Breakthrough on troubled Taringa ColesLocal shopping centre project

After two years of excruciating delays, a major breakthrough has been announced this afternoon on Brisbane’s slowest shopping centre opening. A well-known family-owned building company has taken over the stalled project.

The stalled ColesLocal and (inset) Scott Hutchinson, whose family company "Hutchies'' has agreed to finish the build.

After two years of excruciating delays, a major breakthrough has been announced this afternoon, August 31, on Brisbane’s slowest shopping centre opening, the ColesLocal in Taringa.

Toowong-based family company Hutchinsons Builders has taken over from Melbourne-based Kenik, which was believed to have been locked in an undisclosed financial dispute with the site owner.

Local Councillor James Mackay said Hutchies, one of the city’s best known and most respected builders, told him today that reopening a footpath shut in August, 2021 would be its top priority.

But Cr Mackay hosed down hopes from frustrated residents that the radical small-format centre could open soon, despite appearing near complete from the street frontage.

He said there was still a lot of technically difficult work to finish, particularly concrete formwork at the side and rear of the property which backed on to a major railway line near Taringa Station.

The rear of the site was extremely steep and pouring concrete would be a challenging task.

Cr James Mackay at the site, which he says still has tricky technical building work left to be done.

“I’m really relieved Hutchies has taken on the contract with Coles,’’ he said.

“Although it looks like it’s nearly finished there’s still a lot of work to go.

“There is no time frame but I got a commitment today (August 31) from Hutchies that they will get the footpath open in some form as soon as possible.’’

Cr Mackay said there was compliance and other Council paperwork to be sorted out, but Council would facilitate that process.

The radical new “mini-Coles’’ was to have been only the third of its kind in Queensland when announced two years ago.

But it has been plagued with problems including lockdown, the very steep site next to a railway line and a rogue water main not marked accurately on Urban Utilities maps.

The missing water main meant reprofiling work of busy Swann Rd, a key connection between St Lucia and Taringa, was delayed for months.

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The footpath outside the Coles is still closed after two years.

Council and the State Government signed off on the ColesLocal proposal in November, 2020.

It was a tricky build from the start, requiring state approval because the very steep site was next to a railway line.

The site, which also fronted Moggill Rd, had been vacant for decades, with no progress on a previous development approval in 2007.

Cr Mackay recently wrote to Council’s General Manager Development Services for an explanation on the cause of the delay.

He was told a legal firm acting on behalf of the developer had confirmed “construction has been slightly delayed due to financial reasons’’.

The developer had engaged a traffic management company to lodge an application for a new footway permit “imminently’’.

The law firm advised that the area could not be opened to pedestrians and cyclists because there was no completed footpath, posing a safety risk to the public.

“Based on this, Council agrees it is best the footpath remains closed until the construction works within the footpath area have been completed,’’ Cr Mackay posted.

“The (Council) Building Construction Management Team will continue to monitor this construction site moving forward to ensure impact on the community is kept to a minimum and the site continues to comply with the development approval and permits.’’

Artist's impression of the building.

Local cyclists said the works had forced them to ride on Moggill Rd, risking their safety.

One resident, Julie, posted on a local community Facebook page: “I wish they would finish the footpath. Makes walking 100m into three street crossings with lights. Very annoying.’’

At one point in the troubled build Kenik lodged a Planning & Environment Court appeal against a Council decision involving $500,000 in infrastructure charges, supposed to have been paid by a previous developer.

Kenik dropped the appeal in 2021.

The delays come on top of traffic and pedestrian disruption at the nearby Indooroopilly roundabout upgrade work site.

A development application for the ColesLocal proposal was first lodged with Council more than three years ago.

ColesLocal stores, a modern take on the corner grocery store, have been beset with problems in Queensland.

A second one at Bardon was knocked back by Council in 2021.

The owner appealed but no work has happened on site since then.