Council endorses new CBD shop top living guide to convert disused office space into new apartments

New guidelines to help CBD building owners to turn vacant office spaces into units has been endorsed by the council. It comes after stats showed the city runs dead last against its regional counterparts.

An excerpt from the Toowoomba Regional Council's new CBD Shop Top Living Guide, which was endorsed this week.

New guidelines to encourage the conversion of disused CBD office space into apartments have been endorsed by the Toowoomba Regional Council, in a bid to turn around a significant lack of city centre living.

The new Shop Top Living Guide, adopted by councillors at Tuesday’s committee, has been praised by the TRC’s planning chair and real estate agents as a positive step to not only encourage more people living in the CBD, but also reduce the roughly 40 per cent of vacant commercial spaces.

The attached council report by TRC commercial development principal Andrew Quain found the proportion of Toowoomba’s population living in the CBD was the lower than seven other major regional cities across Australia, at just 1.4 per cent.

For context, Wollongong’s percentage of CBD residents is 6.1 per cent.

“Evidence suggests that vacancy rates above commercial premises in the Toowoomba CBD are at least 40 per cent, and higher if under-utilised space is included,” the report said.

“Shop top living provides an opportunity to bring new life to these vacant spaces, enabling residents to live in character and heritage buildings which differentiate the city from other regional centres.”

Planning and development chair Cr Megan O’Hara Sullivan said the guide aimed to “demystify” the planning process for building owners and developers.

“For any owners of those buildings who may have thought about it, this is how we can facilitate it,” she said.

“Any of those building owners now have a way of opening up the conversation, rather than just thinking it’s too hard.

“With the work that’s being done, it’s got the community talking about living in the city.”

The council will explore running workshops with property owners about the new document.

The guide also looks at the potential benefits attached to shop top living, such as increased spending by new residents at CBD businesses.

LJ Hooker Commercial principal Mike Stewart, who was involved in the development of the guide, said the council had taken a step in the right direction.

“Anything that brings more people into the CBD is a good thing,” he said.

“The proof will be in the pudding if people can make it economically viable (but) it can only be good for the community and the business traders.”

But Barry O’Sullivan, managing director of construction company Newlands, said the costs of meeting the various codes and planning criteria would continue to disincentivise owners from considering shop top conversions.

“To refurbish a building in the CBD, you’re looking at $2000-$3000 per square metre,” he said.

“You compare that to building a new residential dwelling, which is about $1200-$1500 per square metre.

“Fundamentally, it’s the commercial reality of the outcome (to not pursue it).”

Cr O’Hara Sullivan said the council could explore a variety of incentives to promote the practice.

“It might be things like parking regulation changes, or whether it’s even a monetary thing — whether it’s about application fees, those are things we could consider,” she said.