Qld Newspapers’ iconic Bowen Hills site for sale
The 30,740 sqm Queensland Newspapers site in Bowen Hills is to be offered for sale after six decades, with plans for a new purpose-built building to be constructed in a new on-site precinct.
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The iconic Queensland Newspapers site in Bowen Hills will be offered for sale, it has been announced – with a new purpose-built building to then be constructed in the precinct to house The Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail.
News Corporation’s Queensland managing director Jason Scott announced the move in a note to staff this morning, which said the commercial property group CBRE had been appointed to explore options for the iconic site that has been home to the Queensland Newspapers for the past 60 years.
Mr Scott said CBRE would “test the market” to ascertain the value of the property, which consists of a 30,740 sqm site on the corner of Campbell Street and Mayne Road and a 6700 sqm site on the eastern side of Mayne Road.
He said if the property was sold, News Corporation would “examine options to remain in the Bowen Hills precinct and investigate possible development of a fit-for-purpose new office”.
“We remain fully committed to telling the stories of Brisbane and Queensland, as The Courier-Mail has done for the past 177 years – and we are ready to invest in this precinct that has, over the past six decades, become the spiritual home of our much-loved and trusted mastheads,” Mr Scott said.
“Our site is an iconic and significant landmark location for development, and is close to both the CBD and key amenities – including major transport links, and several Olympic and Paralympic venues in 2032.
“These are all qualities that I am sure will attract much interest from the market.”
The sale process is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, but Mr Scott said the redevelopment would likely take “a number of years”.
“If a decision to sell is made, we will communicate to staff, provide appropriate consultation and briefings with the aim of keeping any disruption to an absolute minimum,” he said.
The Bowen Hills site was purchased by Queensland Press in 1959 from the Shell Oil Company, with The Courier-Mail, Sunday Mail and The Telegraph moving into the new building there four years later.
The newspapers were printed on the site until 1996, when the presses were moved to a facility at Murarrie.
Editorial, advertising, management and administration staff stayed at Bowen Hills, and a major renovation of the building was completed in 2012 to coincide with the opening of the Airport Link tunnel which has its on-ramp along Campbell Street.
Originally published as Qld Newspapers’ iconic Bowen Hills site for sale
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