Wrecking crews in waiting to start work on CBD laneway

DEMOLITION of the vacant Sew Handy building on Ruthven St is due to begin just after the Carnival of Flowers.

DEMOLITION of the vacant Sew Handy building on Ruthven St is due to begin just after the Carnival of Flowers.

Toowoomba Regional Council bought the complex with a plan to knock it down and replace it with a pedestrian laneway joining Ruthven St with Annand St and Toowoomba's cultural precinct.

Council has released draft plans of their vision for the walkway, including space for murals and changeable artworks, trellises on walls for vine growth and suspended wires overhead for hanging lighting and art.

It features a mixture of paved and grassed areas and shaded seating.

The design also allows for retrofitting if adjoining businesses wish to provide doors or windows opening onto the laneway for al fresco cafe and dining opportunities, particularly towards Ruthven St.

The old Sew Handy building on Ruthven St will be demolished by council to make a laneway between Ruthven and Annand Sts. Photo Chris Calcino / The Chronicle. Picture: Chris Calcino

Arts project Creative Tanks has received the go-ahead to use the front part of the Sew Handy building during Carnival of Flowers for an art and cultural performance installation spilling out onto the Ruthven St pathway.

It will be the building's last hurrah before the arrival of the wrecking ball in October.

Sew Handy left the building for smaller premises on Prescott St in August last year, citing rising costs as the reason for the move.

Demolition is expected to cost $100,000.

See the full draft plan here.

Originally published as Wrecking crews in waiting to start work on CBD laneway