Toowoomba real estate agent Cooper Watson lodges plans to turn Lindsay Street Service Centre into trendy cafe

An old mechanic’s shop in a leafy Toowoomba suburb could become a trendy cafe, based on plans proposed by a top real estate agent.

One of Toowoomba’s most successful real estate agents has lodged plans to turn a longstanding mechanic’s shop into a trendy cafe opposite the city’s best park.

RealWay Property Partners’ Cooper Watson last week submitted a proposal to the Toowoomba Regional Council for a cafe on the corner of Lindsay and Campbell Streets in East Toowoomba.

The site, which has been a mechanic’s shop called the Lindsay St Service Centre for many years, is directly opposite the Toowoomba Botanical Gardens at Queens Park.

Mechanic Jim Schilling remains in business at the location.

Moreover, the cafe is diagonally opposite the Cobb and Co Museum, which hosts weekly farmers’ markets that attract thousands of people.

Top Toowoomba real estate agent Cooper Watson has lodged plans to turn a longstanding mechanic shop on Lindsay Street in East Toowoomba into a trendy cafe.

According to the report by Precinct Urban Planning’s Jess Garratt, the proposal would retain the existing structure while adding a small extension, with the interior to be gutted to suit food and drink uses.

“The existing building will be retained with a minor extension proposed for storage and PWD amenities purposes, with the streetscape character generally remaining unchanged,” said wrote.

“The development will be of a small scale with operational hours intended to be limited to 6am-6pm, noting that the cafe will generally service the breakfast, lunch and coffee trade only.

“The building will be retrofitted to include a front cafe area and kitchen, amenities, wash up room, dry store room, coldroom and walk-in freezer.

“The front cafe area will open onto the outdoor dining areas fronting Campbell and Lindsay Streets.”

Ms Garratt said the application hoped to complement the site’s previous use, including the retention of the shop’s old fuel bowsers.

“It is noted that the proposal aims to preserve the character of the locality and acknowledge the history of the previous use of the subject site, and accordingly, retains the fuel bowsers originally associated with the site’s original use as a service station as (non-functional) features.”

RealWay Toowoomba principal Cooper Watson.

Ms Garratt argued the cafe was an “adaptive reuse” of an existing commercial site.

“The proposed development is in a highly accessible location and contributes to a high level of amenity in a key locality and encourages active transport such as walking,” she wrote.

“The proposed development facilitates efficient land use given that it contributes to creating a compact neighbourhood and provides employment opportunities and services to residents in the surrounding locality.”

Mr Watson is regularly listed as one of Toowoomba’s top agents, having twice appeared on The Chronicle’s agent power list, including as number one in 2022.