Highrise student tower to soar above Valley retail landmark

For decades it was literally the height of fashion, but this iconic Valley department store from the golden years of retailing will make way for a highrise student tower.

The disused Waltons building and surrounding buildings in Fortitude Valley will be re-purposed as a highrise tower and uni campus in the biggest transformation the area has seen in decades.

Mount Cathay Pty Ltd has revived an earlier Millinium Capital Managers project put on the backburner in 2019 and has lodged a “material change of use’’ application for the sprawling Brunswick St site.

Waltons and the surrounding strip was the epicentre of Brisbane’s department store precinct in the 1950s and 1960s when the area rivalled the CBD for retail supremacy.

But the rise of cars and a flight to the suburbs saw the area gradually decline.

The graffitied buildings are now unused, except for a large number of pigeons.

The 29-storey tower will be matched with offices, shops and cafes, revitalising a dead part of the Valley.

Overells drapery store circa 1901. Picture: State Library of Queensland

In 2019 Sydney-based fund manager Millinium Capital Managers announced on the ASX a proposed $180 million project at the site, but settlement came and went without any action.

The 240 Brunswick St and 11 Overells Lane site is now proposed to become an education hub with Western Australia’s Torrens University taking a 12-month lease as the anchor tenant.

The heritage-listed Overells and Lincoln Mills buildings will be refurbished as part of the project.

But the former Waltons store and part of the Braggs building will be demolished with only their facades remaining.

Brunswick St, looking towards Wickham St, with the reconstructed Overells and adjacent Whincup store circa 1907.

Planners Urbis said in the development application (DA) that the main buildings on the eight land parcels were originally constructed from the late 1890s.

“Various expansions, new buildings and internal alterations occurred up to the 1950s at the site to create a single department store operation, traditionally Overells department store, but since the 1950s Waltons department store,’’ it said.

“The main Waltons store ceased trading in the 1980s and the site was largely abandoned and since left unused.

“Some smaller retail tenancies are accommodated in the buildings currently, to Brunswick St

only. The site is seriously under-utilised and has been so for many years.

Artist's impression of how the student tower could look.

“Indeed, the Waltons store is the Valley in a microcosm, a large department store across many floor levels and demonstrative of the commercial function and performance of the area in the past, but today vacant and requiring major repairs, new works and a viable new use.’’

Most of buildings are included in the Heritage Overlay of City Plan 2014.

But the Waltons building is not listed as a local heritage place and none of the sites are on the Queensland Heritage Register.

Urbis said the Overells and Lincoln Mills buildings would be refurbished and internally fitted out for the university’s needs and the Wickham St facade of the Overells building would also be refurbished.

The Waltons and Braggs facades would be retained.

Overells Ln would be revitalised as a laneway and access with a new public plaza and link from Brunswick St through to the Brunswick St railway station, including retail and university spaces.

Aerial view of the development site in the heart of the Valley.

“The proposed works involve the retention of the majority of the heritage buildings at the development site and the refurbishment and adaptive reuse of three of these buildings (the two Overells buildings and the Lincoln Mills Building) for a new, long term and sustainable use,’’ Urbis said.

It said the buildings had been mostly vacant for 30 years and were in poor condition.

“They need a long term and viable use to remain part of the urban fabric of Fortitude Valley,’’ Urbis wrote.

“The proposed development does involve the demolition of one of the components of the Local Heritage Place.

“This building is in poor condition and requires substantial internal demolition, rebuilding and

reconstruction of the main structural elements of the building including the roof framing, masonry walls and floor.’’

Waltons department store in 1969, in its heyday. Picture: Brisbane City Council

“The changes to the buildings that are encompassed with the proposal would be needed regardless of the use proposed – the buildings are mostly timber framed with timber floors, and are not compliant with current standards for fire safety, acoustic performance, the provision of services, and other modern necessities.’’

The $40 million project is expected to open in 2023 and would be home to about 2000 students. The tower, at the north end of the site, would be run separately from the university.

Torrens hopes to become a player in the overseas student market post-Covid.

It has a campus near the Storey Bridge, which would remain open for the foreseeable future.