Wayne, Donna Gregory buy Townsville’s first licensed brothel site

The new owners of Townsville’s first licensed brothel like its features so much they’re going to keep them. See why, here.

The new owners of a former brothel like its features so much they’re going to keep them.

Besides, why remove, at quite some cost, a mural of nymphs or niches used to display flowers, ornaments and sculptures set into walls?

Wayne and Donna Gregory, the owners of Phoenix Fire Protection North Queensland and Advanced Smoke Alarms, said the history of the property would be “a bit of a talking point”.

“We will eventually get the toilets and showers taken out of the rooms so that they are made into complete office areas but apart from that there’s not a lot (we’ll be doing),” Mr Gregory said.

The Gregorys and their extended family, who all work in the businesses, are the owners of 17 Hugh Ryan Dr which was built as the city’s first licensed brothel more than 20 years ago.

At that time, it was front page news. There were concerns Garbutt would become a “de facto red light area”. For various reasons, such as onerous regulation and the emergence of dating sites, this has not happened.

Mr Gregory said they would use the building for offices, the display of fire appliances, a private gym and storage. They would also develop a shed on the 1200sq m property as a workshop and for more storage.

He said the acquisition — it was bought for $560,000 — was something of an investment for the future as well as offering the security of having their own, rather than leased, premises.

They had been looking for a suitable site for some time but much of it was too big or too expensive, Mr Gregory said.

“I looked at it. (I thought) it’s doable. It’s certainly big enough for what we want to do … and it’s in a good position with good (on-site) parking,” he said.

Ray White Commercial Townsville managing director Adrian Pascoe said there had been plenty of interest in the site, including from one prospective buyer considering its use for a brothel.

But there was the uncertainty and time required to obtain licensing approvals.

“There’s a six-month waiting time to get the licence,” Mr Pascoe said.

Mr Pascoe said they were seeing “solid interest” in the property market, both from owner-occupiers and investors, despite the recent interest rate hikes.

“There’s no real genuine sign at this stage that it’s slowing down. When you look at it, it’s still very cheap (to borrow) compared to where it has been pre-GFC,” Mr Pascoe said.

Originally published as Wayne, Donna Gregory buy Townsville’s first licensed brothel site