10 futuristic developments set for Toowoomba over next decade

Toowoomba’s economic future is looking bright if these projects are anything to go by. We explore the 10 developments set to kick our region’s economy into overdrive.

10 futuristic projects coming to Toowoomba in the coming years.

Toowoomba is on the verge of a massive economic boom over the next 10 years — and these projects will be driving and facilitating that growth.

From cannabis farms to drone factories, new hospitals to race tracks, here are 10 futuristic projects that are set to reshape the Garden City.

Wellcamp Airport Aerospace Precinct Map

1. LOYAL WINGMAN

In an expansion of Toowoomba’s richest military history, American defence and aerospace manufacturer giant Boeing announced it would base its new Loyal Wingman drone plant just outside Wellcamp Airport.

Wagner Corporation secured the deal after four months of negotiations, with the landmark project revealed in September.

The massive industrial complex, which is expected to generate $1bn for the Queensland economy, will create 370 jobs during construction and operation.

Work is expected to start in early 2022.

Insiders say the watershed announcement could lead to a wave of defence industry investment in the Toowoomba region, adding another pillar to our already diverse economy.

Wagner Corp is understood to be talking with several other companies.

2. FAST RAIL

The dream of a 45-minute region has been held by our political and business leaders for many years.

That vision could still be a reality, with the State Government finalising a business case into high-speed passenger rail between Toowoomba and Brisbane.

Mayor Paul Antonio believes the concept is essential for the region’s future growth, while top businessman John Wagner is ready to heavily invest in fast rail to connect both the city and his company’s Wellcamp Airport.

If realised, fast rail could allow people in Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley and Ipswich to commute quickly to work in Brisbane, or vice versa.

It would also supercharge the region’s tourism industry by making the Garden City-Brisbane travel time comparable to driving from Brisbane to the Gold Coast.

The government’s business case is due in early 2022.

The Bridge Street Quarry.

3. QUARRY GARDENS

The proposed project to convert the old Bridge Street quarry into a beautiful tourist attraction has been in discussion since the 1990s — and for good reason.

Based off similar concepts in Singapore and Canada, the Quarry Gardens proposal finally found traction after the State Government funded a special feasibility study three years ago.

The study recommended a three-stage process to rehabilitate the site, activate it for community use with gardens and greens spaces, before being further developed with private investment.

An advisory group has been set up to guide the project’s development.

The Toowoomba Regional Council committed $3.3m during the Covid-19 pandemic to investigate the rehabilitation options, with two set to be fast-tracked to the detailed design phase.

The Wagner family recently reiterated its offer to the council for 200,000 cubic metres of soil to help with earthworks. The offer was rejected.

A 3D rendering of part of the proposed Asterion cannabis farm in Toowoomba.

4. ASTERION MEDICINAL CANNABIS

The Toowoomba region will soon be home to one of the world’s largest medicinal cannabis farm.

Canadian company Asterion Cannabis is expected to start work in the coming months on the $311m project at Wellcamp, which is projected to employ up to 2000 locals during construction and operation.

The journey to this point had multiple stages, after the concept was first announced to the public in February 2019 and supported by the Federal Government.

The Toowoomba Regional Council gave the project the green light later that year, before Asterion signed an agreement with BESIX Watpac in November last year to build the farm.

Wagner Corporation has been a supporter of the project and signed an agreement for Asterion to build on land owned by a subsidiary.

5. RAILWAY PARKLANDS

A project several years in the making, the Toowoomba Railway Parklands is projected to transform the CBD by introducing green spaces, more high-density residential living and commercial opportunities.

The centrepiece of the priority development area is a massive 8.6-hectare linear parkland running north to south, connecting the CBD with Bridge Street.

Conceptual designs depict a thriving communal space with bike trails, art installations and the focal point of a giant slide as a tall as the nearby Mills precinct.

The parklands have been included in the upcoming SEQ City Deal by the Federal Government — the only Toowoomba project to make the list.

The overall 50-hectare priority development area was first greenlit by the State Government in 2014 and its growth is managed by the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Artist impressions of the Wellcamp Entertainment Precinct.

6. WELLCAMP ENTERTAINMENT PRECINCT

Imagine a single precinct hosting a V8 Supercars round, international-standard go-karting, motocross and 4WD circuits, touring music festival, camping areas and even Olympic events in one space.

Wagner Corporation is planning to realise that dream with its new $170m motorsport and entertainment precinct, just a few kilometres from Wellcamp Airport.

The massive project, which already has $40m in funding from the State Government, would draw up to 600,000 people a year to Toowoomba to visit events — the equivalent of half a dozen extra Carnival of Flowers every year.

Along with the economic impacts, the precinct would turn Toowoomba into a motorsport mecca across a number of disciplines.

A space has also been allocated for Olympic infrastructure ahead of the Brisbane 2032 games.

Company chairman John Wagner needs another $40m in funding from the Federal Government to get it off the ground, but the Commonwealth has remained ambivalent in its support to this point.

Labor’s Groom candidate Gen Allpass has pledged support for WEP, with the project likely to be a discussion point at the upcoming federal election.

A double-stack train on the Inland Rail line, one of Australia's largest infrastructure projects.

7. INLAND RAIL

The economic windfall created by the upcoming Inland Rail project will be undeniably transformative for the Toowoomba region, which plays a key role in its delivery.

Now that the final route from the border to Gowrie Junction has been essentially formalised, with environmental and engineering impacts still to be explored, the next task will be to tunnel into the Toowoomba range.

Since being announced in 2011 and officially funded in 2016, the project has faced opposition from landholders in the Darling Downs over its potential environmental impacts.

While the cost of Inland Rail has blown out to nearly $15bn, it is expected to generate thousands of extra jobs.

Along with the main project, a number of companies are fast-tracking intermodal hubs along the route in the Charlton/Wellcamp area to take advantage of Inland Rail.

Wagner Corporation recently announced Pacific National would operate its upcoming $100m multimodal terminal at the Wellcamp Business Park, which would connect rail with the road and airfreight services.

InterlinkSQ has also advanced work on its freight hub, after securing a loan from the State Government to start construction soon.

Pyrocal CEO Arun Pratap with material made at the research and development facility from car tyres mixed with green waste that aims to significantly reduce landfill weight and costs. Picture: Kevin Farmer

8. PYROCAL

Toowoomba company Pyrocal CCT is on the cutting-edge of reducing waste heading to landfill with its pioneering carbonisation technology.

Pyrocal, which has a testing facility near Wellcamp Airport, has developed an Australia-first continuous carbonisation technology (CCT) system that turns materials into a stable char that doesn’t emit greenhouse gases.

The company has already signed an agreement with the Logan City Council, which is incorporating the technology into the refurbishment of its wastewater treatment plant.

Pyrocal CEO Arun Pratap said the process could not only reduce the volume of waste being buried by up to 96 per cent, but the product created by the CCT system could be used for a variety of uses.

On top of that, the concept could allow governments and companies to qualify for carbon credits.

APPROVED: The 1000-lot masterplanned community Habitat Mt Kynoch has been approved by the Toowoomba Regional Council.

9. HABITAT MOUNT KYNOCH

Toowoomba will soon have a whole new suburb, with a major masterplanned-community just north of the city expected to add up to 1000 lots to the market over the next decade and cater for an extra 5000 residents.

The $200m subdivision, called Habitat Mount Kynoch, will turn 147 hectares of greenfields land into a sophisticated community, including low and medium-density residential lots, commercial local centres and extensive parkland with active transport connectivity.

The Toowoomba Regional Council approved a variation request for the site earlier this year.

The first stage, which includes 81-lots, were recently lodged for approval.

Artist impressions of the new Toowoomba Hospital at the site of the old Baillie Henderson Hospital site. Photo: Supplied.

10. NEW TOOWOOMBA HOSPITAL

Probably the most desperately-needed development on this list, a proposal for a new Toowoomba Hospital has been discussed and advanced for several years now.

The project is far more than just a stand-alone hospital; the planned site at Baillie Henderson is expected to cater for an entire health precinct worth an estimated $300m to the Toowoomba economy every year.

A business case has been in the works for several years, but no funding commitment has been made by the State Government as yet.

Toowoomba’s political and economic leaders have urged Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to green-light the new hospital as soon as possible, citing its benefits along with significant ramping problems at the city’s three main hospitals.