Private sector investment in development vital for city's prosperity

The importance of private sector investment in major developments within Toowoomba’s CBD was highlighted last week at Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise’s (TSBE) April Enterprise Evening.

Over 330 people attended the event last Thursday, 28 April hosted at Toowoomba’s Empire Theatre focused on the unprecedented growth of Toowoomba’s CBD driven by a number of major developments.

Giving an overview on the planning vision for the city centre, Toowoomba Regional Council Director of Planning and Development Stewart Somers said private sector investment was fundamentally important for the future of the CBD’s development.

“It’s not really council or state government or the feds that build our cities, it’s the private sector,” Mr Somers said.

“It’s the private sector that builds most of the infrastructure that goes into the ground or over the ground, it’s the private sector that builds a lot of the buildings that we use every day.

“The private sector is very very important and that certainly is the philosophy that comes through from the Mayor and the Council.”

Other speakers for the evening included Newlands Civil Construction director and CEO Gavin Hodges updating guests on the Walton Stores project, Grand Central centre manager Shaine Beveridge giving an update on the QIC redevelopment and Aspect Architects and Project Managers director Graham Secombe discussing the plans for the Mill Precinct site.

Giving his update on the progress and future plans for the $500 million Grand Central redevelopment, Mr Beveridge said one of the key priorities of the project was capturing lost expenditure.

“The leaked expenditure is extremely significant and that’s really what we’re hoping to gather back, for the benefit of the whole region and that is for employment, so we keep the jobs in Toowoomba, and we keep the dollars up here in terms of retail spend,” Mr Beveridge said.

“There is a quarter of a billion dollars according to our research that is currently going down the range and really that presents an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to keep that up here for the benefit of the whole region.”

Speaking on behalf of TSBE, CEO Dr Ben Lyons said the current developments going ahead in the city’s CBD would bring growth and business opportunities for the region for years to come.

“With the Toowoomba skyline now showcasing five cranes, there is no doubting that the CBD is experiencing unprecedented growth,” Dr Lyons said.

“These developments mean jobs and added dollars to our regional economy and it was great to hear how both public and private contributions are transforming our city and contributing to our future.”

Dr Lyons also thanked the event sponsor, Australian Events.

Prior to the event, guests were given the opportunity to tour the major developments featured on the evening, including the Walton Stores project, Grand Central, The Mill Precinct and the site of the Toowoomba Railway Parklands PDA.