Cranes Everywhere

Brisbane is in the middle of a building boom with cranes everywhere. This is the the junction of Adelaide and George streets on the site of the old law courts. They are building a high-rise luxury hotel - work has just finished on the 7-level basement. It looks like there was a recent break-in to the site and someone took the machinery for a bit of a joyride costing $100K worth of damage... but things appear to be back on track now. Enjoy the rare expanse of sky while you can!

Fenced In Cows

The old ABSOE building in Boundary Street, West End, has hosted some great weekend markets, a couple of music venues, bars and art studios for the past couple of years but all that has come to an end now as developers move in to bulldoze the current buildings and build 1350 luxury flats spread over seven 15-storey towers. Much of the local community is against the development.

It was an unceremonious end to the last markets on Friday night. The developers were worried the community would start protesting so they cancelled the event, erected some fencing and employed some security.

Then they had to put a fence in front of the original fence which is causing more controversy...

The artist, Stewart, is back again today to do some repainting. He's going over the cows with native birds. We'll see how that one pans out..

And now to a developing storey....

It's been a long time in between drinks but here I am again. Hurray! I've been feeling for a while that it's time for a comeback. Doing this blog makes me feel more connected to where I live and what is happening around me. And there's a lot happening around me in my neighbourhood of West End. What has historically been an industrial area - probably due to the high flood risk - has in the last few years had a huge amount of development applications approved. The projected population of our area is set to double in the next few years. That's just in West End. Across the river in Toowong the same thing is happening. Infact, throughout the inner city, if a house gets knocked down, you can expect a block of units to rise in its place.

The case for development is that the greater city's footprint is sprawling - roughly the size of London but with a fraction of the population. Traditionally, people from Brisbane have lived in single-level high-set houses on big blocks. But if the city is to prosper and grow, this type of housing - particularly so close to the centre of town - is unsustainable and a waste of valuable space.

The case against the current developments is that thousands of new residents are moving into the area (with thousands of cars). I read somewhere that the population density between the river and Montague Road will be similar to Hong Kong yet there is apparently no planning for new schools/infrastructure/parks/public transport. There will be high towers (some 15 stories or more) close together, creating dark, windy streets. There is no allowance for affordable housing - all the apartments being built are "luxury".  And everything is being built on an area that was under several feet of river water in 2011 during the flood. Local residents aren't anti-development - just anti-bad development. (Can you tell which side I'm on?)

See here for a related post back in 2012.

Poof! and it's gone...

Last month I posted a photo of a once-grand old house which just seemed to be falling apart. The comments were interesting reading and Natalie from across the river mentioned that it had recently been pulled down. Yesterday I went for a wander down Avebury Street in West End to the site of the house and this is what I found.

An old favourite revisited...

 

It's been a while since I paid this house a visit. It looks like it's been through a bit a bit since then - probably flood damage judging from its location, although the roof looks like something heavy has fallen on it. It's surprising they haven't bulldozed it and stuck a block of flats there, given that it's in a prime location close to the river and the city. 

I love how disgracefully it has been allowed to age!

Outdoor Inspriations

The side of this building was only revealed recently after renovations started taking place. I like how the writing and little floral decoration contrasts so starkly with the scarred facade. I'm sure it won't be there for very long.

Loss

Australia woke yesterday to the horrific news that eleven people including eight kids had perished in an infernal house fire in Slacks Creek just south of Brisbane. They were from two families, one Tongan and one Samoan, and spanned three generations. As the day wore on, we heard about the father who had jumped from the upper floor and called to his wife to help their five kids jump onto the mattress he was setting up but she and all five kids were found later in the ruins all huddled together. Members of both communities arrived at the scene and started singing so beautifully in amongst all that agony. It was absolutely heart-breaking.

See and read more here.

Third time's a charm.

The old house in the block behind ours, empty for so long, is now being pulled apart.

It was such a great old house, full of character. It's beaten the odds twice since I've started this blog. The first time here. Then again here. This time there was no notice of intent so nobody saw it coming.

See also A-M's post about it from yesterday here.

Ex-Terminus

One thing about the flood. It's forced some of us to do the repairs and renovations we've been putting off for years. And I'm not just talking about my back room. This is West End Ferry stop - well, this was it about a week ago. It's now gone completely. The vague promises before the flood that it had been earmarked for a re-fit at some point seem like a distant memory. The work is in full swing and we hope to have a fully functional terminus at the end of June. Yahoo!

Floor Make-over Special!! 1. Before

 

 This floating floor had been a year in the making; neither of us are the DIY type and so it was the source of much procrastination and frustration. The skirting boards hadn't even been attached yet. We think they were submerged for about 12 hours so the slick of river mud over them was only a couple of millimetres thick. You can tell from the light at the top of the picture that each board had started to bow.

Just as an aside, a friend who has worked in recovery centres in Queensland with all the flooding recently said that the thing that made Brisbane different in the clean-up was the vast array of fancy wellies/gum boots around.

Anyway: the floor. As far as insurance goes, our contents are covered but the buildings insurance is not. We subsequently found out that no body corporate in Brisbane has flood insurance. So the question was posed: is the floor considered "contents" or "buildings"?

Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of this make-over special! (Don't you just love a cliff-hanger?)

100 Hardgrave Road

I've posted twice about this place in Hardgrave Road; once when they knocked the house down except for the facade (here) and once, not so long ago, to show how local artists have used it as a canvas (here). Friends of ours used to live here. This week, the builders are out the back working hard, pouring concrete slabs over what was once the back yard. A place of lazy parties, neighbours talking over low fences, swings in trees, wild flowers and herb gardens. I still haven't worked out what the point of keeping the facade was and what they are going to do with it once the new buildings behind take shape. This is taken from the back...

Paste-ups, slogans and spray paint have spread like weeds, adorning both the outside walls and the remaining area inside.

I get the feeling that it's living on borrowed time so I'd better get a few more snaps in before the newly-poured concrete takes over and the developers commit a neatness. Shame, really.

Drift

This is the aptly named "drift" restaurant in Milton. After being Oxley's on the River for years, new management took over only a few months ago. It prided itself on being "Brisbane's Best New Restaurant". The dramatic images and videos of it breaking up, heading down the river and crashing into a bridge have become iconic.Click here to see it on the move.

I went down there last night and had a look around. It's looking very sad.

Evidence of the destruction is all over the bike path and the restaurant itself has been torn apart and now lies open to the elements...

I'd say those cleaners have had their work cut out for them.

They've got a huge task ahead of them.

Xpress Inconvenience

A car almost ploughed into our local shop yesterday, taking out the awning, the phone box and the bin. I don't think there was anyone in the phonebox at the time.