This was published 3 years ago
Council eyeing underused commercial sites to help housing squeeze
Updated ,first published
Brisbane City Council has flagged a new effort to open up housing in underused commercial areas amid a record housing squeeze and affordability concerns for renters and first-time buyers.
The Suburban Renewal Precincts Initiative, revealed in council’s $4 billion budget on Wednesday, is aimed at meeting demand for new homes sooner.
But the scheme does not feature funding in a specific budget line item, and no particular regions have been singled out, though Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has pointed to areas such as car yards along Ipswich Road in Moorooka as potential sites.
The initiative would focus on underused commercial or light-industrial areas close to existing infrastructure and public transport, for mostly apartment-style mixed-use developments.
It would coincide with council’s already announced crackdown on the use of properties for short-stay rental accommodation.
Schrinner told reporters he hoped to see planning in some areas within “several months”, after consultation with residents and the state government.
Previous work in suburbs such as South Brisbane, Woolloongabba, Newstead and Teneriffe has transformed them into some of the “most sought-after places” to live in Brisbane.
“What this is about is ensuring that our existing low-density areas stay low density, but we’re adding further residential footprints into the city of Brisbane,” Schrinner said.
“We don’t want to see low-density areas changed fundamentally, we want them to stay low density.”
He added that recent population growth had created a “perfect storm” around housing affordability, with limited “levers” available for local governments to pull and the release of land largely controlled by the state government.
Schrinner also hit out at Labor, Greens and independent councillors, who he said “consistently oppose” new housing developments.
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Matt Dennien is a reporter at Brisbane Times covering state politics and the public service. He has previously worked for newspapers in Tasmania and Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ. Contact him securely on Signal @mattdennien.15Connect via email.