A vacant block of land in Brisbane's north that's sat empty for nearly 20 years is finally getting a new life — and nearly 500 homes with it.
The 6.4-hectare site on Blinzinger Road in Banyo was used by Energex as an electrical transformer refurbishment facility from the 1950s. It was decommissioned in 2007, demolished a decade later, and has been sitting idle ever since.
On Monday, Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie announced the site will be turned into a mixed-use housing precinct. The plan includes 207 townhouses, a 180-bed residential aged-care facility, and 64 affordable units delivered in partnership with Mission Australia Housing.
“People are going to see action on this site within months, and then construction early next year,” Bleijie said.
The Banyo site was first earmarked for development in February under the government's new Land Activation Program, which aims to sell off state-owned land to boost housing supply. Bleijie said the parcel — less than 15 kilometres from Brisbane's CBD — attracted 157 expressions of interest in just four months, which he said proved the private sector was ready to help.
“We have 21 hectares of land already out to market under the new Land Activation Program … [and] we have upwards of the possibility of unlocking 3000 hectares of state land that has been identified,” he said.
But not everyone in Banyo is thrilled. Back in February, a small group of locals gatecrashed the government's press conference to voice concerns. Resident Keith Bitossi said the area wasn't built for medium-density development.
“The roads are already blocked during peak hours around here. They're only narrow streets,” Bitossi said. “[Bleijie] was just saying it's meant to fit in with the community. Well, you look around here, it's all low density. He's talking medium density, and it's all units.”
Bleijie said residents will get a chance to give feedback. All three developers behind the application will consult with the local community, and the development applications submitted to Economic Development Queensland will consider roads, traffic, public transport, buses and trains.
The Banyo site is one of four areas declared a Provisional Priority Development Area by the government in May. That declaration allows local planning laws to be overridden to fast-track development. Bleijie said the government is preparing to finalise the PPDA declaration “very shortly”.
Demolition and site preparation will start within months, with full construction expected to begin early next year. The project is part of a broader push by the Crisafulli government to unlock more land for housing — up to 3,000 hectares of state land has been identified for potential development.
For locals, the key question remains whether the infrastructure — roads, schools, hospitals — can keep up. The government says those concerns will be addressed during the planning process, but for now, the Banyo site is a test case for how fast Queensland can build its way out of the housing crisis.