Toowoomba dwellings moved to make way for $5m McDonald’s drive-through restaurant

One day they’re here, next day they’re gone. Several longstanding Toowoomba homes have been moved to make way for a new international fast food chain.

Space is being made to cater for the construction of Toowoomba’s newest McDonald’s restaurant, with four homes either removed or demolished ahead of the new eatery.

The corner of Ruthven and Jones Streets in Harlaxton now looks very different, as TJ King House Relocators took away two of three properties from the site, with the final home to be lifted up next week.

A fourth, which was damaged by fire earlier this year, will be demolished by Burke Demolitions.

The works come as the council continues its assessment of a new $5m drive-through restaurant slated for the site.

Developer and landowner Ian Knox said the clearing was a key part of the process.

“We’re just going forward with the clearing of the site over the next month and removing all the asbestos in the environment and leaving a clean site,” he said.

“They were tenanted and their tenancies have been terminated, and the house removalist has bought three of them.

“It will leave the site absolutely clean and ready for construction.”

Home removalist Tyson King said two of the dwellings had already been sold, with one heading west to go on a cattle property.

“We’ve bought the houses and we advertise them for sale — (one guy) saw it and it’s heading to a cattle property near Surat,” he said.

“You could easily save 50 per cent going with a second-hand home — this house is in a good liveable condition.”

Mr Knox said he wasn’t sure when the application, lodged in March, would pass through the council’s “red tape”.

The council issued an information request in April, citing a number of issues with the current proposal.

Originally published as Toowoomba dwellings moved to make way for $5m McDonald’s drive-through restaurant