Two years and counting: Taringa ColesLocal still not open

It is one of Brisbane’s smallest stand-alone supermarkets, but it’s also one of the slowest. Two years after work began — and a footpath and road were closed — locals just want it to open.

Artist's impression of the building.

A radical new “mini-Coles’’ that was to have been only the third of its kind in Queensland is still stuck in limbo, with no opening date announced two years after construction began.

A very steep site next to a railway line, a rogue water main and now an unspecified financial dispute between the builder and owner have made the Taringa ColesLocal project one of the slowest supermarket builds in Brisbane.

Despite appearing from the street to be nearly finished, including shelves and lights, a 100m stretch of footpath is still closed — two years to the month since it was first shut.

Council had to step in late last year after Melbourne-based builder Kenik asked to entirely close Swann Rd to re-profile the road.

Kenik was instead allowed to close only the eastbound lane around a railway overpass.

The seven-week timeline turned into a marathon closure of busy Swann Rd, a key connection between St Lucia and Taringa.

It dragged on for months because a water main marked on Urban Utilities maps was not where it was supposed to be.

Careful excavation was required to ensure there was no damage, which would have cut water supplies to the area.

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.

Local Councillor James Mackay posted that Council had not issued a stop work and said that work had instead been delayed for “financial reasons’’.

He recently wrote to Council’s General Manager Development Services, who said 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.