$10m plans to build fourth pub in Beenleigh but still no cinema

A town, 40km south of Brisbane, will end up with four pubs within 4km but no cinema if a massive $10 million tavern and shopping centre development is approved.

An artist's impression of the proposed Beenleigh Central Tavern on Logan River Rd, inset. A tavern on the site will mean four pubs within 4km in Beenleigh, which still has no cinema.

A town, 40km south of Brisbane, will end up with four pubs within 4km but no cinema if a massive $10 million tavern and shopping centre development is approved.

Plans for the tavern, hotel, medical centre and manufacturing outlet in Beenleigh were submitted by developer Coastal Sails to Logan City Council for assessment in January.

An artist's impression of the proposed Beenleigh Central Tavern on Logan River Rd.

Owner of the site, mining investor, property development magnate and former KFC franchisee, Stephen Copulos, hopes to include an indoor gym, a warehouse and a retail showroom.

But his grand plans for the town of 9000 residents, do not include a cinema, in line with the Logan council’s current planning scheme restrictions.

The 17,000 sqm site, on the busy Logan River Road, near the main Transport and Roads Department customer centre, was on the market for more than four years before it finally sold this year.

The venue, being dubbed Beenleigh Central, will be in direct competition with three other pubs in Beenleigh including the Beenleigh Tavern, owned by Australian Venue Company and Coles.

An aerial view of the site.

AVC is the country’s second largest bar and pub venture and also owns the nearby Fitzy’s Loganholme, Hotel HQ in Underwood, Browns Plains Hotel, and Club Hotel Waterford.

ALH Group, which operates more than 300 licensed venues and 550 retail liquor outlets across Australia, also owns pubs and liquor outlets on nearby George St.

Designs for the proposed tavern show 212 parking spaces with driveways from Spanns Rd, owned by the council, and Logan River Rd, owned by the state.

Plans include building traffic lights at an intersection with a traffic report calculated on an average daily traffic count or about 33,064 cars.

An artist's impression of the proposed Beenleigh Central Tavern on Logan River Rd.

The tavern, which will likely open from 10am to 4am Monday to Sunday, will need to hold a Liquor Licence from the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation which also regulates noise.

The retail warehouses will likely open from 6am to 10pm Monday to Sunday.

Beenleigh residents said they were concerned with the additional tavern in the CBD area.

Outspoken resident James Herbst said a cinema complex would help spark the Beenleigh CBD.

“The town is dying,” he said. “We need real life stuff in the centre of town and to use the arts centre and the grass area outside the library more.

“What we need is a local movie theatre, nice and cosy, not a huge one to bring in foodies and cafes to compliment the town.

“We want a ‘cleaner’ night-life and to have more of the town’s heritage on show too.”

Logan City Council knocked back a proposal for a six-cinema entertainment complex at Holmview, 4km away, in 2019 citing zoning laws with claims the application sparked opposition from retail centres at Beenleigh and the Hyperdome.