50-storey buildings proposed for development next to Victoria Park

A housing and dining precinct linked to future Olympic infrastructure, that could include 50-storey buildings overlooking the city, has been revealed by the Queensland government.

The area in Bowen Hills is located near the Victoria Park precinct where the stadium and aquatic centre are being constructed, and was earmarked for development more than 16 years ago by the Anna Bligh government.

Under the old plan, 23,000 homes were to be built in the priority development area. The government’s new plan would allow for 27,000.

The 108-hectare area is centred around the Bowen Hills Train Station, and encompasses the showgrounds, which will be home to the athlete’s village during the games.

The draft plan is available for public consultation through October 9, with the most significant change being the jump from a 30-storey height limit to a 50-storey limit.

In a release from deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie’s office, the government said the area would support “boutique breweries and micro-distilleries”, as well as other hospitality and retail businesses.

“We have a once in a generation opportunity to leverage and grab hold of the halo benefits and city shaping economic legacy the 2032 Games will unlock,” Bleijie said, who also serves as the state’s planning minister.

“Bowen Hills is on the doorstep of the planned Victoria Park Precinct and will become a thriving place to call home for thousands of Queenslanders, as well as a place for visitors to enjoy and businesses to invest and grow.”

The government has been on a two-year housing announcement blitz, attempting to prove their theory that more housing will equal cheaper housing, and that requirements for affordable options within developments is unnecessary.

Speaking at the announcement of luxury towers to be built on the Hamilton north shore earlier this month, where the original athlete’s village was planned, Bleijie said high-value inner-city apartments would free-up homes for first time buyers.

“What a lot of people don’t understand in the housing market is when you provide homes – because we need all forms of homes – it means people then downsize to units,” he said.

“For example, in the outer suburbs of Brisbane, someone will sell a three or four bedroom home, and they’ll buy a unit on the river, and that frees up a three or four bedroom home for someone in the outer suburb.”

In a statement attached to the Bowen Hills announcement, Urban Development Institute of Australia Queensland chief executive Kirsty Chessher-Brown agreed.

“Unlocking supply is the only solution to the current crisis and the draft changes set a clear and sensible pathway to boosting supply in this important precinct,” she said.

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