Mackay CBD Resurrection

Amid suggestions the Mackay CBD is being neglected in favour of developing the waterfront, business leaders insist that is anything but the plan.

The once buzzing heart of the city is dotted with vacant shopfronts as people blame the Caneland Central shopping centre, a lack of parking and transport and not enough high density residential living for the exodus.

But in what was a show of faith the CBD could and would be revived, the region’s movers and shakers pitched solutions at a Think Tank that in turn produced key themes for a resurrection.

More residents means more dollars on the ground

“(The) number one (theme) was the city centre living, so increasing the residential population through a mixture of urban lifestyle, student accommodation and buildings that can be converted into boutique accommodation,” Mackay Region Chamber of Commerce member Scott Jamieson said.

Mr Jamieson said more residents enlarged the customer base with the chamber to create a business case to encourage owners of vacant properties to get “off their bum” and stop “land-banking”.

Land-banking, or waiting until prices rose, has long been a thorn in Mackay Regional Council’s side with Mayor Greg Williamson previously stating it was the reality for about four in 10 properties in the CBD.

But who actually owns the vacancies hits a little closer to home with a Daily Mercury investigation revealing about half the empty shopfronts are registered to addresses in Mackay and the other half belong to investors in southeast Queensland and beyond.

There are more than 320 premises in the Mackay CBD from Milton St east to Brisbane St and from the Pioneer River south to Gordon St.

Of these, 74 were abandoned at this time last year; that figure has since reduced to just more than 60.

Mr Jamieson said while the Waterfront Priority Development Area would create a patronage spillover into the CBD and the city’s heritage would entice new residents, there were still not enough buildings to convert into higher-density living.

Investment pool to buy back empty properties

He said reversing the vacancies required bigger thinking, a “harebrain idea”.

Mr Jamieson said he was exploring a concept with Australian property developers for Mackay investors to buy back, fit-out and give fresh life to uncared for properties.

Investment would be split three ways starting with smaller players contributing a minimum of between $10-20,000 to reach a collective $20 million, the “top 1 per cent of wealth in Mackay” then pitching in the second $20 million and the bank then lending the final $20 million into the pool.

Mr Jamieson said it was ambitious but if it got off the ground, a separate professional property manager would oversee the project.

“I would love (the old Commonwealth Bank) to be the first building that we bought and (did) something with,” he said.

“I think it’s an absolute abomination to see what’s happened to it.”

Greater Whitsunday Alliance chief executive officer Kylie Porter said the funding pool was an “exceptional” idea.

“I think it’s a very good way and a very disruptive way of I suppose being able to control the quality and the product offerings that our city centre has,” Ms Porter said.

Scott Jamieson and Vicki Smith from the Mackay Region Chamber of Commerce