Toowoomba Heritage Bank to exit existing head office in CBD, could be sold or leased

One of Toowoomba’s tallest buildings could be sold or repurposed by Heritage Bank and it’s opened the door for a wealth of future opportunities. Here’s what leading property voices had to say.

Heritage Bank's head office building in Toowoomba.

An icon of the Toowoomba skyline could be transformed into a major hotel or residential development to meet the city’s growing short-stay and inner-city living demands.

That’s according to leading property agents, who have offered their predictions for the future of the Heritage Bank building, after the Toowoomba lender announced it would leave the Ruthven Street site and create a new headquarters.

The six-storey, 25m commercial building was built by Heritage in the early 1980s as one of Toowoomba’s first high-rises.

Chair Kerry Betros announced on Wednesday the bank would seek to build a new head office somewhere else in the CBD by 2025.

LJ Hooker Commercial principal Mike Stewart said the massive site with frontage onto both Ruthven Street and the Bell Street Mall would make it ideal for more short and long-term accommodation options.

“It’s a great building and it’s got plenty of space and it could be repurposed for accommodation or short-stay,” he said.

“It’s in the heart of the city, it’s got enough room so I think it could suit a high-quality motel refurbishment.

“Having something in the middle of the city would mean the lights would be on after dark and that’s something we still haven’t reached yet.

“If you want more people to come there you need more accommodation options.”

Colliers International managing director Dan Dwan said while he liked the idea of using the building for residential development, he added there was a growing demand for high-quality office tenancies.

“We’re talking about 2025 and a different market place, and what we’re seeing is the a trend for larger office requirements,” he said.

“There seems to be out-of-town interest, with a shifting requirements.

“I wouldn’t rule out converting it to a multiple office tenancy space, because we’re constrained with current space and retrofitting buildings to modern requirements could be good value.”

Heritage Bank has not made a decision on the future of the site, keeping options open to either sell or lease it.

CBD residential projects have become a priority for the Toowoomba Regional Council, particularly around shop-top living.