ReNew Mackay’s Waterfront PDA Riverfront project to transform the city

ReNew Mackay’s catalytic $300m waterfront development will generate 3000 jobs during construction, and deliver an astronomical economic injection into the city. Here’s how.

The final touches to a $300 million development plan that will shape Mackay’s future can now be applied to the ambitious waterfront vision.

ReNew Mackay’s win on the project’s tender process will propel the consortium’s plan to revive and enliven six city blocks, creating more than 3000 jobs during construction and injecting $70m in economic activity into the region each year.

Another 800 ongoing jobs were also expected.

A decision 18 months in the making is now a giant hurdle closer to development, says ReNew Mackay project director and Woollam Constructions managing director Craig Percival.

ReNew’s expression of interest emerged as the sole contender, down from an initial field of seven when Mackay Regional Council in 2020 opened the tender process.

And while physical designs of what will transform six CBD blocks are yet to be finalised, Mr Percival and ReNew Mackay director Sean Kelly are adamant it will re-enliven the city’s core.

ReNew Mackay property developers Craig Percival and Sean Kelly have won the tender to develop land in Mackay's Waterfront Priority Development Area. Picture: Tara Miko

An ambitious construction timeline mirrors the plans themselves, a common thread through which is reviving the Mackay CBD and, for the first time in the city’s history, opening up the waterfront.

ReNew Mackay director Sean Kelly is adamant the plans will not cannibalise the CBD but feed into it, bolstering the already-thriving pockets and encouraging more investment and trade.

“I grew up in the CBD and I often tell people I lived my whole life within two city blocks,” Mr Kelly said.

“I remember when it was a bustling metropolis – or that’s what it seemed like to a kid, and to see it go through the trials and tribulations that it has, it has been a bit sad in some ways but I think we are on the cusp of being able to return it to a new glory.”

Bluewater Quay, a favoured space for exercise afternoon joggers, could become an even busier hub with whispers of a brewery interested in the waterfront space where once Lebanese restaurant Ashtart was housed.

ReNew Mackay believes the waterfront development could do for Mackay what the Howard Smith Wharves has for Brisbane. Photographer: Liam Kidston.

While that land is outside ReNew’s scope, the consortium believes in the idea of building it and others will come.

“The other thing we’ve had that’s important from day one is the CBD,” Mr Kelly said.

“There was some talk about this being done at the expense of the CBD but we see it the opposite way.

“We see it adding to the CBD and in the CBD there are certain pockets that work already but there are some dead areas and we see this as filling those dead areas, feeding back into the CBD and out to the river.

“If you look at the Bluewater Quay, it’s lovely and often after work I’ll go there for a walk or a run and there are people there, but that’s all it seems to be used for.

“That should be our King George Square but it isn’t – it’s a bit of a shag on a rock.

“So we hope to be able to rectify that – it’s all about activity creating, living, numbers and having people in their numbers.”

Mr Percival, a giant himself in Queensland’s construction industry, says the consortium felt Mackay was ready for many firsts, including the first multi-level retirement living centre.

“(We are) starting in Brisbane Street. Sean and I, and our respective groups, have owned property around there and see it as a catalytic point for work to start, and that includes the high-end apartments, the multi-level retirement village, the RSL,” he said.

Hub for our Heroes has campaigned for a permanent home for the Mackay RSL Sub-branch.

“We want to work with council on 6 and 8 River St – we think that is where the big wins will be for the Mackay community, and that part of the PDA is where we’re working with council.

“One of the things is this was always going to take time because there’s so many moving parts and boxes to tick, however it has all gained more momentum.”

A flashpoint for community connection was the Hub for our Heroes campaign in partnership with ReNew Mackay and the Daily Mercury which was underpinned by a need to find the Mackay RSL Sub-branch a new, permanent home.

A temporary milestone was achieved in March when ReNew’s Sydney St office housed the veteran’s branch.

It will become a permanent fixture, under Harrup Park Country Club management, in the new Brisbane St development considered the jewel in ReNew’s overall plan.

Harrup Park Country Club general manager Adrian Young said it had reached an agreement with Mackay RSL Sub-branch to manage the venue.

“We’ve been in talks with them previously about management of the RSL, and we’re working with them very closely and are extremely exited to move into the next stage of the journey, and start getting the RSL built and operating.,” he said.

“The RSL is a fantastic project for the region and to have a special place for our veterans to call home is going to be extremely beneficial for them and their families.”

Financial difficulties and a land-locked CBD location led to the sub-branch’s closure on Sydney St more than 15 years ago, while RSL clubs across Queensland have struggled to remain financially viable and many have closed.

Mr Young said Harrup Park and the Sub-branch would model the venue on successful RSL clubs to ensure it was sustainable while providing suitable social connection for veterans and their families.

“We will look at every model of operating the business to make sure it is sustainable and reduce harmful impacts on the community,” he said.

“That has to be taken into consideration based on the type of venue and what it is going to stand for.

“It’s not just a pub or a licensed venue, it’s going to be a place (veterans and their families) can call their own.”

The Brisbane St high-rise aims to invigorate Bluewater Quay, which the consortium believes it has the potential to do for Mackay what Howard Smith Wharves did for Brisbane City.

“The other thing we’re hoping for is the town transitioning as well,” Mr Kelly said.

The green space at 6 River St, and the neighbouring 8 River St, will become a hive of community connection under plans from ReNew Mackay. Picture: Mackay Regional Council

“There needs to be a lifestyle component to the city and the city itself needs to transition to be more liveable.”

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson made the announcement after a one-hour confidential discussion at the end of the ordinary meeting of council on Wednesday.

He said it was a “momentous occasion” after five years of work which included aligning planning schemes, adopting the PDA and the council buying six blocks in 2020.

These included the car park on the corner of Gregory and River streets, the former Retravision building at 12-18 Wood St, 1-5 Wood St, a car park on the corner of Brisbane and River St, 6 River St where the former Seafresh shed was and the currently occupied 8 River St.

“These (purchases) were to say to developers who were interested, we want to party up with you if you come up with a decent proposal,” Mr Williamson said.

“We had seven (developers) return.

ReNew Mackay won the tender for the waterfront PDA, a $300 million development project that will inject $70m into the economy each year during construction.

“Out of that, we narrowed it down to two and it eventually became one.”

Mr Williamson said ReNew Mackay put together an exciting and “very, very composite” plan which incorporated council-owned properties.

“We’re not just handing over blocks of land, they’re going to buy them from us but they won’t buy them until there’s a number of boxes that have been ticked,” he said, adding this included finances and development approvals.

Development is expected to be carried out over the next five to 10 years with the hope the $300m project would spark broader confidence in the region’s construction sector.

“Stage 1 is in the order of a couple of hundred of million dollars in construction work and certainly, with having the big interest in the construction industry in Mackay, we see that as a big opportunity for our industry and for people to know that this project is going to run out over five, seven, 10 years,” he said.

“And when there is that confidence, that there is work coming, it allows us to employ apprentices and more people because you have that continuity of work.

“That’s always been an issue for businesses in the industry in the regions.

“We want to be very transparent about projects and the building activity.”

Formal plans are yet to be lodged with the council but ReNew was hopeful “serious construction” would be under way by the end of 2022.

“The market is there now because you don’t want to miss the mark,” Mr Percival said.

Originally published as ReNew Mackay’s Waterfront PDA Riverfront project to transform the city