By John Prpic
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August 5, 2021
Today we are in Fortitude valley looking at what was known as the Fortitude Valley Plaza. Before I begin on telling how this shopping centre was constructed in 1972 on top of the Brunswick Street Railway Station, I should tell you the beginnings of the railway. In October 1885 the large public meeting was held where they discussed two possible options for the proposed railway line, both of which connected with Fortitude Valley. Some felt that a railway line running through Fortitude valley would ruin the area and that a loop line should be constructed, connecting from the end of the Bulimba Railway Line (Teneriffe) and looping around New Farm to Petrie Bight. In July 1886 there was still a debate on how to connect the railway terminus at Bulimba with the Southern and Western terminuses. It was decided that the first section, to be called the City Railway, was to extend the line from Roma Street to Petrie Bight. This would be a straight line from Roma Street to the Normal School with cutting at Albert Street and another at Edward and Ann Streets. They felt that these cuttings were important as citizens would never consent to having three streets blocked with railway crossings. A goods station would then be erected at Petrie Bight, then beyond it would travel though convent hill as a tunnel and surfacing a Gotha Street. It would then travel through Leichhardt Street to Alfred and Constance Street and continue until connecting to the Sandgate Line with a double fork, where it would connect with Bulimba (Teneriffe). They weren’t too sure what the principal station would be and felt that they wouldn’t build such a commodious station for Central Station, but would for Petrie Bight. They felt that the Petrie Bight station would end up being the busier stop. Beyond Petire Bight the first station would be in the vicinity of James Street and that provisions would be made for sidings, especially for wood and coal. The line would then connect to the Sandgate Railway Line and include a total of four level crossings. By August 1886 the Minister for Works had given consideration to this scheme and revealed the cost of carrying it out would be £470,000. In November 1886 the scheme was approved and submitted to Parliament. It would travel 2 miles and 20 chains, starting at Roma Street Railway Station and ending at Mayne Railway Station. The contract was let to McArdle and Thomson in August 1887 and by August 1889 they had completed the first section between Roma Street railway Station and Central Railway Station. Then on Wednesday August 28th 1889 authority was given to continue the line the remaining 77 chains. On the afternoon of Saturday November 1st 1890 the Fortitude Valley extension of the Southern and Western Railway took place. A long train with 10 carriages drawn by two engines left Roma Street Railway Station at 1:15pm. The front engine was a Baldwin Company locomotive No. 96, while the second was a new engine made by Evens, Anderson and Phelan of Brisbane and was No. 251. This station opened as Brunswick Street Railway Station and remained until the early 1970s when it was redeveloped into an underground railway station with a shopping complex on top. This retail centre, initially known as Valley Centre, was constructed with an 840 bay parking structure and 9 storey commercial tower was over the Fortitude Valley Railway Station for $8.9 million in 1972. The developer behind this project was the State Government Insurance Office (SGIO). The freehold of the site is still owned by the Queensland Government and Commissioner for Railways, while a 99 year lease on the site appears to have been handled by SGIO. A Wallace Bishop store appears to have occupied the right side location at the Brunswick Street entrance from 1972 to at least 1985. In April 1989 Remm Group LTD., who were the owners of the McWhirters building and were in the process of redeveloping it into a market style shopping centre, had confirmed negotiations were taking place in regards to Suncorp’s Valley Centre Plaza. Remm Group appear to have been offering $10 million for the lease on the site, which they wanted to integrate into the McWhirters development. The two sites were already linked over Wickham Street with a covered walkway at the time. The option to purchase this lease expired in May 1990 and in July 1993 Suncorp began a $1 million refurbishment of the complex. Then in March 1996 Suncorp appears to have been looking for a buyer willing to pay $11 million for the Valley Centre Plaza. It was eventually sold in November 1996 to property developer Mr. Kevin Seymour for $8.7 million. In March 2006 developer Mr. Kevin Seymour sold the Valley Metro site to Lend Lease for $54 million. In the 18 months leading up to this sale $12 million was spent refurbishing the retail centre, which at the time of the sale was anchored by a Fitness First and a Foodworks supermarket. The Transport House office tower was also fully leased to the Department of Transport for the next decade. This refurbishment is likely when the centre was renamed Valley Metro. In July 2007 the Queensland Government commenced with an upgrade of Brunswick Street Railway Station and upon completion in October 2008 it was renamed Fortitude Valley Railway Station. Around August 2014 Lend Lease appear to have sold this property to LaSalle Investment Management, who in 2016 released plans for a $500 redevelopment of the site. In June 2017 LaSalle Investment Management announced that their plans for their $500 million redevelopment of the Valley Metro Centre had been approved by Brisbane City Council. Now that they had Council approval, they planned on erecting a new 30 storey residential tower, with 207 apartments on the corner of Alfred Street and Constance Street. Now that they had Council approval, they planned on erecting a new 30 storey residential tower, with 207 apartments on the corner of Alfred Street and Constance Street. A second building to be constructed would be a commercial tower with a height of 23 storeys. The retail centre would also undergo a refurbishment to breath new light into the almost 50 year old building, as would the 9 storey Transport House commercial tower. This project was designed by architectural firm Architectus. Once complete the retail centre will consist of a new Woolworths Supermarket supporting by a number of specialty retailers including food & beverage and services offerings. In December 2019 LaSalle announced that they would begin the second phase of their Valley Metro revamp, with the first stage completed, involving renovating the 9 storey Transport House. This took 9 months to complete, which included removing the entire old facade and replacing it with floor to ceiling glass windows. In November 2020 it was announced that the proposed Hoyts Cinema which was to be constructed over Brisbane’s second busiest railway station was no longer proceeding. It was also announced that the Woolworths Supermarket was scheduled to open in March 2021, taking the place of the former Foodworks Supermarket. **The time and effort put towards compiling these articles are unpaid. Any brands or business depicted in my postings are purely coincidental and are done without remuneration. The information supplied in my articles are sourced from a variety of locations, such as newspaper archives, State Heritage Register, Council Heritage Registers, current newspaper articles, QImagery, word of mouth and many more locations. (Taken: 1985/2021) (Source: NAA/John Prpic)