Landmark Inala skate rink up for sale two decades after closing

A landmark Brisbane skate rink which has been an eyesore for two decades is up for sale, five years after plans to turn it into a sports hub were approved. Here’s what could happen next.

A landmark southwest Brisbane skate rink which has been an eyesore for the past two decades is up for sale, five years after bold plans to turn it into a sports hub were approved.

The vandalised, long-vacant Inala skate rink will be auctioned on March 22 by Ray White Commercial’s Michael Feltoe and Lachlan O’Keefe.

Mr Feltoe said he had already fielded interest from multiple buyers interested in knocking down the derelict building and replacing it with uses ranging from childcare to a storage facility.

The property had three-street frontage, including 230m on a major road passed by 55,000 cars per week, and was close to the CBD, seven schools but only four childcare centres.

“The long-awaited redevelopment of this site is an exciting prospect for Inala,” Mr Feltoe said.

“We have already fielded interest from national groups across a range of industries including retail, medical, self storage and childcare.

“It is pleasing to see that the current DA approval received overwhelming support from both the local council and community”.

It is the latest chapter in a saga stretching back to 2007 when the building, on a 0.61 site at Serviceton Ave, was closed.

Locals fed up with anti-social behaviour at the property, which was on the bucket list for “urban explorers’’, were overjoyed when Brisbane City Council approved plans in 2019 for a gym complex and pool.

Hien Thi Nguyen and her brother Sien Nguyen are selling the old Inala Skate Rink. Picture: AAP/Renae Droop

Outside the ols skate rink. Picture: Richard Walker

Developer and Inala lawyer Hien Thi Nguyen said at the time that work would “begin almost immediately’’ on the project.

A development application (DA) lodged the previous year by Ann & Bros Pty Ltd proposed a three-storey sports and commercial centre complete with facilities potentially including a cafe, a grocery, medical and health-based services and even a fresh produce store.

A new outdoor pool and 16 tenancies were proposed for the floor with a World Gym above it.

But details still had not been released by mid-2021.

The DA was made by Ms Nguyen, her brother Manh Nguyen, Justin Bellas and Nathan Vecchio, who were believed to be selling to focus on other ventures.

Ms Nguyen and her siblings, like thousands before them, learned to skate at the rink.

It came after various attempts by other potential developers failed to proceed.

The skate rink, opened in 1959, was once incredibly popular site among locals.

During its heyday from the 1960s to the 1980s it was a treasured hotspot for young people.

The interior of the building, in 2019. Picture: AAP/Renae Droop

The interior of the building, in 2019. Picture: AAP/Renae Droop

There was overwhelming support to redevelop the site, which has regularly been the source of complaints to Council.

Ms Nguyen’s plans attracted a massive 2171 submissions, most in support.

Local Forest Lake Ward Councillor Charles Strunk said at the time that the skate rink site was the “thing I am asked about the most in my ward”.

According to RP Data, the site was bought for $1 million in March 2007 after it was on the market for 56 days.

The previous owners paid $270,000 for the site in June 2000.

The auction is on March 22 at 9.45am on Level 26, 111 Eagle St, Brisbane City.