincent de Paul will continued to manage the property and provide services to tenants.

Property records show the Park Hotel last sold in 2018 for $8.3m.

The asset is the latest addition to the state government’s portfolio of former hotels, motels and retirement villages across the state.

Earlier this year the state snapped up a 23-room hotel in Auchenflower.

It has also purchased a serviced apartment in Gladstone, and retirement villages in Toowoomba, Clayfield and Rothwell.

It has leased a motel in Hamilton, and a retirement village in Redlands.

“While we get on with our big housing build, we’re also buying and leasing hotels, motels and retirement villages to meet that immediate need for accommodation,” housing minister Meaghan Scanlon said.

“These rooms not only provide a roof over the heads of vulnerable Queenslanders but ensures they can easily access essential wraparound services as well as amenities including public transport, schools, medical care, shops and parks.”