Ipswich City Mall

The mall is slowly but surely filling up with shops. The Council takeover seems to be working. Aussie Home Loans will have their official opening in November, several other stores are on the way.

As someone who spends a little time in the mall each day now, I overhear the comments of passersby. They are divided between "oooh look their closed too" and "oooh look another shop opening." the latter are in the ascendency.

The other spoken phenomena I have observed is the 'fukn' one. It is difficult to believe that someone (usually male mid to late teens) can use 'fukn' as an adjective in front of every single noun in a sentence without laughing. What is even funnier is that the group being spoken don't burst out laughing either. I wish I had a video of one to put on youtube.

Café and restaurant wages to rise.

The federal Labor government is raising wages across the board in the hospitality industry on 1st January 2010 when the new award comes into force.

The new award is being made without regard for its effects on the café and restaurant industry.
Of entrants to the café and restaurant industry 30% fail in the first year, 50% in the first two years. It is a low net profit industry, which many failed entrants to it in Ipswich have discovered.
The new award will result in higher prices and less employment, many businesses will be forced to close on Sunday.

The new award provides :-

1. A penalty on Sundays of 50% (on top of the casual loading if it applies)
2. A penalty for Saturdays of 25% (on top of the casual loading if it applies)
3. A penalty for all hours worked after 7pm of 10% (on top of the casual loading if it applies)
4. And an increase in the casual loading from 23% to 25%

The new award can be found at -
www.airc.gov.au/awardmod/awards/hospitality.pdf

This will affect every café and restaurant in Australia. The idea that one day deserves higher pay than another is entirely absurd.
I suggest you voice your concerns now, to the each and every relevant federal politician, or we will be stuck with wage rates that will destroy many businesses decimate others.

Adult Shops

There has been much political grandstanding on the recent legislation to ban adult shops from close proximity to schools and churches. Really! Do local and state governments have nothing better to do than devise imaginary problems.

In Brisbane Street there are real problems, and there is also an adult shop (which, incidentally, is advertised on Councils website). The real problems include - burglary, vandalism, graffiti, smashed shop windows, urinating in shop doorways and other public places, hooning, drunkenness, littering and the inevitable footpath pizzas which arrive every Friday and Saturday night. These problems are ongoing and require practical solutions.

Even church leaders whose charities regularly deal with homelessness, poverty, inequality and abuse would not be putting the proximity of sex shops to churches very high on their agenda. Because they are dealing with REAL problems which require real solutions.

The adult shop in Brisbane Street (Everything Adult) was previously a paint shop, apart from the sign change has there been a REAL difference? A difference so important that it required legislation? If there has been I haven't noticed it.

I'll leave the last word to a blogger from interstate (I could easily have chosen a much less kind quotation) and the cartoon to Wilcox. "Queensland has always been funny with things like censorship, so it doesn't particularly surprise me. It just means after mass you are going to have to walk a couple of hundred metres extra to get your latest Nuns Gone Wild 3 dvd."

McDonalds approved for Baptist Church site

In case anyone missed the news, McDonalds will be building a fast food restaurant and drive through on the Baptist Church site. The church will be restored and returned to Council administration. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand the site is derelict, neglected by its owners and only used by petrol sniffers, vandals, louts and other undesirables. McDonalds will at least clean up the site and provide well maintained gardens, good lighting and generally improve the street.

On the other hand the street has potential for inner city living and alternative retail and is slowly heading in that direction. Will people want to live next to a McDonalds drive through?

I guess the picture below is a good indicator of public opinion. If you see the burger as desirable then you are probably for the restaurant, if, like me, you see a synthetic imitation of a hamburger you'd probably prefer something else.

CBD Traders Advisory

The Ipswich CBD Traders advisory has been re-established. Bob Slater is the new chair. The first meeting will be held on the 20th of January 2009. If you would like to receive the agenda please email to ipswichtraders@optusnet.com.au and I will forward your details.

Brassall Bikeway bridge across Mihi creek

The last span was placed across to complete the structure of the bridge across the Mihi creek last friday. It is still inaccesable, but unlike another bridge well known for its absence, this one is well on the way to completion.

View of the proposed McDonalds restaurant from Brisbane Street

This view shows the retaining wall (on the left) behind which you can just see the top of the restaurants roof. The major part of the restaurant will be in Limestone Street, a 12 metre high sign next to the Limestone Street traffic entry is proposed.

The entry portico and Baptist church are to be retained. There is to be significant planting, not shown in this picture. Council are still assessing this application. The elevation below gives perhaps a more realistic idea of the proposal.

Council to purchase Ipswich City Square

The parts in red are owned by Memo Corporation and are the subject of purchase by the Ipswich City Council. The purchase price is $45million. Council already owns the Commonwealth bank building (marked orange).

This is great news for the CBD. The Ipswich City Square has been underdeveloped for many years and currently only has about 40% occupancy. In other words 60% of the space is vacant, this is depressing to everyone who shops and works in the CBD.

In terms of implementing the Ipswich Regional Centre Strategy the purchase of the centre by Council will be a tremendous boost. At a purchase price of $45million the centre is not cheap. If interest rates come down to 5% the interest would be $2,250,000 per annum.

However what is to be hoped is that Council will seek expression of interest from the private sector to develop the centre along the lines suggested by the Centre Strategy. That way they could strategically sell off the centre in parcels to separate developers who are prepared to meet Strategy guidelines. This would have the advantage of recouping the capital cost and divesting ownership of the CBD over a number of owners, ensuring that we are never in a position again where one uncaring owner can sabotage the whole of the CBD.

Mayor Paul Pisasale has commented on the purchase on the Ipswich City Council website and outlines some of the opportunities that will be presented when the sale is completed.

Congratulations Ipswich has all the details.

Brassal Bikeway progress.

These are the pylons for the bridge over Mihi creek. Part of the bikeway that will connect Brassal with the Riverlink shopping complex. It is looking very good. Currently the only crossing here is via an old metal waterpipe, the pipe has been worn smooth by thousands of kids crossing every year.

It is a pity that the owners of the Riverlink shopping complex have not completed the bridge they were required to build as precondition to the opening their shopping complex.

If they ever do the bikeway users will then also have access to the CBD.

Rotunda Ipswich City Mall

I think someone has their thumbs on backwards.

Ipswich Post Office development

The Post office development is moving along rapidly.

If you are not aware of what is being built have a look at the plans, posted here in November last year (see below). 

CBD to come under state government control

The best news since the invention of sliced bread is that the State Government will exercise its power to take control of the development of the Ipswich CBD.

This means that landlords who have until now been loathe to develop their properties may now face the compulsory aquisition power of the state government.

A business case for the develoment of the CBD will be put to cabinet in August.

It is worth noting that those who currently hold properties in the CBD will have a significant advantage if they do wish to participate in the revitalisation of the CBD. However those that see the CBD as merely a 'landbank' may have their properties compulsorily aquired.

We now have a great CBD revitalisation strategy and both a state government and a local council with the political will to implement it.

Letter to Queensland Times - 12 Feb

Dear Editor,

I write in reference to recent letters and articles in your paper regarding the Ipswich CBD and the mall. Many commentators see only the vacant shops in mall and fail to see what is going on elsewhere in the CBD.

The mall and in fact the whole of the retail aspect of the CBD is in a process of transformation. The major catalyst for this has been the 'Riverlink' complex on the northern side of the river.

I think it is useful to think of the CBD as having two parts, the mall and the rest. The wider CBD is doing very well, retail demand has never been higher, shop vacancies have rarely been lower.

When we opened our business at the 'Top of Town' in Brisbane street five years ago at least a quarter of the shops nearby were vacant. Now there are very few empty shops and some of them are already leased. Many buildings have been renovated and more are being renovated at present. We have recently rented the shop next door and expanded our business, a few doors up from us 'Underworld Games' are doing the same. A quick poll of businesses nearby shows that most are trading better since Riverlink opened.

The doomsayers are missing the positive developments in the wider CBD surrounding the mall. The recent opening of the Aspire apartments, the State governments investments in office space and a new courthouse, Councils recent aquisition of the Commonwealth Bank building, the Post Office development, the almost continuous renewal and redevelopment of the 'top of town,' the opening of the International Hotel, the planned Hotel Gloria, the superb parklands along the river, I could go on and on. If Riverlink has shown up one thing it is that there is a huge demand for retail in Ipswich.

So what about the mall? The blame for the current state of the mall should sit squarely with the major landholder. Memo Corporation Pty Ltd owns Ipswich City Square which contains the vast majority of shops in the mall, in fact they own a little over 33,000 square metres of the central CBD. There are small pockets either side of the mall in other hands but Memo Corp owns most of both sides of the mall through to Bell Street on one side and the cinemas on the other side.

Despite describing themselves on their website as 'property investors and managers,' Memo Corporation have degraded the value of their own investment in Ipswich through neglect and mismanagement. The unfortunate result of this is that many of their tenants have abandoned ship and many more are will leave as their leases expire.

This has caused dismay for both the people of Ipswich, who are entitled to expect a healthy and vibrant central CBD, and to those remaining retailers who are experiencing a loss of trade.

Until Ipswich City Square changes hands it will be the areas around the mall which will support the CBD. The focus of retail activity will shift from those areas that Memo Corp controls to the areas owned by people who see the enormous potential that the CBD holds. The recent announcement of the Post Office development is a perfect example of this. A 30 million dollar development of boutique shopping and office space.

To all the experts on doom and gloom I would suggest that the CBD is here to stay and will only grow bigger and better.

Jim McKee
Chair
Ipswich CBD Traders Advisory

Your rights as retail tenant.

Note - this meeting is at the Barry Jones Auditorium, not, the Safe City Boardroom.

Click the image for a larger view.

Invitation to Inspect the Safe City Monitoring facility

McDonald's for Brisbane St.

McDonald's application to reuse the Baptist church site between Brisbane and Limestone Streets is currently being assessed by Council. Details are available on Council's website.

Ipswich wins Livcom award.

This year celebrated the 10th anniversary of the full running of The International Awards for Liveable Communities, initially piloted in Spain in 1996.

Deputy Mayor Victor Attwood was in London to accept the award on November 25 (London time) at a special ceremony to mark the 2007 Livcom Awards for Liveable Communities.

"This is one of the proudest moment of my life accepting this award in front of an international audience," Cr Attwood said.

"The competition was tough, however Ipswich has a story that is the envy of many other cities around the world.

"We have seen a marvellous transformation take place in Ipswich. Last year, the city scored the sixth largest increase in population of any local government area in Australia.

"We must keep the pressure on to maintain and improve standards as the city grows."
Cr Attwood said.

Ipswich scored the win in Category C for cities with a population between 75,001 - 200,000, second place went to Richmond, BC, Canada.

Photo by josephtangks

Update - Ipswich Regional Centre Strategy (CBD revitalisation planning)

The following update is from Larissa Rogers,

Project Timeline

The Draft Integrated Strategy & Action Plan was presented to the Ipswich Task Force on Monday 12 November 2008 and was endorsed for broader stakeholder consultation. Broader Stakeholder consultation is scheduled to commence the week of the 3rd December 07 and run for approximately 3 weeks.

The final Ipswich Task Force meeting for the Strategy has been postponed until 24 January 2008. The delay is in response to changes in State Government Departments. The Final Integrated Strategy and Action Plan will be presented at this Task Force meeting, accompanied by City Centre Master Plan.

Draft Integrated Strategy & Action Plan

The Draft Integrated Strategy & Action Plan identifies an integrated package of 31 strategies and 158 actions which have been identified as playing a significant role in contributing towards the revitalisation of the Ipswich City Centre.

Of the 158 actions, 17 were selected by an independent panel of experts, and are recommended as priority projects to actively incubate, facilitate, stimulate and 'kick start' the revitalisation of the Ipswich City Centre.


Copies of Draft Integrated Strategy & Action Plan

I can arrange for CD copies of the Draft Integrated Strategy & Action Plan (this includes a full list of the 158 actions and 17 catalytic projects) to be made available to the CBD Traders Group.

Larissa Rogers | Project Coordinator
Ipswich Regional Centre Strategy
Ipswich City Council
PO Box 191 Ipswich Queensland 4305 Australia
Ph 3810 7313

Your Invitation to preview Christmas

Christmas is already on us, and you & your staff are invited to attend our Traders Christmas Function. Next Tuesday, 20 November, Join us at 5.30pm in the Santa's Wonderland display (under BCC Cinemas) for Drinks & Refreshments. This is an opportunity for us to give you a presentation of the overall Christmas Campaign and Entertainment Program for Ipswich Central over December.

RSVP direct to: elysia@ipsevents.org.au or phone 3812 2974

Post Office development

Click the image for a larger view.

At our recent meeting Councillor Andrew Antoniolli provided an overview of the proposed development at the Ipswich Post Office which looks very exciting. Four floors of office space over two buildings at the Limestone street end, retail at ground level on the Brisbane Street end. The proposal also includes 77 car parking spaces in two lower levels. A new Post office is to be incorporated within the development. Premium retail space is what Ipswich needs. Now that most major franchises have located over the river the time is ripe for Ipswich central to establish itself as a premium retail destination.

Rebel Sport

Rumour has it that Rebel Sport are opening a store in the mall. This will be the national companies 10th store in Queensland. The location is where 'Target Country' used to be.
If you know any more let us know.

Found on flickr

I guess everyone knows where this is.
From O2bonthenet's gallery

Lisa Jarrold - Contact details

Lisa Jarrold the new Central Business Manager for Ipswich City Council has provided her contact details. Lisa's office is in Darcy Doyle place between the Community Art Gallery and the Ipswich Art Gallery (the building that also houses the Ipswich Central Revitalisation Office.)

Lisa Jarrold
Ipswich Central Business Manager
Ph: 3810 7311
Fax:3810 7314
Mb: 0410 595 227
email: ljarrold@ipswich.qld.gov.au

Hotel Gloria

Construction is expected to commence on Hotel Gloria this month. The hotel was approved last year and is being developed by KT Property Development Pty. Ltd.

Located on the edge of the CBD the hotel will, like the International Hotel and the soon to be completed Aspire apartments, be a part of the very desirable growth of inner city accommodation. The Hotel is to be located between Marsden parade and Wharf Street just south of the railway line.

Ipswich City Square - New Manager

Ken Shoesmith has been appointed by Memo Corp to manage the Ipswich City Square. We look forward to welcoming Ken at our next meeting.

Brassall bikeway connection

The Queensland State government and the Ipswich City Council have funded the 2.9 km. Brassall bike way connection. This will run, off road, from Brassall to the Riverlink Shopping complex. The Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations John Mickel announced the State governments contribution on 30th September.

This $4.25m. project is funded 50/50 by state and local government. It is known locally as the Ipswich City Centre - Brassall Bikeway connection. It will run from the Mihi creek reserve over the creek and along the northern side of the Bremer river parallel with the river to the Riverlink shopping complex.

Retail training program

Ipswich City Council are funding a retail training program for CBD businesses.
The training will be run by Bremer TAFE and take place in the Ipswich Civic centre.
The first session will be on the 12th of November.

Suggestions about the content of the course are welcomed. What would you like to see yourself or your staff learning about retail? To leave a suggestion click 'comments' below and leave your comments here.

Council is also developing a retail services directory for the CBD.

Full details of both these initiatives will be posted when they become available.

Found on Flickr

Click photo a for larger view

Link below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_magoo_icu/

Bridge - - What Bridge?

Council approved the plans last month for the pedestrian bridge that forms the link in Riverlink.
Now its back to Leda to have the bridge certified, they can do this through Council or use a private certifier. Then QR needs to sign off on the abutment engineering. Alternatively Leda can install their own pylons and leave the existing abutments alone. Once all approvals have been submitted to Council building can commence. Building time is estimated at 14 working weeks. The bond which much was made of in the media several months ago, will only take effect once building approval is given. That is, from the approval date Leda will have 6 months in which to complete the bridge or forfeit completion expenses from their bond.

Will the bridge be complete in time for Riverlink's first birthday? I wouldn't put money on it.

Westpac's 'strong tradition of community involvement'

"As Australia's first bank and first company we've been proud to have played such a pivotal role in Australia's nation building. Throughout, we've been a part of the interplay between the financial, social and environmental factors that have driven Australia's development and contributed to our ongoing prosperity. That unique experience has left us with a strong tradition of community involvement."
From the westpac website.

The signs are up in the teller's windows now - they are leaving early November.

so eeeasy

National electrical retailer 'clive peters' is to open its fifth Queensland store at the Westaway centre on Limestone Street.

Ipswich Regional Centre Strategy

The Ipswich Centre Strategy draft report is due out in November, with the final report due out in December.

The tender document which states the purpose of the strategy and its aims is available as a pdf file from the link below.

The map above shows the wider area that the strategy encompasses (click for a larger view).

The tender document is well worth a look particularly as a guide to what can be expected from the final report.

The report will be not only be a guide to what is possible but its adoption will give investers and traders confidence in starting businesses through knowing that they fit in with the planning and direction established. The strategy project is a joint Ipswich City Council and Queensland State Government initiative.

www.arclib.com.au/ecms/userdata/archlib/downloads/s/tender_docs/Strategy_Action_Plan_Brief_Final.pdf

Ipswich station upgrade

Laurie Mundt (Business development manager Ipswich City Council) has reported that the upgrade to the Ipswich Railway Station is expected to be completed by early 2008. The upgrade includes - better security and safety, architectural treatments, improved lighting, et al.
The foyer will have a historical display showing the early days of QR operations and the significant part Ipswich played in the development of rail in Queensland.

Lisa Jarrold - CBD manager for Ipswich City Council

Lisa Jarrold has been appointed CBD manager by Ipswich City Council. Lisa has a great deal of experience in retail management.

Lisa attended our recent meeting and was enthusiastically welcomed. We all look forward to working with her.

Lisa will be operating from the Ipswich CBD Revitalisation Office in Darcy Doyle Place. Once her contact details and hours are finalised we will add that information here.

Unpublished letter to the QT.

"Dear editor.

I am writing in response to Scott Morrison's letter of Monday 20th August, regarding the Ipswich City Mall. While I appreciate Scott's point of view, I believe that the Ipswich City mall does have the potential to become a great asset to the city of Ipswich.

Where Scott hits the nail on the head is when he mentions Memo Corp and their role in the destruction of what should be the vital civic and economic centre of Ipswich. Memo Corp, through their ownership of the Ipswich City Square, are actively degrading the CBD through neglect and mismanagement. The number of shops that are now vacant is alarming, more shops are in the process of leaving, and more again waiting for their leases to expire.

The success of Riverlink is not to blame for the woes of the Ipswich City Square or the wider CBD. All that is now happening at Riverlink could, with planning and sensible management, have happened in the existing CBD. Memo Corp have taken an attitude to the people of Ipswich and the traders in the CBD which borders on malevolent.

The disappointment which many CBD traders feel at the recent failure of the sale of the Ipswich City Square to Consolidated Properties is turning to an ever increasing desire to be rid of Memo Corp. Ipswich City Council and the State government should be looking at getting rid of what is surely one of the worst major retail landlords in the state. Memo Corp are effectively squeezing the life out of the centre of Ipswich.

The Ipswich CBD has a lot on its side, a tremendous history, fine buildings, wonderful parks, great cultural institutions, and many remaining, and staying, retail stores. I encourage the people of Ipswich to support the CBD in the interim. Lets hope we can say goodbye to Memo Corp soon and that we don't have to wait twenty years for the party which farewells them.

Jim McKee
Chair Ipswich CBD traders advisory.

Burger anyone?

Photo by flagondry

The Baptist Church in Brisbane Street has been purchased by McDonald's. The sale is subject to planning approvals, currently before Ipswich City Council.

City Square sale fails.

The sale of the Ipswich City Square by Memo corp. is now a non-event. Apparently price was the deciding factor, with the potential purchaser and seller not getting close to an agreed value.