Vacant, rundown: Inside 15 iconic Brisbane buildings that time forgot
From theatres to iconic department stores, churches, mansions, factories and whole streets of flood-ravaged homes – take a look at some of Brisbane’s unoccupied buildings in need of repair.
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They range from theatres where big-name stars learned their craft to department stores which were once the epitome of style.
Brisbane has thousands of unoccupied houses — even more since the February 2022 flood emptied whole streets in Rocklea and Windsor.
There are also churches, mansions, factories and once-grand colonial homesteads.
In June last year councils across the state launched another push for a United Kingdom-style system, where a sliding scale of enforcement would be put on owners of vacant properties.
This would start from imposing compulsory purchase orders or a scheme where councils effectively step in as property managers — making a vacant place liveable and putting it on the rental market.
The problem is huge.
Urban Utilities says nearly 20,000 homes in southeast Queensland have used barely any water for months — a sign they are vacant.
We take a look at some iconic vacant buildings which have been left unoccupied for years - some have been trashed by squatters while others look like time stood still when the previous owners left one day, never to return.
And a notable few are now being lovingly restored.
ROCKLEA SPINNING MILLS
This heritage listed former WWII-era munitions factory bizarrely looks like the last owners, a textiles manufacturer, walked out mid-shift.
Equipment and textiles are still scattered throughout the structure, one of many such factories built by the United States military when Brisbane briefly became the centre of the Allied fightback against Japan.
The site is long vacant, stopping production in the 1990s, but is under surveillance.
It has a security system and a caretaker who has been reported in media stories as saying 60 people over the past two years had been arrested for trespassing or break and enter.
Council says the building was one of about eight munitions factories that made up the Rocklea Munitions Works and was built in 1941-42 to make machine tools such as milling machines, lathes and shapers.
MOIRA’S HOUSE, WOOLOOWIN
Moira and George Cross built their imposing Wooloowin home in 1955 but it is now a pale shadow of its former self.
George is believed to have died in 1966 but Moira lived on to be 97.
Their house has been vacant for many years and it looks like the occupants just got up and left one day, leaving all behind.
Clothes and objects are strewn everywhere, with some clothes still hanging in a cupboard.
Kitchen cupboards and drawers have been left open and the sink is filled with pots and pans.
A silver cutlery set, music sheets, recorder, empty jars and medicine bottles are among the other items still left in what is now widely referred to as Moira’s House.
MULTIPLE STREETS, WINDSOR
Uncollected mail overflow from letterboxes, front doors wide open and windows boarded up with timber — that was the scene last year at dozens of homes in floodprone parts of Windsor more than half a year after the February 2022 flood.
Dozens of houses in parts of the suburb are still vacant and unfit to live in.
One tenant said they had lost thousands of dollars in furniture when waters rose 30cm above the top floorboards of his rental, leaving it a “mouldy, stinky” mess.
He said one of his neighbours had to camp out in a backyard tent, while other property owners had simply not returned.
MULTIPLE STREETS, ROCKLEA
Moorooka Ward Councillor, Steve Griffiths, said about 50-60 Rocklea homes would be bought back under the State Government’s voluntary flood resumption scheme, showing the scale of the problem in the suburb.
He said they would have to be demolished and most likely be turned into parks.
Cr Griffiths said many others were still struggling to be approved for voluntary buyback but were advised they could not return to their homes because of mould.
Crime had spiked in the worst-affected areas, to such an extent police used some houses approved for buyback for training exercises.
APOSTOLIC CHURCH, FORTITUDE VALLEY
This long vacant inner-city church hit the market for the first time in 40 years late last year.
The former Apostolic Church in Fortitude Valley opened in the 1950s but religious services moved to a larger premises at an unknown later date and the building has mostly sat vacant since.
The 592sq m site at 151-153 Brunswick St, marketed by Harcourts Coastal Commercial directors Jared Johnson and Lachlan Marshall, went to auction on December 7.
WALTON’S, FORTITUDE VALLEY
Mostly empty since the early 1990s when Venture closed its store, plans by owners Mount Cathay Pty Ltd to build a 30-level student accommodation tower and Torrens uni campus have stalled since being revealed in 2021.
Planners for Mount Cathay lodged revised designs early this month after Council officers raised several concerns.
The developer has also added about 130 accommodation rooms for students enrolled with the WA-based university, taking the total to 500, and added one level to raise the tower to 30 levels.
Apart from tenants on the lower level facing Brunswick and Wickham streets, most of what is known as the Waltons Building has been empty for years.
The site includes the original Overell’s Department Store brick building, with its distinctive arched windows.
In August 2021 it was revealed that Mount Cathay had revived an earlier Millinium Capital Managers project, put on the backburner in 2019, and lodged a “material change of use’’ application for the sprawling Brunswick St site.
Waltons and the surrounding strip was the epicentre of Brisbane’s department store precinct in the 1950s and 1960s when the area rivalled the CBD for retail supremacy.
The heritage-listed Overells and Lincoln Mills buildings will be refurbished as part of the project, with Torrens uni to be the anchor tenant.
The former Waltons store and part of the Braggs building will be demolished, with only their facades remaining.
PINK PALACE, NORMAN PARK
Once one of the most expensive and glamorous residences in Brisbane, the former Keith Lloyd-owned pile fronting the Brisbane River at Norman Park has had tongues wagging in recent years.
Nobody seems to be at home and — at least from the river — the 3450 sqm property is in need of a new coat of pink paint.
The wooden shutters also need replacement, the pool appears to be drained and many pylons on the jetty have rotted right through.
A media tycoon bought the so-called “Pink Palace’’ on Wynnum Rd in 1993 for $6.8 million from Brisbane businessman Keith Lloyd.
It has an underground carpark, lower-level boat storage with direct access to the river and a housekeepers’ residence/guesthouse that is the size of a large suburban home.
The sandstone swimming pool, complete with gold-look statue, once had a water jet so keen swimmers could test themselves.
AVALON THEATRE, ST LUCIA
News emerged on February 14 that after many years lying vacant, the Avalon Theatre on Sir Fred Schonell Drive was expected to reopen in early 2024.
Initially it would be used for teaching by owners the University of Queensland for its drama program, as well as student-led performances and for UQ Union Clubs and Societies, local Councillor James Mackay said.
“UQ senior management have also confirmed to me that, in time, the Avalon Theatre will also be available for local community groups and residents to use, continuing the theatre’s tradition as a space for the broader St Lucia community,’’ he said.
Cr Mackay, who campaigned to have the site reopened, said early works would begin next week including site preparation, groundworks and structural bracing.
“Also, I’ve had confirmation from UQ that they currently have no redevelopment plans for the properties owned by the university adjacent to the theatre,’’ he said.
Stars such as Jack Thompson and Michael Caton once trod the boards of the amateur theatre.
KEATING HOUSE, INDOOROOPILLY
This heritage-listed villa, on a prominent corner diagonally opposite Indooroopilly train station, was built in the 1890s.
Also known as the Louis Stamm residence, after a businessman who was its original owner, there have been attempts over the years to redevelop the property.
It was designed by renowned architect Richard Gailey.
It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1999.
The property has been unoccupied since 1999 and was sold by the Public Trustee in 2002 to Amalek Pty Ltd.
In 2008 Amalek was served with a maintenance notice to repair doors and windows, clear the drains and fence and mow the yard.
It was the first such action taken under the Queensland Heritage Act 1992, which allowed the government to force owners to maintain heritage properties.
KATANGA, HAMILTON HILL
Long vacant and rundown, Solaire Properties started renovations last year to bring this grand old dame back to its glory days and expects to finish the amazing makeover by the end of 2023.
Multiple development applications have been lodged over the years but none proceeded.
Solaire’s James McElhenny, a fourth-generation builder, said the house had been vacant for at least 15 years when they showed up.
The landmark homestead was built in 1884, high on Hamilton Hill.
Owners the Dixon family were prominent business and political figures of the day and counted a premier among their clan.
The Dixons appear to have left the homestead by 1905 and the sweeping grounds were subdivided by the 1920s.
It was listed as a local heritage place in 2004.
Mr McElhenny said there was evidence homeless people were living in it, there was asbestos, extensive wood rot and water infiltration.
“If it had been left another five years the damage would have been significant,’’ he said.
“The neighbours are so happy work has started. There were snakes in the (overgrown) grass and it was getting to be an eyesore.’’
Prominent architect Twohill and James have been engaged to design the striking renovation which will feature a 7m pool, deck, internal lift, mudroom, home gym and theatre and more.
ICON UNIT TOWER SITE, MILTON
Work on the Chinese-backed $175 million, 260-apartment development stalled in 2019 but reports have started circulating that construction might yet proceed.
For nearly four years residents have complained about being stuck with a concrete eyesore.
GH Properties, a local subsidiary of Hong-based private company Golden Horse Nine Dragon Lake Holdings, heavily promoted Icon to Asian investors.
The site was cleared in 2017 and work started on the Walsh St project, with the construction of a five-level basement to accommodate almost 300 vehicles.
Melbourne-based Kokoda Property is now well-advanced with work on another nearby, long-stalled high-rise, The Ambrose, at 19 McDougall St.
MIDDENBURY HOUSE, TOOWONG
Consolidated Properties Group is proceeding with plans to drop millions on a renovation of heritage-listed Middenbury House, in the middle of the old ABC studios site which it is converting into a twin residential tower precinct.
Middenbury, which dates to the 1860s, had previously been leased to engineers McNab which used it to store building materials.
They found a squatter had moved into the property, which had been vacant for years and previously was used for office space by the ABC.
Middenbury and its sight lines to the Brisbane River are both protected.
CPG head of residential, James McGinley, said Middenbury was in relatively good condition.
There was no cracking and the structure was mainly solid brick, with only the wooden railings and the iron veranda roofing in poor condition.
“It’s OK inside. The fireplaces have been walled over but it has aged well and must be on good foundations,’’ he said.
The homestead once hosted grand parties with guests including the Prince of Wales (later to abdicate as King Edward VIII after marrying Wallace Simpson).
DOVERCOURT, TOOWONG
Efforts to restore this grand homestead and subdivide its grounds to help pay for the multimillion-dollar restoration are still stuck in the Planning and Environment Court.
Neighbours are objecting to the project on multiple grounds, including the impact on vegetation and the look of the proposed new townhouses.
The Faichen family, who posted the winning bid at an auction in 2021, are presently living in the crumbling house which dates to 1864.
Kirsty Faichen, who fought to help preserve nearby historic home Endrim from development, has vowed Dovercourt would be lovingly restored and would still be surrounded with 4000 sqm of grounds.
She said her family’s winning bid saved it from being turned into a medium-density development.
ENDRIM, TOOWONG
Long vacant, work is now well under way on restoring this 28 Woodstock Rd landmark.
Arlington, now known as Endrim, has until recently been hidden from the street behind thick camphor laurel trees.
It was built in 1905 for American engineer Joseph Stillman Badger, known as “Boss Badger’’, who named the house Arlington in honour of the United States National Cemetery.
He oversaw the electrification of Brisbane’s outdated horse-drawn tram network for the Brisbane Tramways Company (BTC).
Heavy machinery appeared on the site in mid-2002, preparing it for a new extension and extensive renovations as part of a childcare development by Hutchinsons Builders.
The Toowong tram terminus was near the homestead and several original tram tracks later were used as beams in some extensions.
BROADWAY HOTEL, WOOLLOONGABBA
After years of neglect, at least three fires, flooding of its basement and the collapse of its distinctive and rare mansard roof, work has finally started to save this once glorious late 1800s pub.
It was the subject of numerous government and Council “stop orders’’ to prevent its demolition.
The new owners, Broadway Projects Pty Ltd, fired up some locals and heritage lovers when they revealed plans just before Christmas to demolish a WWII bunker at the rear of the property.
But builders Carbone said it was a careful restoration, much of it done by hand, and the owners planned to return it to its original use as a pub before possibly exploring options for a tower next to the building.
LAMB HOUSE, KANGAROO POINT
Another grand old dame that has recently been saved from further decline, the Wilson stockbroking family is dropping multi-millions on possibly the biggest home reno in Queensland history.
It is all being filmed for a future Australian Story TV program, with hundreds of images of the restoration works now uploaded on a dedicated Instagram page.
SEE A GALLERY OF THE AMAZING RENO
Council and the government tried for years to get former owner Joy Lamb to fix it up, or sell, before it was forcibly acquired to pay rates bills.
Over the years countless squatters lived in the sprawling early 1900s mansion, perched atop Kangaroo Point cliffs, lighting fires and leaving huge piles of rubbish.
Much of the roof had collapsed, rare fittings were stolen and the wooden verandas rotted.
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