Councillor questions size of Albion Exchange as Geon Property size up masterplan
A $750 million “super-sized” Brisbane train station revamp is more city than suburban, the local councillor says, as another development stoush brews.
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A “super-sized” development proposed for the Albion train station is more suited to the city than a city-fringe suburb, Hamilton councillor David McLachlan believes.
Cr McLachlan said while there was “general support” for upgrading the station facilities, he questioned if the Albion Exchange Transport Orientated Development needed to be so large.
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“Why does the station need to be super-sized — and I borrow (Transport and Main Roads Minister) Mark Bailey’s word — in order to achieve that,” he said. “There are genuine concerns about the bulk and height of the buildings at that location. It would be more appropriate at the CBD or even the Valley or Bowen Hills. I don’t think (Albion Exchange) is the height and bulk envisioned in the Albion local plan.”
The development, a joint venture between the State Government and private development firm Geon Property, was submitted to council earlier this month.
It is stage one of a $750m revamp of the Albion land owned by the State Government, and will include two residential buildings, one at 30 storeys with 203 and the other 23 stories and 130 apartments. Geon Property is currently forming a masterplan for the site, which covers 4ha.
Cr McLachlan said he “didn’t have a problem with” developers submitting applications for buildings that went beyond the local plan, as State Government planning legislation allowed for that to happen and for those projects to be considered on a “performance solution” basis.
“It’s OK that developers make suggestions as to why a (local) plan can be followed as a guideline, rather than a blueprint,” he said.
“The issue here is in this instance what justifies going so far beyond the envisioned Albion plan?”
He said there was concern, too, that this was a new type of joint development between two State Government departments and a private property development firm.
“I am not opposed to private-public partnership, and it can have good infrastructure outcomes. My concern extends beyond this particular application for State One — this goes up to 1- stages all up, to develop land holdings along the whole rail corridor. (This first stage indicates) they have got some fairly ambitions ideas of what value can be extracted from developing this land.
“My strong preference has always been for providing public land for public use as much as possible, rather than trying to extract the maximum — or beyond the maximum — value out of the land by real estate development.
“The land corridor that is being developed has been acquired at different times, and there are big pockets from road projects of the 1980s that didn’t proceed. The corridor extends all the way along the rail line from Albion to Wooloowin and beyond. It’s a pity the land hasn’t been used to provide a bikeway connection — it would have been an idea corridor for the North Brisbane Bikeway, it’s a pity it is now an on-road project rather than on a land corridor the State has had sitting there for a long time.”
Geon Property is currently forming a masterplan for the site, which covers 4ha. The community was invited to a meeting with the developers on Sunday.
Tim Rossberg, Senior Development Manager at Geon Property said:
“Following on from an extensive community consultation program prior to lodging the Stage One development application of Albion Exchange, Geon Property has now commenced public consultation on the broader masterplan.
“The most recent public session was well attended on Saturday 12 September 2018, and we would like to thank everyone who gave up time on their weekend to share their invaluable feedback.
“We understand that traffic and transport challenges pose a considerable issue for Albion, and this was reflected at Saturday’s meeting. We will be providing this feedback to the Brisbane City Council during our ongoing discussions with them as a part of the project. We are keen to continue to actively work with the local community and help Council plan for an effective and efficient road and traffic network.
“During the public session, we also had genuine conversations with locals about a variety of items including height, building shapes, building materials and views. In answer to some of these concerns our plan is to develop a pattern of buildings which start higher near the train station and peter out as they approach lower density zones.
“Overall, we received a lot of valuable feedback on Saturday which we are now looking at how we can implement into the masterplan.
“If community members were unable to attend our latest session or if they think of anything they did not discuss with the project team we encourage them to, write to us on enquiries@albionexchange.com.au or call 07 3210 7790 and share their insights.”
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Cr McLachlan first questioned the development in a Facebook post earlier this month. It said:
“Does the State Government really need to super-size Albion Station?
“This is a longer item than I would normally write for a Facebook post. My apologies. But the issue at its heart is one that is important for our community to consider and one on which I am seeking your guidance.
This is about the proposed development of the Albion Railway Station, and the future redevelopment of the entire State Government land holdings in and around Albion, extending through to Wooloowin.
“The first stage of this multistage redevelopment of the State Government land holdings (owned by taxpayers through the Department of Transport and Main Roads and Queensland Rail) was revealed in the development application the State lodged this week with its private sector developer partner, Geon. Their joint vehicle is called Albion TOD Pty Ltd.
Now, ordinarily, given my Liberal Party background, I would support a private/public partnership. And I don’t have any real concern about the State Labor Government going down this path (apart from a wry smile thinking about what the Labor Party would be saying if Liberals were doing this. But I digress.)
The private/public partnership is not the issue. The issue is the potential consequences in this proposal.
When the Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey, announced this deal, he said it was to “super-size” Albion Station.
My question is, why does the station have to be super-sized?
The proposal is for 53 stories in 2 residential/retail towers — a 30 story tower and a 23 story tower.
Why is it necessary, in order to fix the train station, to build towers more at home in the CBD?
The proposed project has a number of positive aspects, particularly improved pedestrian accessibility. But the State Government has dictated that there is to be no increase in park-and-ride parking.
And the proposed height of the taller of the two towers is DOUBLE the height of the acceptable outcome envisaged in the Albion Neighbourhood Plan.
This is not, in my opinion, appropriate. In the opinion of Council’s town planners, when this proposal was discussed at a pre-lodgement meeting, the height and combined bulk of the two towers were considered to significantly impact the public view corridor from Lapraik St to the Taylor Ranges and the analysis shows the proposed towers “amalgamate to create a monolithic form that would dominate the skyline”.
Under the Albion Plan, buildings are not expected to compete, height-wise, with “centre zone” buildings like in the Valley, Bowen Hills and the City.
And this is just the first stage!
Across the railway line in Albion Rd, four character homes owned by the State, in an area zoned character residential, have been demolished. No application is in yet for what is intended for this site. Yes, a small corner is apparently earmarked for the North Brisbane Bikeway. But the bulk of the site is intended, I’m informed, for a 14 storey office building, overlooking the character homes across the road.
The details of the development for Stages 1A and 1B (the two towers) can be seen at Council’s PD Online site, via the Council website www.brisbane.qld.gov.au. The application number is A005013244.
It is an impact assessable application and submissions for or against the proposal will be accepted.
Of course, feel free to voice your opinions here, or to my email address hamilton.ward@bcc.qld.gov.au.
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