The State Government has just released a document calling for the development of the northern edge of West End close to Kurilpa Point: the Visy site.
The document outlines that there is:
- 7.1 hectares of prime development land
- Potential for 4,000+ homes and vibrant mixed-use precinct. (The word “homes” is likely to mean “apartments”)
- Early concept stage – influence design and outcomes. (Not sure what this means)
- Uninterrupted waterfront with placemaking potential. (Placemaking is the intention of creating public spaces that improve and promote people’s health, happiness, and wellbeing)
- Potential for buildings with views to coastline and hinterland. (You can go up to 50 storeys)
- Hospitality, retail, and public realm activation opportunities. (Shops and hotels)
- Potential for direct river access. (The site is already on the river)
I am not against this in principle – the site should be developed, but what concerns me is the government abrogating their responsibility to their public by handing over an important part of inner Brisbane to a private group whose main motive is profit and the government is giving very little guidance about what its vision is.
By letting the “market” take care of such an important place it is allowing the “market” to determine development strategy for the city. It is lazy policy.
There should at least be a conceptual masterplan to guide the development strategy. It is clear that the government is in a hurry.
The Olympics are coming and we haven’t got time to mess about with masterplans!
The site had been previously chosen as a temporary broadcast centre for the 2032 Olympics, bought by the Labor government in mid-2022 for $165 million. There were plans for it to be converted into a parkland extending the South Bank precinct after the Games.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner was once a supporter.
“For a decade and more, people have talked about South Bank being extended along this part of our river, and I am so pleased we’re now moving forward to make those dreams become a reality,” Cr Schrinner said in 2021.
The Lord Mayor now believes this new proposal would better serve the city.
“Our plan means we’re able to deliver new homes in an area where more people want to live, while protecting the character of Brisbane’s suburbs.”
The Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie could not resist doing a bit of kicking Labor, saying this new idea would help support housing supply and deliver a legacy project for Brisbane.
“Labor’s plan for the Visy site was to waste more taxpayer money on yet another white elephant project that didn’t stack up and delivered no new homes for Queenslanders,” he said.
“Instead of yet another Steven Miles wasteful white elephant vanity project, [we] will partner with the private sector to reverse Labor’s housing crisis while delivering a new world-class precinct for the city.”
Premier David Crisafulli agreed.
“We’re unlocking one of the last golden stretches of riverfront to create a world-class legacy precinct that all Queenslanders can be proud of,” he said.
“This is a once-in-a-generation moment to reshape Brisbane’s inner city and deliver lasting benefits.”
Yet around the corner is an already successful example of a public/private partnership at South Bank with its mix of retail, hospitality, commercial and residential and with high property values.
High rise towers alone do not solve a housing crisis.
After World War II in the UK, and the US (as well as Melbourne), high rise buildings were used to rehouse people, but it is now regarded as a failure.
The towers isolated communities rather than integrating them. High rise apartment buildings as we now know them are financial instruments for the property market.
If the idea behind the Visy site is to provide housing for people, it will not be for those with a middle income.
Given its location and the enormous amount of infrastructure required for it to be viable, this project will only be for the wealthy.
If the government did not want to pay for a masterplan to be drawn, it could have specified how much freehold land it required, how much open space, whether community facilities such as rowing could be accommodated and how much (and what type of) retail was required.
This site is an important urban precinct. There must be a responsibility not only to the local community but also to the larger Brisbane community to ensure this land is developed in everyone’s interests.
At the moment, as it is a priority development site, public input is excluded, and we are only likely to be told when the winning scheme is announced. It is poor public policy.
