Council sells Bruce Bishop car park for $48mil

A DECISION has finally been made over the sale of Bruce Bishop car park — the transit centre will be sold for $48mil to build a $125mil cultural precinct.

THE Gold Coast City Council is selling the Bruce Bishop car park in Surfers Paradise for $48 million so it can build a $125 million cultural precinct without hiking up rates.

The transit centre will be bought jointly by the Melbourne-based Care Park and Far East Consortium, who beat an undisclosed bidder.

In a day of unprecedented turmoil at city hall yesterday, eight councillors — Cameron Caldwell, Pauline Young, Gail O’Neill, Dawn Crichlow, Daphne McDonald, William Owen Jones, Glenn Tozer and Kristyn Boulton — voted six-to-two to sell the asset, which has divided the community for the past 14 years.

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Former Surfers Paradise SLSC presidents and prominent businessmen Shane O'Connor and Max Christmas with David Cash, Business Development Executive from Wilson Parking rally to save the car park in Surfers Paradise. Picture Glenn Hampson

The other six councillors — Peter Young, Paul Taylor, Donna Gates, Hermann Vorster, Bob La Castra and Gary Baildon — and Mayor Tom Tate declared potential conflict of interests after hours of closed-door debate, and left the chamber before the vote.

Cr Tate, who is involved in a development company with interests in building an apartment tower on the neighbouring Surfers Paradise Bowls Club, had at first sought to stay but later left citing his Star Platinum concierge card.

Of the eight councillors to vote, only Crs Crichlow and McDonald voted against the sale.

The councillors were told Far East Consortium has a small stake in The Star, operator of the Broadbeach casino and which has development interests on the Coast and Brisbane’s Queens Wharf.

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Crowds have previously gathered to protest the selling of the major Surfers Paradise car park. Picture: Andrew Potts

The $48 million sale of the car park and another $36 million obtained from selling other land takes a huge chunk out of a $125 million plan to build the new arts building and green bridge at Evandale.

But community group Save Surfers Paradise (SSP), which has launched legal action against the council to stop the sale, believes ratepayers have been ripped off because it claims the asset is worth up to $100 million.

SSP yesterday backed councillors who warned the deal was premature as the court decision could emerge as a final stumbling block in the contract being signed off.

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Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate caused division during yesterday’s debate after initial silence about his position. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

During debate yesterday when councillors had to decide and vote on colleagues leaving the chamber, there was brief silence about the Mayor’s position.

Deputy Mayor Donna Gates, got her to feet, and told him: “Mr Mayor, I will speak because we can’t all sit here saying nothing.

“I think that perhaps we all felt that your declaration previously — I’m not speaking for anyone else, I’m speaking for me — that your declaration previously (and leaving the room) was suitable in the circumstances.

“I think perhaps today, given all of the (new tougher reporting) legislation that we’ve been looking at, in an effort to protect you, we’d rather you out of the room.”

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The Bruce Bishop car park is one of the major parking areas in Surfers Paradise. Picture: Jerad Williams

Veteran Crs Crichlow and McDonald opposed the sale of one of the city’s biggest ratepayer assets because they felt it had been rushed.

Cr McDonald later stormed out of the chamber after clashing with acting chair Cr Caldwell.

Last night the upset Palm Beach councillor told the Bulletin: “I had a few questions. One was the urgency. It was only yesterday that we had the papers delivered to us.”

Cr Crichlow said the sale should wait until SSP had their day in court to contest the sale.

“But no, what have we done? We’ve jumped the barrel. Get out there, sell it, get it over and done with it. It’s really wrong. These figures don’t make sense to me.

“There’s a lot of traders out there who won’t even be able to afford their rent in 12 months. I only hope to be honest with you that the government steps in and stops the sale of this Bruce Bishop car park.”

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The car park is expected to remain in place until at least 2028. Picture: Jerad Williams

Cr William Owen-Jones argued the sale would save borrowing costs and included requirements on the buyer such as creating 640 public parking spaces.

“It’s the first time since I’ve been an elected representative that where there are eight people in a council meeting making a decision in regards to effectively the funding of the future of the cultural precinct which has the potential to be an enormous asset and benefit for the city for future generations for many, many years to come,” he said.

Cr Owen-Jones revealed previous reports suggested council was hopeful of obtaining $40 million.

“We fund things by being in the room and making some of the harder decisions,” he said.

Council officers told councillors that the freehold interest would change hands but the freehold owner of the site would issue a lease back to the city for 100 years.

“At any stage in the future when there is a redevelopment of the site the sublessee/freehold owner has to come to the city and seek owner’s consent to the lodgement of any redevelopment application,” an officer said.

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The sale of Bruce Bishop car park has caused controversy among Gold Coast residents. Picture Glenn Hampson

Council CEO Dale Dickson told councillors he strongly backed the financial decision.

“If the council had not made the decision which it has made to dispose of this asset, then the alternative would be to look at borrowing the money,” he said.

“So to borrow the equivalent amount of $48 million, over a 15-year period, would cost for that 15-year period in excess of $4 million a year based on current interest rates.”

He estimated the city would also need to find at least $4 million a year to cover the operating costs of the new art gallery. The car park was costing about $1.2 million annually to operate.

Mr Dickson believed council had obtained the right price.

Councillors were told that the operator was managing a private car park and could set its own prices.

“We have to remember in Surers Parasdise … there are in the order 4400 public and privately owned off-street car parks in that area alone. So the question of competition to address questions of pricing is very real,” Mr Dickson said.

BRUCE BISHOP CAR PARK TIMELINE

1938: Surfers Paradise resident Charles Joseph Hicks makes a deed arrangement with the Southport council to preserve the land, including Neal Shannon Park, as a recreational reserve.

1 986: The Gold Coast City Council builds the Bruce Bishop car park and Surfers Paradise Transit Centre on the site, including recreating Neal Shannon Park on its roof. It is named after the former state member for Surfers Paradise.

March 2004: Mayoral candidate Ron Clarke announces the city should sell the “air rights” above the car park but retain ownership of the complex.

May 2004: Council officers push for its sale to fund the $26 million second and third stages of the Surfers Paradise Traffic Management Scheme.

July 2004: Plans commissioned by the council show at least two towers could be built on the site of up to 70 storeys under a proposal shopped to the development industry.

November 2004: Council endorses a plan to sell the car park. Bruce Bishop himself makes his first public comments in a decade blasting the plan, as did former premier Rob Borbidge.

2005: Proposal to sell the car park dumped after public backlash.

2007: Portberg Property proposes an $850 million, 101-storey twin towers project for the site.

2008: A $1.3 billion redevelopment of the car park to create $400 million town hall/transit centre development goes before councillors. Fails to gain support with the financial crisis soon ending any major development plans.

2012: Sale of city assets, including the car park, becomes election issue, with mayoral candidate Tom Tate backing sales as a way of slashing council debt.

May 2017: Majority of Gold Coast councillors back Cr Tate’s proposal to sell the Bruce Bishop car park. The move sparks protests.

June 2017: Surfers Paradise business leaders band together to create the Save Surfers Paradise group to fight the sale.

March 2018: The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) announces it is investigating, among other inquiries, Cr Tate, council chief executive Dale Dickson and the sale of the car park. Cr Tate says, “I respect the confidentiality of the CCC”. Mr Dickson says he “welcomed an independent investigation” and would co-operate with authorities.

June 2018: Cr Tate writes to the CCC urging it to move quickly on its investigation.

Yesterday: The council sells Bruce Bishop car park for $48 million to Care Park. Its majority shareholder is Hong Kong-based developer Far East Consortium.