The Brisbane Inner City Investment Prospectus

July 2014

Invest in Newstead- Bowen Hills

WelcomeNewstead-Bowen Hills statistical area level 2 (SA2) has been identified as a key investment location within Brisbane Inner City. This supplement provides a snapshot of key economic and investment indicators for Newstead-Bowen Hills and has been produced as part of the Brisbane Inner City Investment Prospectus.

Newstead is a riverside suburb known for its trendy cafes and restaurants, upmarket studio apartments and renovated older homes. Newstead predominantly remains a commercial area, previously accommodating industrial timber yards, asbestos works, wharves, wool stores and the Newstead gasworks, however, key areas have now been redeveloped into upmarket residential locations.

In contrast, Bowen Hills is known for its recreational facilities, being home to the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds, The Twelfth Night Theatre and The Old Museum – which was the former Queensland Museum and now houses the Queensland Youth Orchestra.

Public transport in Bowen Hills is well established and includes Bowen Hills railway station, one of Queensland’s busiest stations. The station is also home to a large Queensland Rail maintenance and stabling depot. Important road infrastructure including the Clem Jones tunnel, Airport Link tunnel and Inner City Bypass also interconnect here.

In recent years, Bowen Hills has become a key location for business headquarters. Virgin Australia Holdings and Sunstate Airlines operating under the Qantaslink banner have their headquarters here. It is also home to News Corporation’s Queensland head office, which publishes The Courier-Mail, The SundayMail, mX, Brisbane News and Quest community newspapers. There are 1940 registered businesses in Newstead-Bowen Hills according to 2013 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.

The local population of Newstead-Bowen Hills can be characterised as well-educated, high-income earners, mainly consisting of couple families with no children that reside in apartments.

Future growth and development is evident with a significant number of residential and non-residential development and building approvals being granted for the area.

Location Newstead-Bowen Hills has a neighbourhood plan specifically for the Newstead and Teneriffe waterfront, as well as the Bowen Hills Neighbourhood Plan. The Newstead and Teneriffe Waterfront Neighbourhood Plan came into effect on 1 January 2011 and is now a legal document and forms part of the Brisbane City Plan 2014.

Neighbourhood plans can help facilitate economic prosperity, protect character development, provide for open space, include standards for new development and reflect improved infrastructure such as new transport routes. The Newstead and Teneriffe Waterfront Neighbourhood Plan sets out how land can be used and developed over time and seeks to:

• concentrate new medium-high density residential and commercial development in the River Park site and the adjoining Commercial Road precinct

• maintain the existing character of recently redeveloped areas in the southern part of the plan area (including the converted woolstores and the former sugar refinery site)

• ensure that new development near the woolstores includes design elements that complement the character of the converted woolstores

• preserve an employment base (including light industry and service activities) in the northern part of the plan area

• improve public areas through the creation of cross block links and the continuation of Riverwalk.

The Bowen Hills Neighbourhood Plan outlines its key objectives as seeking to:

• create a diverse and vibrant area with an integrated mix of living, employment and entertainment uses

• capitalise on the excellent public transport infrastructure in the area

• protect heritage buildings and encourage their ongoing use

• attract businesses that support city centre uses or are associated with the adjacent hospital complex.

A number of key precincts can be identified in Newstead-Bowen Hills including the Ekka precinct, Bowen Hills heart precinct, Royal Brisbane Hospital (RBH) precinct, Perry Park precinct and the Newstead River Park precinct.

The Ekka precinct is currently undergoing a significant transformation. The precinct encompasses the RNA Showgrounds, the former Queensland Museum, parkland and entertainment and dining venues.

Bowen Hills heart precinct is the area containing the Bowen Hills railway station. This area is known for high-intensity development and is transforming into a vibrant centre.

The RBH precinct is the area located opposite the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. The area is a mix of residential and commercial uses delivering a range of hospital support activities.

Perry Park precinct provides a major sport, recreation and green space area in Bowen Hills and includes the recently expanded PCYC facilities.

The Newstead River Park precinct includes commercial, retail, residential apartments and parklands and is situated riverside.

Population ProjectionsNewstead- Bowen Hills will see steady population growth over the next 25 years. Population in 2011 was 7790 people and is forecast to increase to 25,107 people by 2036 (see Figure 1).

The median age for residents of Newstead- Bowen Hills in 2012 was 33.4 years, below the Greater Brisbane (greater capital city statistical area) median age of 35.1 years. The age profile of Newstead- Bowen Hills is illustrated in Figure 2.

The population of Newstead-Bowen Hills is characterised as mainly couple families with no children (see Figure 3) and more than 85% reside in apartments. Almost 60% of occupied private dwellings recorded on Census night in 2011 were rented, which is significantly higher than the proportion across Greater Brisbane.

Residents of Newstead- Bowen Hills are well-educated, high income earners with 75% per cent of the population aged 15 years and over hold post-school qualifications, more than half of which hold a bachelor degree or higher.

In the 2011 Census, 2107 residents (28.9%) of Newstead- Bowen Hills indicated they were born overseas. More than 60% of residents who indicated that they were born overseas were born in non-English speaking countries.

The residents of Newstead- Bowen Hills are employed across a wide variety of occupations. The top-three occupations identified in the 2011 Census were Professionals, Managers and Clerical and administrative workers. The occupation profile of Newstead- Bowen Hills is illustrated in Figure 4.

Business informationIn 2013, 11,324 businesses were registered in Newstead- Bowen Hills. When classified by size, 86 were medium. In comparison to the average across Greater Brisbane the area has a slightly higher concentration of medium and large businesses based on employment size.

The business count for Newstead- Bowen Hills by turnover range notes that 16% of the businesses have a turnover greater than $500,000 and less than $2 million, compared with 14% for Greater Brisbane, and 12% of businesses have a turnover of $2 million or more, in comparison to almost 6% for Greater Brisbane. The business counts for Newstead- Bowen Hills by employment size and turnover range are illustrated in Figure 5 and Figure 6.

The top-ten industries by business count for employing businesses in Newstead- Bowen Hills are illustrated below (see Figure 7).

Employment forecasts Employment in Newstead- Bowen Hills is forecast to reach 29,498 people by 2031, a growth of 13,838 people (88.4%) from 2011.

The top-five employing industries in Newstead- Bowen Hills (see Figure 8) will contribute the majority of employment growth for the area. Significant growth is also expected in the Cultural and recreational, and Wholesale industries.

Availability of skilled workers is important for the area. Workers in Newstead- Bowen Hills commute from various locations. The top-three locations that workers commute from are New Farm, Hills District and Clayfield. The journey to work profile for Newstead- Bowen Hills is illustrated in Figure 9.

Building and development activityIn the 12 months ending 31 March 2014, there were 1292 dwelling units in new residential buildings approved in Newstead-Bowen Hills, with a total value of $354 million.

The total value of non-residential building approvals in Newstead-Bowen Hills in the 12 months ending 31March 2014 was $94.5 million.

Now completed, Madison Heights is a 30-storey residential development that includes 308 apartments and 760 square metres of high-street styled retail on the lower levels.

A 15-year project, the $2.9 billion RNA Showgrounds Regeneration Project is occurring on the largest brownfield development of its kind in Australia. Now in its fourth year, the project will provide 340,000 square metres of new residential, commercial and retail space, and is predicted to be home to at least 3000 residents upon completion.Scheduled to open in mid-2015 are both The Green apartments and Kings Gate commercial sector.

Scheduled for completion in late 2014, the Gasworks development in Newstead is progressing with the $180 million Gasometer 2. The 15-storey building is set to contain 24,800 square metres of A-grade office space and 1056 square metres of retail space. Bank of Queensland has leased more than half of the available office space, while 50% of the retail space has also been leased.

Newstead has a number of boutique residential developments underway. In June 2014, a development application was submitted for a 25-storey residential development at 30 Festival Place. Known as Skyring apartments, the development will contain 263 residential apartments and five retail spaces at the ground level. The project is estimated to be completed in November 2016.

With construction set to start in 2015 for completion in late 2016, Newstead Towers on Longland Street will consist of two high-rise towers containing 314 apartments and 174 square metres of retail at the ground level. In the four weeks following its launch, the project achieved more than $100 million in sales, with 206 of the 314 apartments sold as at 28 May 2014.

Growth in Floor SpaceAvailable floor space in Newstead- Bowen Hills in 2011 was estimated to be more than 900,000 square metres and is expected to increase by approximately 700,000 square metres by 2031 (see Table 1).

Table 1 - Floor space forecasts Brisbane City, 2011-2031

Newstead- Bowen Hills

2011 Floor space

estimate (m2)

2016 Floor space

forecast (m2)

2021 Floor space

forecast (m2)

2026 Floor space

forecast (m2)

2031 Floor space

forecast (m2)

Retail 203,801 256,724 267,693 279,282 277,145

Commercial 91,608 112,188 118,714 123,203 123,055

Industrial 385,771 450,094 512,647 540,943 525,030

Community purpose 182,182 339,346 400,644 469,529 516,084

Other 4,020 4,288 4,022 3,873 3,492

Total 867,381 1,162,640 1,303,719 1,416,831 1,444,807

Source: Queensland Government, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Employment Projections converted to floor space by Brisbane City Council.

Publication informationTo receive up-to-date information to help grow your business subscribe to Economic Development updates by emailing economic_development@brisbane.qld.gov.au

To have this information translated, call 131 450 and ask to speak to Brisbane City Council on 07 3403 8888.

Published by Brisbane City Council, GPO Box 1434, Brisbane QLD 4001

For more information:

visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/citycentremasterplan visit www.Facebook.com/BrisbaneCityCouncil call 07 3403 8888 Tweet Council @brisbanecityqld

Publication number CA14-627046-03-400 © Brisbane City Council 2013.