Homepage Latest News Archives - Page 23 of 39

Coming Soon! New Harris Farm Markets at Aviary Toowong

Photo credit: Aviary Toowong / https://aviarytoowong.com.au

Harris Farm Markets has secured a long-term lease on the $450-million Aviary Toowong project which is slated to commence construction in 2022.

The deal will allow the grocery chain a 2,750-sqm tenancy on the State Development Corporation and White & Partners Sydney project. It will be the grocery chain’s fourth store in Queensland. Its latest store to open is in the Gold Coast, whilst the first two stores are in Clayfield and West End.

Co-chief executive for Harris Farm Markets, Luke Harris, said that the tenancy will allow them to serve more local produce and will generate an additional 80 jobs, on top of the current 300 already employed by the company.

Harris Farm Markets will be complemented by an array of retail, hospitality, cafes, specialty shops, and restaurants, as well as a modern cinema complex. Ross McKinnon, State Development Corporation’s managing director, added that having the grocery store as an anchor tenant serves as a peek into the development’s high-quality offering.

The Aviary Toowong is a mixed-use development on the corner of High Street and Sherwood Road. Soon to rise on the 9,000sqm site is a mix of offerings including 150 residential apartments, retail shops, a 20-storey office tower, as well entertainment, wellness, childcare facilities.

Photo credit: Aviary Toowong / https://aviarytoowong.com.au

About Harris Farm Markets

David & Cathy Harris opened their first shop in Villawood, NSW back in 1971. Today, the family-owned Harris Farm Markets operates its chain of stores in 31 locations spread across New South Wales and Queensland.

Photo credit: Harris_Farm_Markets / harrisfarm.com.au

The grocery store offers fresh produce, deli items, and frozen goods and is recognized as the first supermarket-style Australian retailer of fruits and vegetables. The store also offers what it calls “Imperfect Picks” – a concept that aims to reduce food waste by offering discounts on farm produce that do not meet visual standards.

The Dell on the Move: Last of Oldest Homes in Toowong Up for Relocation

The Dell, one of the last few historical houses by the riverfront in Toowong, will soon move to a new site after years of contemplation on how best to protect its heritage merits. The pre-1911 house along Glenn Road, which has been with the Sapsford family for generations, is now in a high-density residential zone, nudging the owner, Ruth Sapsford, to consider the relocation.

Ms Sapsford, who is part of the Toowong and District Historical Society, has been in talks with Brisbane City Council for some time about moving her family’s homestead, which has now been wedged between two high-rise residential buildings. The move will be facilitated once all the necessary permits and approvals are obtained.

The Dell is the house with red roof, wedged between two residential buildings. Photo Credit: Google Maps

The Dell, built in 1878 on the land originally owned by Australian businessmen and politicians Robert and Benjamin Cribb, has had a number of substantial modifications over the decades so it could not qualify for an official heritage listing status, according to Freya Robertson of the Toowong Residents Group.

Specifically, extensive renovations were done on the property from the 1955 to the 1960s, as well as in 2010, thus changing most of its architectural features. However, Council has granted Ms Sapsord’s request to move the house in a suitable land she bought within Toowong. In late October 2021, a couple of large trees have been cleared and signs have been installed announcing that The Dell has been saved from demolition.

On the riverbank in the back yard of “The Dell”, the home of TDHS president Ruth Sapsford. The Dell, situated in Glen Road, Toowong, was built on land that was once owned by immigrant Robert Cribb and later his brother Benjamin. As well as enjoying the river views the guests also pondered what the views would have been like in the mid-1850s when the Cribbs ancestors purchased this property and others in the area. No rowers practicing their sculling, no ski-boats on the river; no sailing club. Photo Credit: Toowong and District Historical Society

The Dell, first owned by Newman and Jane Sapsford, was constructed as a modest three-bedroom house encapsulated by a verandah on all sites. Its frontside was originally facing the river whilst the backyard was on Glenn Road.

By the late 1800s and throughout the next century, The Dell was extended with more rooms. The house endured more than a dozen of floods in its nearly 130-history.

The relocation comes as a Glenn Road and the adjoining Archer Street has had substantial gentrification in the past few years, forcing the demolition or changes to heaps of character homes in the area. In its place are townhouses, as well as low-rise and high-rise units. Nearby, the old ABC site will be developed as a two-tower residential site whilst Council is also planning to build one of five green Bridges along Archer Street.

Moving The Dell away from these developments was the most viable option for Ms Sapford, who released a book about her family home in October.

“What makes it different is that for over 130 continuous years it has been owned and occupied by different members of four generations of the one family. It has been cared for, enlarged, loved, modernised and adapted for life in the 21st century—moving from gas lighting to wifi. All the time it hoarded its records for posterity.”

Where To Go In Toowong For Sweet And Savoury Treats

Photo credit: Toowong French Patisserie

Whether you feel like having a slice of cake or a more savoury treat like steak and mushroom pie with your morning coffee, Toowong French Patisserie has got you covered, and more! They have treats like Eggs Benedict / Salmon Florentine in a brioche shell, Lamington-inspired macaron, even some French tapas later in the day.

Read: New Aviary Residences High-End Tower Rising in Toowong

Here you’ll find traditionally French croissants with different fillings, Croquembouche in various flavours, breads, pies, sourdoughs, cakes and slices, and even macarons and Petit Four, all made onsite.

Croquembouches (Photo credit: Toowong French Patisserie/Facebook)

In addition to common pastries, the well-stocked bakery also has a few creations that are uniquely their own, including the Egg Benedict/ Salmon Florentine in a brioche shell and Lamaron, a Lamington-inspired macaron.

Photo credit: Toowong French Patisserie/Facebook

The iconic bakery started in 1984 when three French brothers decided to open a patisserie in Brisbane. More than a decade later, they sold the business to the Gravestein family, who owns and operates the bakery up to this day.

“The Toowong Patisserie has become a part of Brisbane folklore, even having been included in award-winning author Nick Earls’ 1997 novel, Zigzag Street. We are serving next-generation customers who come with tales of eating here or ordering their croquembouches decades ago with parents and grandparents,” shared the Gravesteins.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Toowong French Patisserie (@the.french.patisserie)

Now, the business continues to grow with another location at the Salt Village and the addition of a dinner menu on the Toowong site. They recently launched the Sunset Menu, allowing guests to delight in French tapas with a beer, bubbly, or wine and live sax music.

For more details on reserving your table for Toowong French Patisserie’s Sunset Menu or other information about the bakery, visit their website or follow them on social media.

Toowong French Patisserie

Phone: 07 3371 8996

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TFPatisserie

Instagram: @the.french.patisserie

BUSHkids Toowong Receives Infrastructure Boost for Telehealth Centre

BUSHkids Toowong, a non-profit organisation providing free healthcare support for children and families in regional and rural areas, received a substantial funding boost for its telehealthcare programs.

As part of the $8 million Community Infrastructure Investment Partnership (CIIP) competitive grants program under Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Steven Miles, BUSHkids Toowong will receive $481,090 to establish a dedicated telehealth facility on its Brisbane office in Morley Street.

“Telehealth has proved to be a great way of complementing the work of our regional centres, particularly during COVID-19 and the telehealth centre will support our therapists based around the state going forward,” BUSHkids CEO Carlton Meyn said.

“This grant allows us to start work on the project and when finished it will enable us to provide services to more children in rural, regional and remote communities who need our help now more than ever.”

BUSHkids, also known as the Royal Queensland Bush Childrens’ Health Scheme, is one of 12 grant recipients alongside a mental health hub in Teneriffe, a community hub in Caboolture, and a youth centre in Ipswich. The boost to expand its services will also provide jobs in the construction, administrative, and social service sector.

“Infrastructure is about more than just large construction projects – it is also about small to medium projects that make a real impact at a local level and help boost the heart and soul of a community.

“They will pave the way for many new opportunities for local people who will benefit from the increased availability of services that support their health, well-being and the development of new skills,” Mr Miles said.

New Aviary Residences High-End Tower Rising in Toowong

Aviary Residences, a $450-million development, with Sky Villas which feature balconies for barbeques, walk-in butlers’ pantries, and dedicated bar areas, in a tower complex with a mix of residential, retail, hospitality, office, and shared outdoor spaces will soon rise in Toowong.

The $450-million development, from State Development Corporation in partnership with White & Partners Sydney, will be a mix of residential, retail, hospitality, office, and shared outdoor spaces in a thriving lifestyle destination.

Appealing to owner-occupiers, which now makes up over 58 percent of the current inner-city apartment market in Brisbane, Aviary Residences has been designed for families and downsizers looking for “high quality, generous apartments with the very best wellbeing and lifestyle amenities,” according to State Development Corporation Managing Director Ross McKinnon.

Twelve exclusive Sky Villa apartments feature balconies for barbeques, walk-in butlers’ pantries, and dedicated bar areas equipped with wine fridges, luxury amenities comparable to those found in large, single-detached homes but with all the conveniences of vertical living.

“We’re also conscious that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re seeing more people spending time at home and opting to entertain guests in their own space, so have featured entertainment areas, study nooks and spacious media rooms in the designs of some apartments,” McKinnon added.

Aviary Residences will include shared facilities like a rooftop infinity edge pool with views of Brisbane CBD, garden lounges and dining alcoves, a residents’ lounge, media room, rooftop library and private dining room for residents to entertain guests in style or work from home with options to hold meetings in the lounge or library areas.

Nettleton Tribe, an award-winning Brisbane architecture firm, was commissioned for the tower’s design, which will also offer a curated mix of retailers, including a fresh food market, a gym and fitness studio, and a health/medical precinct. The location is accessible to public transport and has a high walkability factor.

Aviary Residences has opened its Display Suite at 45 High Street, Toowong. Floorplans range from 61 to 200 square metres.

Perrin Park in Toowong Emerges as Preferred Site for New Primary School

A site in Perrin Park, near the old Toowong Bowls Club, looks to be the preferred location for a new primary school in Brisbane’s west.

Following the second round of consultations in June 2021, data from the survey revealed that residents have opted for the site, specifically located on Gailey Road, instead of the initially proposed area next to the Indooroopilly State High School.

“Based on the feedback received, the Perrin Park Precinct appears to be the preferred site compared to the ISHS site, but further considerations are required,” the Department of Education updated as the site selection process will conclude by the end of 2021.

“Following site selection, there will be further opportunities for the local community to provide feedback on the project.”

Greens MP for Maiwar Michael Berkman presented the results of the month-long survey between Perrin Park and ISHS.

“The general finding that the Toowong Bowls Club site has more support is consistent with the balance of feedback I’ve been hearing for the last six months,” he said.

“While neither site is perfect, there is slightly more support for a new primary school there than at ISHS. My position has been that the State Government would need to provide a land swap to offset the loss of the community facilities at Toowong Bowls Club.”

Photo Credit: Greens MP for Maiwar Michael Berkman

However, some residents have raised concerns over the ecological impact around Perrin Park which has an active flying fox colony. Others also voiced their worries over the site’s flooding issues.

The State Government will have to discuss the land’s use as a school facility with Brisbane City Council, which owns the site. Acquiring private land has not been considered.

Brisbane’s new primary school in the west is slated to open in 2024 to ease the student overpopulation in Indooroopilly State School and Ironside.

Mosaic Submits Plans For New Tower In Toowong

Architectural Plans prepared by DKO Architecture (Photo credit: developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au)

Mosaic Property Group, known for developing boutique residential properties throughout Brisbane, has lodged an application for a third tower in Toowong.

Read: Historian Asks For Preservation Of Burial Sites In Toowong Cemetery

Based on proposal (A005790548) submitted to Brisbane City Council, Mosaic is planning to build a 14-storey tower with 101 units at 24-28 Lissner Street, consisting of 67 two-bedroom units and 34 three-bedroom units.

Aerial view of subject location (Photo credit: developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au)

The third residential tower would also include a 540sqm rooftop communal garden with a pool, gym, and bbq area; and two levels of basement parking and a partial ground level car parking area with a total capacity of 139 resident car spaces and 16 visitor car spaces.

The 2108-square metre site is currently occupied by the three-storey Toowong Inn and Suites, which will be demolished in the first quarter of 2022 once the development is given the go-ahead.

Plans for rooftop communal space (Photo credit: developmenti.brisbane.qld.gov.au)

“This immediate area is controlled by the Toowong-Auchenflower Neighbourhood Plan Code which assigns precincts / sub-precincts as well as building envelope provisions such as height,” Mosaic stated in a planning report.

“The neighbourhood plan identifies the subject site and all of the land on the northern side of Lissner Street in the Memorial Park precinct allowing a height of up to 8 storeys based on a minimum site area of 1000sqm. The same height allowance applies to the land directly to the north, on the southern side of Augustus Street,” the planning documents read.

According to Mosaic’s managing director Brook Monahan, this is going to be the company’s 11th project to the inner-west area for the past six years. Monahan said the company has invested much in the area because of the strong demand for apartments in Brisbane’s inner-west.

Mosaic’s first tower, ‘The Patterson’ is a 62-unit development and has been fast-tracked in 2020 after 90 of its units were sold in just two months; whilst its second tower, Kensington, features 63 apartments over nine levels.

To stay updated with Mosaic’s proposed tower in Toowong, see DA-A005790548.

Historian Asks For Preservation Of Burial Sites In Toowong Cemetery

Photo credit: Peter Bowring/Google 360 View

A Queensland historian is calling on authorities to restore the deteriorating burial places at Toowong Cemetery, in honour of Brisbane’s past and the people buried there.

Read: Toowong Local Named Finalist For Prestigious Women In Technology Awards

Jack Sim, a member of the voluntary organisation Friends of Toowong Cemetery believes Brisbane City Council would need an emergency fund to promptly repair the broken sites, as the cost of repinning a headstone is estimated to be around $3,000.

Jack Sim after donating funds to restore the graves at Toowong Cemetery in 2014 (Photo credit: Haunted Heritage/Facebook)

Whilst some headstones survive, many have been smashed and there are slabs that have been cracked open. Some graves have been overrun with weeds. With thousands of dollars needed for one headstone alone, the extent of damage at the cemetery could amount to multi-millions of dollars.

Yet under the Cemetery Act 1865, a grave and its monuments belong to the dead person’s family. Although the Council is in charge of Toowong Cemetery, they cannot touch damaged graves regardless of whether the damage is because of time, nature or human activity.

BCC maintains 12 cemeteries, including the one in Toowong and whilst they allocated $12 million in the financial year for the maintenance of the cemeteries’ lawns and gardens, they will not pay to fix the graves.

There are approximately 117,000 people buried at Toowong Cemetery, including politicians, sporting legends, poets, soldiers, and celebrities.

The heritage-listed cemetery contains the war graves of 270 Commonwealth service personnel of World War I and 117 from World War II, besides two sailors of the Dutch Navy from the latter war.

Grave of Walter Vardon Ralston (1846-1920), general manager of the Queensland National Bank (Photo credit: Vic Bushing/Google Maps)

One of the most notable graves here is where Sir Samuel Walker Griffith rests. Sadly, the crucifix on his monument was left broken. He is one of the founding fathers of Australia’s Federation, author of the Constitution. Aside from being a former Queensland premier and first chief justice of Australia, he’s known for being one of the greatest jurists produced by Australia in the 19th century.

Grave of Bancroft family, who are among Queensland’s most notable medical families (Photo credit: Toni Hughes/Facebook)

It also serves as the final resting place of John Petrie, first mayor of Brisbane, who was buried with his wife in their plot in the cemetery.

Read: Dovercourt: Stunning Heritage Landmark in Toowong to Undergo Makeover

Mr Sim, who has been donating funds for Toowong Cemetery’s grave restoration through the years, believes Toowong Cemetery deserves to be preserved because cemeteries are all about our history and our people.

Toowong Local Named Finalist For Prestigious Women In Technology Awards

Toowong local Fatimah Almathami has been named a finalist for the 2021 Women in Technology (WiT) Awards for her outstanding work in technology, gender studies, and gender equity in STEM.

Read: Coles Scraps Plastic Toys Giveaway in Nationwide Sustainability Drive

Almathami, a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at the University of Queensland, is vying for the WiT’s Emerging Achiever Technology Award following her selection from an impressive field of nearly 300 nominations across 14 categories.

Unearthing barriers to diversity and inclusion is at the core of Almathami’s research, with a particular focus on the barriers experienced by women in information technology (IT) and information systems (IS).

Her enrollment as a Doctoral candidate at the UQ is the next step in her mission to drive change by exploring ways to overcome barriers and enhance the participation of women in these critical industries. She said the nomination for a Women in Technology 2021 Award has opened the door for her to deeply explore her own academic ambitions and equally to examine how she can raise awareness for the rightful place of women in the field of technology.

“My work in community outreach service reinforces for me the importance of practical, manageable, immediate solutions to the barriers faced by women in the IT sector while working towards the bigger picture of gender equity and challenging traditional attitudes,” said Almathami.

About the WiT Awards

Photo credit:WiT: Women in Technology/Facebook

Women in Technology is one of Australia’s biggest communities supporting women in STEM and the champions of change who empower their success. The not-for-profit organisation aims to empower women from all branches of science and technology to achieve their dreams.

The WiT Awards highlight the outstanding talent of Queensland women in STEM and the important contribution they make to research, policy, economic and social development across a range of categories.

Read: New Specialty Fresh Food Hub Coming To Toowong When Woolies Opens In 2022

This year’s theme is ‘What we Celebrate, Grows.’ Women in Technology President, Bec Langdon said the 2021 Awards theme fosters and celebrates women who are involved in extraordinary STEM work while encouraging generations to come.

Winners will be announced at the 2021 WiT Awards presentation and gala dinner on 21 October 2021. To see the full list of finalists, visit https://wit.org.au/.

Coles Scraps Plastic Toys Giveaway in Nationwide Sustainability Drive

As part of its mission towards sustainability, zero waste, zero-emission, and zero hunger, Coles Group has launched another initiative across its stores nationwide, including Toowong, to reduce its impact on the environment.

Starting 25 Jan 2021, Coles has committed to stop giving away plastic toy collectibles in its marketing campaigns under its “Together to Zero” initiative. As a result, they have dropped two popular programs with Little Shop and Stikeez as these no longer align with their goals for sustainability.

“While very popular, we must listen to our customers who say their priorities are changing,” the Coles Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Ronson said.

“In a recent survey of 9,000 of our customers, reducing waste to landfill and plastic packaging was the number one concern when it comes to environmental issues in retail, with 69% of those surveyed saying it was of high importance to them.

“We know that customers will understand the need to ensure our campaigns are more sustainable for future generations. We are proud to be now using our marketing platforms to raise awareness of our sustainability ambition which is focussed on acting together now for generations of Australians ahead.”

In line with this, Coles has also removed 31 million soaker pads from meat trays that will no longer end up in landfills. The company will also shift to 100% recycled packaging for its instore bakery in the 2022 financial year and has been working with the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands Plastics Pact (ANZPAC) to develop recyclable, reusable, or compostable containers by 2025.

The move follows after Coles Group also scrapped sales of single-use plastic tableware products when “Together to Zero” launched in early 2021.

Ms Ronson added that the Coles Group has ambitious plans to become the “most sustainable supermarket” in Australia” and are coming up with ways to deliver innovative items down to its packaging.

“We are ensuring it’s contributing to the circular economy by being produced with recycled content where possible, as well as being recyclable.”

Clean Up Australia Chairman Pip Kiernan said that Coles Group has been “true to their word” and taking conscious steps in becoming Australia’s most sustainable supermarket.

“We are really encouraged to see Coles making meaningful changes to all parts of their business,” Kiernan said.