A property developer who can create a “world class active urban hub” is being sought as part of Redland City Council’s Cleveland CBD revitalization strategy which has already cost ratepayers more than $12 million in purchase of commercial properties in Bloomfield and Middle streets.
A proposal by Cr Peter Mitchell to task Council-owned Redland Investment Corporation with progressing an expression of interest process to “procure the optimal delivery partner” was approved 8/3 at the Council meeting last week.
The selected development partner will get to transform the Cleveland CBD into a “vibrant mixed use and transit-oriented development opportunity” by constructing shops, offices and apartment blocks on land made available by the Council.
In return, the Council will want its developer partner to contribute a palatial new Council Chambers to replace the current building which has a leaky roof. A new Library could also be on the Council’s wish list.
Capalaba revitalization is in the development phase
A small scale version of the proposed “revitalization” process is currently underway at Capalaba, five years after Shayher Group was selected as the “preferred expression of interest (EOI) proponent”.
Redevelopment of 1.55 hectares of Council land (which used to include the Capalaba Library) will include initially three levels of offices and a community centre with arts facilities. Subsequent development could include multi-story residential / commercial buildings and a “village green” restaurant precinct.
Arrangements for the Capalaba project are set out in an undisclosed (presumably commercial in confidence) development agreement signed in October 2022 between the privately owned Shayher Group, the Council, and its wholly owned property company Redland Investment Corporation.
Redland Investment Corporation
Redland City Council decided secretively in 2014 to set up a wholly owned property company, known as Redland Investment Corporation. When unveiling its property company six months later in June 2015, the Council said that its new investment arm would “generate income that will help fund infrastructure and services and minimise rates hikes”.
Sadly, the Corporation’s financial performance was mediocre and Redland City Council’s rates kept rising.
In June 2021 the Council resolved to limit the future activities of Redland Investment Corporation to Toondah Harbour and Weinam Creek Priority development Areas and revitalization of Capalaba Town Centre.
But Redland Investment Corporation (which has not had a permanent CEO since December 2024) has now been given the additional job of managing the Cleveland CBD revitalization process.
Council investments in Cleveland CBD properties
$12 million has been spent over the past decade by the Council buying various commercial properties in the Cleveland CBD.
On the Cleveland CBD Monoply Board, Redland City Council now owns more than 15 hectares of land suitable for intense commercial development. This is ten times the area in Capalaba that Shayher was given to play with.
Just two months ago, in March 2025, the Council bought 96 Bloomfield Street for $2,557,500. The confidential officers’ report recommending this “strategic opportunity” was approved 8/3 as Item 20.6 at the general meeting on 19 February. This 1183m2 property adjoining Bloomfield Street Park has been vacant for some time.
109 Bloomfield Street, which used to have well-known tenants such as Jeppo Gelato and Naked Passion, was purchased by the Council in October 2024. The “strategic” acquisition of this 744m2 property for $1,650,000 was dealt with confidentially as Item 20.4 at the Council’s general meeting on 18 September 2024.
46 Middle Street, next to the Cleveland Library, was acquired by Redland City Council in December 2023 for $2,640,000. This property, used by for many years by Mater Health Services, is currently used by the Council as its Visitor Centre. The “strategic” purchase of this property was discussed confidentially by the Council (Item 20.3) on 15 November 2023.
Land including Browns Bakery at 48 Bloomfield Street was purchased in 2017 by Redland Investment Corporation who also bought the adjoining property at 66-68 Bloomfield Street in 2022 – a total spend of about $6 million.
The image below shows land on the Cleveland CBD Monopoly board which is now owned or controlled by Redland City Council. Commercial properties acquired in the past decade are highlighted with yellow borders.
Areas shaded green, including the Council Chambers on the corner of Bloomfield and Middle Street, RPAC, and Raby Bay Harbour Park, are State land held in trust (for the community) by the Council.
Careful what you wish for
Many people have grumbled over the years that someone needs to do something about the Cleveland CBD – wishes have included more places to eat and drink, a cinema, and improved retail offerings.
But development of the aged care centre in Doig Street, on a site which used to be a large Council owned public car park, caused a tightening up of car parking in the Cleveland CBD such that some small businesses closed.
Development as envisaged by Redland City Council will have consequences and some of them may be unwelcome. A vibrant and activated Cleveland CBD will have more vehicle traffic. Free car parking may be even more difficult to find than it is now.
A well-managed local council and its property developer partner should ensure meaningful community engagement based on transparency before any concrete is poured, to ensure that the vision for redevelopment is widely shared.
Two-way communication with attentive listening by the Council will be essential. This is an opportunity for the Council to learn from its previous community engagement debacles such as the Birkdale Precinct whitewater white elephant.
The ‘optimal’ developer for Cleveland CBD Revitalization
Picking the optimal delivery partner will likely be done in secret with the process shrouded by a confidentiality agreement.
Hopefully, Redland City Council will do thorough due diligence when evaluating developers’ proposals to avoid repetition of its previous developer selection mistakes such as Chef’s Inc which resulted in local businesses losing money, and picking Walker Group as its development partner for a controversial development at Toondah Harbour.
Is there a limit to how much confidential activity is conducted by the RCC?
Mayor Jos Mitchell was democratically elected by a majority vote from the whole of the Redland community on a platform of transparency. Because of the toxic nature in the relationship between the majority of other councillors, she and other councillors who are also desperate to see transparency have been prevented in instituting measures of accountability and transparency. Perhaps those concerned should write to their councillors to demand action on these measures. It is a real concern that any councillor should fight tooth and nail to prevent the public having access to such information.
Without plenty of available parking the town centre will never prosper. The reason for the decline is that there is never any available parking
I cannot begin to express my disappointment in the current Redlands City Council. This I gleaned from the Redlands Bayside News a couple of weeks ago in an article published about the actions by some Councillors in pursuing our democratically elected Mayor when the matters raised were unsubstantiated after an investigation. The time wasted on this matter could be much better spent on more important matters.
The behaviour of some Councillors is reprehensible. It is high time that Redlands City Council presented a unified front and worked in the interests of the ratepayers of the area. It is also time that Council showed transparency in its decision making. It would seem that a number of Councillors wish to continue making decisions secretly and without transparency that affect the community. Ultimately, when we find out these decisions it is too late to express our opposition.
No amount of redevelopment in Cleveland CBD will bring life to the area without permanent trading hours. No one is going to meet for lunch with friends when the staff start to mop the floor and begin putting chairs on tables an hour before closing at 2.00pm.
Sad to hear residents unhappy with Redland City Council not looking after ‘assets’ it has. Tradie told me Cleveland Olympic pool not maintained no one uses it. At one time Olympic swimmers used it. Boardwalk built by work-for-the-dole young men from bridge on Old Cleveland Rd Capalaba through the green of the creek connecting under Moreton Bay Rd bridge through to Windemere Road, left to rot. Saddened to hear Member for Capalaba Russell Field coerced into believing Whitewater industrial size canoe-racing project, a ‘niche’ sport, will be a ‘community asset’ on Birkdale land. If Redland Council can’t maintain assets we already have, unused, how will they maintain an industrial sized one on what was provided, initially, as a Birkdale Community Precinct? We hear sirens every day, Old Cleveland Rd East where entry to site is located, sees bumper to bumper commuter traffic a.m. p.m. rush hour driving to congested 4-way intersection at Capalaba, politicians all sides, are blind to seeing as they reside in green safe areas. We drive past floral sprays on posts on Finucane Rd adjacent to 4-way intersection depressing to view, every day, where young people have died. It’s wrong to destroy forever, for the few who would for a time, use the Whitewater facility that will be unused in future years leaving nothing to see but ugly buildings, air, noise and visual pollution. This is what can be expected when secret deals are made with no community input. Councils should not be involved in secret town planning decisions.
Cleveland and surrounding area use to be
such a pleasant place to live now with this unregulated rush to over populate the area has created so many problems IE parking road congestion high property prices and for some reason the closure of so many shops which makes for a very depressing place so the well paid councillor’s should get there act together and do there job and stop all this childish behaviour
Up go the rates!!!!
May I suggest that a pedestrian mall be established on Bloomfield St, between Middle St and Queen St, where the Sunday market is now. With some imaginative landscaping, it may attract more activity and retailing. Move the market to Doig St, although that may interfere with access to that new aged care monstrosity…
If Redland City Council was not secretive about its planning decisions to better/change lives of its citizens, and shared ideas with ratepayers, the outcome could be a better one than seen in some cases. For example, Cleveland had a ‘village feel’. A towering building at entry killed that. Many people are saddened at the loss. Had there been community input, entry would/could have been an attractive one with beautifully landscaped bed of native shrubs on display to greet visitors from near and far. Seems to me, as in the case of the ex-Commonwealth land in Birkdale, secret deals were done, without community input, to construct, destruct, the land… depriving most of the Redland community, young and old, ever using it for enjoyment, health, and wellbeing in a peaceful, pollution free environment… particularly when today we have a mental health crisis with few able to receive the help they need. If only we had politicians who cared…Mother Nature is a great healer.