Victoria Point Library

Redland City Council’s Victoria Point Library has been located for about 20 years in the Victoria Point Lakeside Shopping Centre owned by Fox and Bell.

The current lease arrangements are due to expire soon (on 31 March 2026), so the matter was presented for discussion in confidential session at the Redland City Council meeting on 21 January 2026.

The meeting minutes show that an option recommended by officers was put forward by Cr Wendy Boglary but the motion failed to attract a seconder.

A motion was then moved by Cr Julie Talty and seconded by Cr Paul Golle to:

1. To endorse the progression of Option Two of this report including the ability to negotiate lease terms that improve the overall net present value (NPV) of this option.
2. To authorise in-principle the allocation of sufficient funds through normal budget processes to progress Option Two.
3. To note the Chief Executive Officer’s existing delegation under s.257(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 2009 to negotiate, make, vary and discharge resultant contracts and related documentation.
4. That the report and attachments remain confidential, or as required by any legal or statutory obligation, subject to maintaining the confidentiality of legally privileged, private, and commercial in confidence information.

This motion was passed 8/2.

Victoria Point Library leases

Back in 2004 Redland City Council resolved to lease premises for a library at Victoria Point Lakeside. The lease was to be for ten years, commencing on 1st April 2006 and expiring on 31st March 2016.

The initial lease included an option for the Council to renew for a further ten years. This was discussed by Redland City Council at its meeting on 27 April 2016. Observant readers might have noticed that this was 27 days after the initial term of the lease had expired. Seems this was not a problem.

The officers report and attachments which were presented to Councillors at the meeting on 27 April 2016 were confidential at the time, but since then the Council has made the whole document available on its website.

These documents, authorised by Louise Rusan who was then General Manager Community and Customer Services, show that for the first year of the further term (1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017) the lease would cost $519,278.70 plus GST and this amount would be adjusted annually.

The lease provided for a Market Review after five years on 1 April 2021.

So how much might the council have been asked to pay to renew its lease for a further term?

The general rate of inflation as measured by the ABS Consumer Price Index (CPI) has increased by about 33% over the past ten years. If the lease was adjusted in line with CPI then the starting price for a new term would increase from $519,278.70 plus GST to about $690,000.00 plus GST.

But we know that property values have increased enormously over the past ten years. For example, the median value of residential property in Redlands has more than doubled over the past decade, from $240,000 in 2015/16 to $510,000 in 2024/25.

So if the Council wanted to renew its lease at Victoria Point Lakeside, the owners’ asking price could be more than $1 million per year for the first year.

It’s likely that Redland City Council’s long suffering ratepayers won’t find out how much the new lease will cost any time soon because the new lease will be deemed commercial in confidence.

It’s pleasantly surprising that the Council disclosed this report (see below) about the current (but soon to expire) lease.

Redlands2030 – 12 February 2026