Late Reports Agenda of Economic and Cultural Development Committee

Item No.	Item Title	Page No.
	Officers’ Reports
4	**Nicholas Street Precinct - May 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct Project Control Group	3

Economic and Cultural Development Committee

Meeting Agenda

10 June

2025

Doc ID No: A11655018

This matter has been determined to be of a significant nature and approval has been given to refer this report to the Economic and Cultural Development Committee as a supplementary item.

ITEM: 4

SUBJECT: Nicholas Street Precinct - May 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct Project Control Group

AUTHOR: Precinct Director

DATE: 3 June 2025

Executive Summary

This is a report concerning the May 2025 Nicholas Street Precinct (NSP) Project Control Group (PCG) meeting focussing on the status of the leasing program and the planning, development, delivery and ongoing management of the NSP.

Recommendation/s

That the May 2025 NSP PCG Report be received and the contents noted.

RELATED PARTIES

Savills Australia – Program Management

Ranbury Management Group – Program Management

Colliers – Retail Leasing

Setting up Shop – Tenancy Delivery

Alkot Studio – Retail Design Manager

ifuture Theme

Vibrant and Growing

Purpose of Report/Background

The NSP PCG supports the Economic and Cultural Development Committee in providing governance and strategic direction for the planning, development, delivery and ongoing management of the NSP. The PCG generally reports monthly to the Economic and Cultural Development Committee on the planning, development, delivery and operations of the NSP assets.

The PCG met on 21 May 2025 and the draft PCG 21 May 2025 meeting minutes are contained in Attachment 1.

The table below identifies the status of retail and commercial leasing as at 3 June 2025. Colliers are the appointed retail leasing agents and are speaking with many prospective tenants and we continue to seek active interest through existing partnerships for leasing the remaining commercial space. The changes to the table below relate to the lease for Tenancy 2BK2 in Tulmur Walk. The lessee has executed the lease and as at 3 June it was with Council for lessor counter signatory execution.

Deal Status	As at 3 June	Change from 6 May
Lease Documents Being Prepared	1	1
Lease Documents Issued for Execution	1	1
Leases Executed by Lessee	24	1
Leases Pending Approval by Lessor (Council)	1	1
Leases Executed by Lessor (Council)	23	0

During May the lease was executed and tenancy handed over to Vapiano’s in T1 of the Nicholas Street Venue. As a tenant Vapiano’s has a 15-week fitout program and is aiming to open in late August 2025. The tenancy design and delivery team have been working closely with prospective tenants to progress their approvals and works at both Nicholas Street Venue and Tulmur Walk. The tenant for 2BK2 has all approvals in place and will commence with a 4-week fit out program as soon as council executes the lease. For 2BK2 the design is approved, and we are awaiting lease execution by the tenant to commence landlord works with the intention to handover by end of June.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION

In May, the Nicholas Street Precinct (NSP) Marketing Team supported a busy calendar of events, including the Handmade Expo Markets, Park and Pose, Ipswich Dog Day, and Queensland Vegan Markets. These events were promoted through social media, the website, and bespoke visual content displayed across the Tulmur Walk digital screen and façade projections. Fresh movie trailers from HOYTS and other promotional content helped enhance visibility for both events and tenant offerings, encouraging evening trade. Online advertising continued throughout the month, while billboard campaigns launched along the Ipswich Motorway and Brisbane Road for broader regional impact. Final updates to leasing brochure artwork also progressed, highlighting new tenant additions to aid future leasing.

Marketing efforts extended through a famil experience with Brisbane Kids and the Destination Development Team, positioning the precinct as a family-friendly destination to a broader geographic region. Participating tenants contributed to the exposure, which was amplified through a published article and an upcoming eDM in June. Website articles, content updates, and e-newsletters were communicated to captive audiences, including the subscriber database. Additionally, the team assisted The Urban Developer judging panel during a site tour for NSP’s Urban Regeneration Award nomination. Maintenance communications were also issued in support of operational works.

Overall, May recorded a strong 169,274 visitations, reflecting a 3.6% year-on-year increase and pushing annual foot traffic past 1.72 million.

Legal IMPLICATIONS

This report and its recommendations are consistent with the following legislative provisions:

Local Government Act 2009

Local Government Regulation 2012

policy implications

Nil

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

A copy of the consolidated Nicholas Street Precinct project risk register is included as confidential Attachment 2.

Challenges continue with retail leasing including but not limited to COVID-19 impacts, the pace of the retail market rebound, the securing of anchor and other tenants and the attractiveness of the offer from the lessor (Council) in the current market conditions. These conditions include the increased cost of goods, consumer caution in relation to spend and the ability for the retail and hospitality industry to absorb this over time.

Achieving legally binding agreements for lease/sub-leases with prospective precinct tenants remains a critical outcome given completion of the refurbishment works.

Financial/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

The table below summarises the current capital project budget and forecast to finish. The final project cost is forecasted to be within budget.

	Project	Current Budget	Committed Contracts and Variations	Forecast Contracts and Variations	Forecast Final Cost
1	Civic Project	$188,020,704	$183,765,081	$123,391	$183,888,692
2	Commonwealth Hotel	$16,652,052	$16,543,365	$108,687	$16,652,052
3	Retail Project	$34,407,196	$35,259,301	$3,280,127	$38,539,209
4	Venue Project	$71,935,639	$67,164,241	$4,771,398	$71,935,639
	TOTAL	$311,015,591	$302,731,989	$8,283,602	$311,015,591

The civic and retail cashflow for recent months is captured in the table below:

Month	Monthly Expenditure	Project Cumulative Total
February 2025	Retail: $59,992 Civic: $1,946 Commonwealth Hotel: -$6,339 Venue: $501,387	$556,986
March 2025	Retail: -$13,591 Civic: $3,140 Commonwealth Hotel: $5,611 Venue: $323,666	$318,825
April 2025	Retail: $16,321 Civic: $15,352 Commonwealth Hotel: $1,466 Venue: $61,619	$94,756
May 2025	Retail: $18,383 Civic: $93 Commonwealth Hotel: $11,661 Venue: $2,447,762	$2,477,900

The retail precinct’s short-term commercial success remains dependent on identifying, attracting, and securing a commercially viable tenancy mix through executed leases. Medium to longer term success will require a comprehensive and ongoing activation and operational focused management strategy to support tenants and deliver a revitalised and fully activated precinct.

COMMUNITY and OTHER CONSULTATION

The contents of this report did not require any community consultation.

Conclusion

Recent leasing executions and approvals reinforce market confidence in the Nicholas Street Precinct product and continue to strengthen the leasing campaign to secure tenants for the NSP. The completion of works within the Venue and Commonwealth Hotel buildings and opening of anchor tenants positively reinforces Ipswich Central’s future and Council’s commitment to its success. With the completion of major works and progressive opening of additional tenancies in the precinct, the focus and attention of the NSP project team will increasingly shift to continued leasing and property management activities.

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS

HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACTS

RECEIVE AND NOTE REPORT

The Recommendation states that the report be received and the contents noted. The decision to receive and note the report does not limit human rights. Therefore, the decision is compatible with human rights.

Attachments and Confidential Background Papers

1.	Draft Minutes - PCG Meeting ⇩

	CONFIDENTIAL
2.	Nicholas Street Precinct Project Risk Register May 2025

James Hepburn

Precinct Director

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Sonia Cooper

Chief Executive Officer

“Together, we proudly enhance the quality of life for our community”