Improving river access, emphasising our heritage and revitalising Brisbane’s riverfront are the main goals of Brisbane City Council’s draft City Reach Waterfront Master Plan, reports brisbanedevelopment.com.

The 1.2km stretch from the City Botanic Garden through to Howard Smith Wharves is under review with the plans focusing on green spaces and trees, decorative lighting, public art, highlighting heritage features and increasing the width of the promenade.

Inspiration for the plan has been drawn from 22 waterfronts around the world including Singapore’s Marina Bay, Aker Brygge Harbourfront in Oslo, and Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.

City Planning Chair Matthew Bourke said the plan is vital to ensuring the waterfront continue to be a “world class” precinct for lifestyle and employment. 

“Extending the range of activities beyond dining allows residents and visitors to make the most of our incredible climate and enviable outdoor lifestyle, while activating the underused spaces along this iconic pathway.

“We’re excited to incorporate the best ideas into this project to ensure this area remains a great, family-friendly destination now and into the future, said Mr Bourke. 

Architectureau.com reports that following a community study, respondents indicated they thought the current area was “crowded and too narrow” and there was a greater need for more community space in the precinct. 

The draft plan is open to the residents to have their say until the 9^thDecember.  Visit  https://brisbanedevelopment.com/council-releases-draft-city-reach-waterfront-master-plan/for artist impressions and full copy of the draft plan.

A recent Knight Frank report on CBD office activity shows the market is going from strength to strength, reports propertyobserver.com.au.

The Brisbane CBD Office Market Overview report, conducted by Knight Frank Partner Research and Consulting Queensland, found in the year to September, investment volumes were at $2.86 billion, which is an increase of around $1 billion from the corresponding period one year earlier. 

Overseas buyers drove the market in 2018, accounting for 73% of sales in 2018, dropping to 17% this calendar year. 

Oxford Economics reports that Brisbane will be a standout region for employment growth this year, with office-based industry positions accounting for 25,000 new jobs. The next five years will see an average of 10,500 office jobs added to the jobs market each year. 

More office workers means more office space needed! The findings from Knight Frank show that the strong tenant demand has dropped vacancy levels to the lowest in seven years, decreasing to 11.9% vacancy down from 14.6% the previous year. 

Vacancy rates are expected to increase slightly later in the year and early next year, but will tighten again as next year progresses.

Some key tenancy agreements over this year and last such as Suncorp’s pre-commitment to 80 Ann Street helped to see the finance and insurance industry tenant activity account for 26% of the market, followed by government and public administration at 22%, and resources and energy at 10%. 

Knight Frank partner and Head of Queensland Ben McGrath says yields have tighten. 

“Compressing by 23 basis points over the past year, Brisbane CBD yields are starting to move more in line with the Sydney and Melbourne CBDs.” 

“This comes after a period of accelerated yield compression as Brisbane was re-rated by investors," said Mr McGrath.

When the CBD office market is thriving, residential accommodation in premium locations becomes sought-after investment and owner-occupier stock. The ‘Felix’ building is in a prime location in the ‘Golden Triangle’ on the corner of Mary and Edward, and opposite Waterfront Place. The apartment complex is perfectly positioned for CBD workers, where buyers can purchase a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment for under $550,000.

The new runway at Brisbane Airport is ahead of schedule and under budget, reports qutnews.com. An excellent position to be in considering airport passengers to our great city have increased year-on-year by 1.5 per cent for the most recent financial year to 23.8 million visitors. 

International visitation has increased by 266,000 passengers to grow to 6.2 million passengers off the back of a massive 4.5 per cent growth the previous financial year. 

With regards to domestic passengers, an extra 82,000 people added to the total of 17.6 million in the financial year 2018/19. 

Gert-Jan de Graaff, Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) Chief Executive Officer, said this is the start of an exciting time for tourism in Brisbane. 

“When Brisbane’s new runway becomes operational and with untapped markets set to come online during that time, the potential for growth at BNE is exponential.

“There is no doubt construction of Brisbane’s new runway has helped draw these services to Brisbane and they are the first of many new airlines, routes and destinations that will grow from this investment, boosting inbound visitation to not only Brisbane, but to Queensland’s regions as well,” said de Graff. 

Paul Coughlan, BAC Project Director told the QUT News that the project will be a huge driver for the economy, generating an estimated $5 billion over the next ten years.

Over 90% of the money from the Brisbane Airport Corporation’s project is being spent in either Brisbane or the rest of Australia.

The entire site of the new runway is around 2.5 times the size of Brisbane CBD, covering 360 hectares with the new runway being 3.3km long and 60m wide. 

When the second runway is completed next year, an additional 1.3 million visitors annually are expected to visit our great city.

Brisbane Airport is already ranked 4^thin ‘Best Airports in the World (servicing 20-30 million passengers)’, and 16th in the ‘World’s Top 100 Airports’ list, up from 17/100 in 2016. 

Hannah Schuhmann said if you are visiting Brisbane CBD to see family or friends, or to attend one of the great events the city has to offer such as the Latina Fiesta at Roma Street Parklands, come and inspect the numerous investment opportunities the CBD apartment market has to offer. We have twilight inspections today from 5pm, or Saturday morning from 10am. Take advantage of this gorgeous Spring weather!

In a significant milestone for the project, Fitzgerald Constructions Australia has been awarded the contract to build the Neville Bonner Pedestrian Bridge that will link South Bank and the $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf Development, reports brisbanedevelopment.com.
                            
The $100 million project will be the first bridge built in Brisbane for over ten years, and will take around two years to complete. Fitzgerald Constructions are a Melbourne-based company responsible for the completion of the Jim Stynes pedestrian bridge that weaves along the Yarra along Melbourne’s north bank, and the new road bridge at The Star Gold Coast.

Initial works for the project are scheduled to start around March 2020, after the contract finalisation process is complete. 

Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones told brisbanedevelopment.com the new connection of the Brisbane River has been discussed since 2001. 

“This brand new bridge will deliver around 1.4 million additional people, we expect to use the bridge each and every year crossing between, as I said, the north of the river and South Bank," she said.

The bridge has been named after Australia’s first Indigenous parliamentarian, and is predicted to create approximately 100 jobs.

This bridge will be of direct benefit to residents living in the 212 On Margaret apartments; just a few minutes walk to access the walkway. The 212 On Margaret apartments are open for a twilight inspection today at 5.30pm - see you there. 

The Brisbane City Council has announced a great scheme which enables Senior Residents to travel free around our great city during off-peak times. 
 
Eligible residents that hold a TransLink senior go card and Seniors Card +go card will be entitled to free travel from 8.30am-3.30pm and 7pm-6am Monday to Friday on city buses, CityCats and ferries.

Another great travel around Brisbane is by bike, especially since the Woollongabba Bikeway opened in July this year. The 2.5km stretch provides a safe passage for cyclists travelling along Stanley Street and Annerley Road with dedicated bike lanes, separators in key locations and three floating bus stops.

The council’s Green Bridges program has five pedestrian bridges in the pipeline, with the first business case for the Kangaroo Point Pedestrian Bridge now complete. The findings of the business case showed this new bridge would carry up to 5300 trips each weekday in 2021, which would result 230 fewer cars and 300 fewer bus trips using river crossings per day. This bridge would link Kangaroo Point to the CBD.

The five proposed pedestrian crossings are part of a four year, $519 million plan by council to beat congestion in and around the city. The other pedestrian crossings are planned for Breakfast Creek and Belbowrie, and bridges from St Lucia to West End, and Toowong to West End. 

The first new double-decker CityCat is set to hit the water in November with a carrying capacity of 170 passengers on each boat, including seating on the upper deck for 20. Another six boats will follow over the next four years as part of the $30 million commitment. 

The $944 million Brisbane Metro is a key element in the transport mix for the city, with the proposal including 60 new vehicles that will service 18 stations, and a new tunnel under Adelaide Street. The project has predicted to have the capacity to carry around 22,000 passengers per hour, with the main aim to reduce congestion and cut travel times.

Hannah Schuhmann said it’s great to live in such a progressive city where there is a huge focus on ease of movement around the city; everyone benefits! Infrastructure is key as Brisbane is in the midst of a massive transformation as $12 billion worth of new developments take shape including the Queen’s Wharf Development, Brisbane’s new runway, and the International Cruise Ship Terminal.