Officeworks, IGA and tavern deal fuels Beenleigh shopping centre conflict

A large Officeworks and an IGA grocery store will be built south of Brisbane, inflaming a hostile eight-year war between shopping centre developers.

Bitter rivalry between retail developers in Beenleigh in the background and Holmview in the foreground has reignited after an eight-year stoush following the approval of a development which will include one of the state’s largest Officeworks, an IGA and a tavern.

A large Officeworks outlet along with a full-range grocery store will be built south of Brisbane, inflaming a hostile eight-year war between shopping centre developers.

Logan City Council and the state government granted approval for the major retail outlet in Beenleigh, last month, paving the way for the centre to be built on busy Logan River Rd, less than 3km from a rival shopping complex at Holmview.

The new centre on Logan River Rd will be called Beenleigh Central. Picture: Start Logan River Road Pty Ltd.

Plans show the 20,654 sqm Logan River Rd site, will be home to one of Queensland’s largest Officeworks stores, a 1200 sqm IGA supermarket, a tavern, a gym, a pharmacy and a bottle shop with parking for 239 cars.

It will be Logan’s fourth Officeworks store, and will be 15km from where a new store was rebuilt in 2024 at Underwood after fire destroyed the outlet on the corner of Kingston and Compton Road in 2022.

Officeworks head of property Kylie Brockett said the new store location was selected because of high demand for stationery from the area with the store set to open by July.

“This location was chosen to fill a network gap in the Beenleigh area and will offer an elevated shopping experience, featuring a wide range of technology, stationery, arts and crafts,” she said.

“The store will also showcase an innovative design to better serve the local community and will create multiple local job opportunities.”

A plan of the proposed Beenleigh Central with the IGA and Officeworks in blue and the new tavern in orange. Image: Start Logan River Road Pty Ltd

The Beenleigh project received the final green light on December 4, despite the bitter protracted shopping centre wars which erupted in 2017 when Beenleigh businesses protested against developer Lancini Group expanding its nearby shopping centre at Holmview.

Lancini had proposed extending its Holmview Shopping Centre, also on Logan River Rd, and building a six-cinema leisure complex.

But the plans were rejected by Logan City Council which cited planning restrictions to protect the Beenleigh businesses from the expected competition at Holmview.

Lancini appealed the council’s decision in court in 2020 and again in 2021 but ultimately ditched the expensive and bitter court case and its plans for the cinemas.

Holmview Central owned by Lancini Group is protesting about plans for the new Beenleigh Central complex which is less than 3km away. Picture: Judith Kerr

However, Lancini’s Landel company kicked off the battle again in November 2024 when it filed its 16-page objection calling on the state government and Logan City Council to reconsider Start Logan River Road Pty Ltd’s Officeworks, IGA and tavern complex.

In its objection, lodged with Logan City Council and the state government’s Planning Department, Lancini argued the new development threatened the viability of nearby centres at Holmview and conflicted with local planning regulations and the Logan City Planning Scheme.

Lancini Group’s objection focused on the “cumulative impact” of the proposed development and claimed the applicant was attempting to establish a new retail centre by “stealth” using multiple separate development applications and bypassing proper assessments.

Lancini Group also took issue with the large scale of the proposed 1200 sqm IGA supermarket, claiming the proposal exceeded the acceptable size for shops in the council’s Mixed Use Zone, which typically limits shop sizes to 200 sqm per tenancy.

Beenleigh residents are looking forward to the new Officeworks and IGA complex on Logan River Rd at Beenleigh. Picture: LCC planning

The Lancini Group objection also claimed the development had not undergone a proper economic need assessment or Sequential Site Selection Analysis, to determine whether suitable land was available within existing centres.

An economic review by Ethos Urban, commissioned by Lancini, found that the supermarket’s location was not justified and could result in adverse economic impacts for the area.

“The proposal does not comply with relevant assessment benchmarks under the Planning Scheme,” the objection said.

“The proposed shop is not small scale and does not serve a local workforce’s daily needs … but rather to attract a broader catchment, undermining the local centre hierarchy.”

Despite the major objection, Beenleigh residents expressed excitement about the new development, hoping it would lead to developers considering building local cinemas.

“Oh wow, I’ll take an Officeworks,” said Jodie Graham. “Beenleigh needs more including a movie theatre.

“This will be good because you cannot get a park at the one at Browns Plains at any time now and (parking) at Loganholme one is terrible.”

Originally published as Officeworks, IGA and tavern deal fuels Beenleigh shopping centre conflict