This was published 1 year ago
Beginning of the end for Toombul Shopping Centre as bulldozers move in
By Tony Moore
It is the beginning of the end of Toombul as we know it.
Diggers, bulldozers and a construction crew are on site at the shuttered shopping centre, preparing for the 12-month demolition job set to start after Christmas.
Early work is under way for Toombul Shopping Centre to be demolished in January 2024. The demolition will take 12 months.Credit: Tony Moore
Built in 1967, Westfield Shopping Town Toombul, as it was known then, was Brisbane’s first big-box shopping centre, designed for consumers and their cars at a time when The Beatles were in their prime and Sir Frank Nicklin was Queensland premier.
Now, there are more units than houses in the neighbouring suburbs, two nearby train stations service commuters, tunnels connect motorists to the airport and CBD, and the land on which the shopping centre was built is ripe for redevelopment.
Owner Mirvac is expected to eventually unveil plans for a community hub of unit towers, townhouses, retail and hospitality offerings, and perhaps even offices and medical facilities. Everything for residents and locals, even if they go somewhere else to work.
That is in keeping with the draft South East Queensland Regional Plan, which requires Brisbane to find 209,000 new dwellings as part of 900,000 in the south-east corner for another 2.2 million people by 2046.
Former Toombul Shopping Centre regular Paul Hansard expects plenty of units and townhouses with some shops on the ground floor of a large mixed use centre.Credit: Tony Moore
Nundah resident Paul Hansard used Toombul Shopping Centre for his doctor, dentist, banking, groceries and hardware supplies.
“Yeah, I really miss it,” he said as he waited for a bus to another centre.
Mirvac bought the property in 2016 for $233.3 million and after the floods announced a $216 million net decrease in the centre’s value.
Hansard would like the company to make the new development more of a hub than a self-contained residential community.
“I think there will be plenty of units, with a couple of shops down the bottom,” he said.
“There might be a doctor’s surgery. A chemist, maybe? But nothing like it was.
“It will be a real shame; I have to go to Chermside - which I hate to get in and out of - or Aspley.
“I once had three banks to choose from. That’s all gone. I have to jump in my car.”
Mirvac will lodge plans for the Sandgate Road site soon after demolition begins, hoping to have approval ready for construction by the time demolition is complete.
Brisbane City Council drainage crews are now relining sewage works, possibly to support extra residential development, but the flood-prone site will need further civic works. A temporary telecommunications tower has been erected to ensure services are not interrupted during demolition.
Brisbane City Council’s flood mapping for Toombul Shoppingtown shows in dark blue where there is a high chance (5%) of flooding every year and in lighter blue where there is medium chance (1%) of flooding every year.Credit: Brisbane City Council
Mirvac would not foreshadow its plans for the site, saying its focus was on the demolition “scheduled to commence by February 2024”.
“Given the scale and complexity of the site, we expect it will take approximately 12 months to complete,” a spokeswoman said.
Councillor Adam Allan, Nundah’s local representative, also chairs BCC’s City Planning and Suburban Renewal Committee.
Much of Toombul and Nundah now features mid-level apartment blocks to make use of nearby public transport.Credit: Tony Moore
He wouldn’t outline his hopes for the site, other than to confirm it could have the option of a mixed use development centred around retail and commercial uses, potentially with residential, retirement and community components.
“There’s been a lot of community discussion about the future of Toombul as it was a much loved community hub and one Brisbane’s oldest shopping centres,” Allan said.
“Although the site has had challenges, it now presents a great suburban renewal opportunity.”
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