Based at Wickham St, Fortitude Valley, McWhirters – named after businessman James McWhirter – was established from 1899 to 1929 in four stages.

After serving as a department store the property was redeveloped in 1989 as McWhirters Marketplace; further alterations came in 1997 to include apartments on the upper levels.

It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in October 1992 … however by 2024 it’s decay became obvious.

Tracking events since 1989, this is the rise and fall of a Brisbane icon >>>

November 1989

Fortitude Valley turned on a party that attracted up to 100,000 people for the opening of McWhirters Marketplace.

The atmosphere was reminiscent of the heady days of Expo as crowds ambled around the revitalised store and the tree-lined mall outside, listening to calypso bands, barbershop quartets and jazz. They cheered on stilt walkers and other street-theatre groups.

Folk dressed in holiday gear and carrying cameras started arriving as soon as the Market Place doors opened at 8.30am.

The Market Place was officially opened by television’s loopy Fast Forward character, Pixie-Anne Wheatley, renowned for her dopey questioning of sports stars.

May 1993

McWhirters Marketplace was tipped to be offered for sale either through an expression of interest or tender campaign following the appointment of marketing agents.

Byvan Management’s Stewart Gilchrist and Baillieu Knight Frank’s Matthew Lowe were discussing options for the future of the $70 million retail project with the mortgagees and receivers.

The development was undertaken by the Remm Group in conjunction with a Swiss syndicate in 1989.

In February 1991, the Remm subsidiary Hartgrove Pty Ltd and joint developer Pandora Helvetica (No 2) Pty Ltd went into receivership.

February 1994

A rent rise had forced some tenants out of the McWhirters building, Labor councillor David Hinchliffe said.

Cr Hinchliffe said he was concerned about the impact of the rent increases and would meet the building’s Chinese owners.

He said alternative accommodation had been found for some displaced McWhirters tenants.

Chinese consortium Pioneer Glory Properties paid $7.5 million in July for the former department store on the corner of Brunswick and Wickham streets.

February 1995

The grand old lady of the Valley fought hard to keep her name up there in lights before millions of Queensland shoppers.

McWhirters was enjoying a resurgence as the city’s melting pot of culture and its big drawcard was a combination of “different’’ specialty shops, seven-day-trading and the availability of fresh produce on the weekend.

Owners, Pioneer Glory Properties continued to look for quality tenants and planned to launch the Coffee Club.

“Level three is something we are excited about – we’re looking at putting in a tavern, live music and discotheque,’’ said centre manager Lynden Courtney.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Alderman Jim Soorley said the Valley’s image had changed dramatically since the council’s Urban Renewal Project started in 1991.

September 1998

Brisbane City Council was considering an application to convert part of historic McWhirters to a 210-bedroom hotel.

Under the $12.7 million proposal, the top three floors of the heritage-listed building would be converted to one and two-bedroom accommodation, conference facilities and a ground level reception on Warner St.

The proposal contained a conservation plan acknowledging the significance of the building and the impact of the planned refurbishment.

Brisbane City Councillor David Hinchliffe said he supported the concept.

September 1999

Brisbane’s McWhirters Marketplace complex was bought by developers Miller Property Corp for about $10 million.

The historic Fortitude Valley building was earmarked for conversion into about 100 apartments with an end value close to $40 million.

The vendor, Pioneer Glory Properties, bought the five-level complex in 1993 along with the McWhirters car park for a total of $7.1 million.

The car park was sold in a separate transaction to a private consortium headed by developer Kevin Seymour.

June 2000

The revival of McWhirters created much excitement in property circles.

With 114 apartments planned and under construction, the development would add to the diversity and energy of the Valley.

Director of Miller Corporation, Alison Miller, envisaged the redevelopment as a “village within a village’’.

These two-bedroom properties, designed as terrace apartments in the sky, feature multi-function rooms.

“These apartments will be a hidden treasure,’’ said sales agent Rosemary Marrum from Ray White Project Marketing.

June 2011

The Fortitude Valley was descending into filth and would only get worse unless urgent action was taken, according to Central Ward councillor David Hinchliffe.

Cr Hinchliffe said political handballing had left responsibility for ordering the cleaning of privately-owned Fortitude Valley properties ambiguous.

“The State Government say Council has the power to demand private property owners keep their properties clean, but Council say it’s a State Government responsibility,’’ Cr Hinchliffe said.

Cr Hinchliffe cited the arcade from the Valley Metro train station and across the air-bridge to McWhirters as a private property area in a constant state of filth and disrepair.

“Broken glass, bodily fluids, litter, rotting foods, you name it, it’s there,’’ he said.

February 2012

The closed walkway connecting Fortitude Valley station with McWhirters claimed a victim with the first business to shut down due to lost trade.

McWhirters Florist owner Lieng, who did not want his last name published, said the store plans to shut.

“We’ve lost tens of thousands of dollars, it’s very sad,’’ he said.

“If our closing can give powerful people some warning about what is happening, that would be good.’’

Labor Lord Mayoral candidate Ray Smith called on the State Government to resume the Waltons building adjoining the walkway, to end the eight-week standoff.

However, Member for Brisbane Central Grace Grace said gaining access rights to the area was more important than resuming the building.

Autographed Memorabilia owner Corey Hamilton said if the closure continued “in two months McWhirters will be a ghost town”.

July 2013

The McWhirters centre in Fortitude Valley was due to be strata titled, with about 40 retail and commercial tenancies offered for sale.

Miller Property Corp director Michael Miller said a total of 7571sq m of retail space would be offered for sale.

Prices started at $97,000 with the average price between $300,000 and $600,000.

Mr Miller said the company had wanted to strata title the property for some time, but it took a while to organise the process.

“It has always been set up to allow the shops to be strata-titled,’’ he said.

Mr Miller believed the market for strata titled retail property was growing in Brisbane.

January 2018

News Corp writer Susan Johnson urged powerbrokers to fix Fortitude Valley before it was too late.

“When I was a kid visiting Brisbane from Sydney, the thing I loved best – apart from sarsaparilla – was going by tram into Fortitude Valley with my grandmother to look at the lovely shops,” she wrote.

“ … It hardly seems possible that the prosperous shopping precinct that was Fortitude Valley back then has turned into the Valley of today. With its boarded-up windows, its desolate strip of sex shops, cheap junk and sad, dispossessed inhabitants, it’s skid row compared to inner city New Farm’s swank James St.

“Numerous makeovers have tried and failed: turning McWhirters into apartments did not make the Valley as desirable as Newstead’s made-over warehouses.”

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June 2024

In a rare fast food retail space switch, a Hungry Jack’s outlet secured a prime position in Brisbane’s premier entertainment precinct that was previously occupied by its major rival.

The fast food giant had a 13-year lease on a strata titled retail site facing onto Brunswick Mall on the ground floor of the historic McWhirters building.

The property became empty after McDonald’s went across the road to 275 Brunswick St which, according to CoreLogic, it bought for $3.425m in the middle of 2022.

McGees Property’s Guy Stafford, who struck the deal with colleague Liam Ghietti, said McDonald’s had been in the property for about two decades and said it was the first Hungry Jack’s in the precinct.

November 2024

It was reported the site resembled a ghost town, with stores shuttered up, sections in disrepair and “junkies and the homeless” roaming its corridors.

Inside the entrance to the grand old building on the corner of Brunswick and Wickham streets, there was a person sleeping rough on the ground near the iconic escalators that were cordoned off for repairs.

The heritage-listed building had seen better days, with holes in the roof and graffiti on the walls, while there were more shops closed than open throughout the mall, with several including closing in recent weeks.

The select few stores open included a newsagency, barber shop, discount variety store, food and vegetable store, nail and beauty parlour, jewellery store, Red Cross, as well as some eateries within the food court.

In April 2024 it was reported how few customers had been visiting the centre.

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