City centres are central to a city’s productivity, ideas and innovation, which is why Townsville City Council is committed to injecting life back into this crucial part of Townsville.
Council’s 2024/25 Budget saw the return of the City Activation and Housing Incentive Policy, with Mayor Troy Thompson saying it is a multipronged approach to activating Townsville city.
“The Policy is comprised of three components with the intent of generating investment, increasing housing diversity, supporting community activities and creating employment opportunities,” Cr Thompson says.
Councillor Thompson says while Components 1 and 3, focusing on infill housing opportunities and employment generating developments, remain open until 30 June 2025; Component 2 – Council’s Modernising Buildings Grant, recently closed to applications.
“The Modernising Buildings Grant is our most popular grant, and over the last three years of it being available we’ve seen more than 30 building owners accept the grant of up to $30,000,” Cr Thompson says.
“Because owners must match Council’s grant dollar-for-dollar up to the $30,000 limit, we’ve seen significant investment in our city centre and revived some of the city’s oldest, and in some cases most run-down buildings, and we’re excited to see more undergo work thanks to this latest round.”
The Speckled Hen Antiques’ Ian Fleming took up the grant in 2023/24 and says it was a terrific opportunity for building owners to work with Council to revive the city’s streetscape.
“Plenty of buildings in the city provide real value to the streetscape of Townsville, so it makes good sense there is assistance from Council to be able to refresh, modernise or upgrade these buildings,” Mr Fleming says.
“Many of these older buildings that have taken up the grant fall under the guise of heritage listing which can make things very expensive, so we appreciate the Council working with us.”
Councillor Thompson says Council is supporting the ongoing concerns of housing shortages in its Infill Housing component by making it cheaper for developers to get their projects off the ground.
“Component 1 provides for the waiver of infrastructure charges for infill housing projects like multiple dwellings and subdivisions in certain locations like the city, its fringe and medium density residential zones to name a few,” Cr Thompson says.
“Component 3 focuses on supporting employment generating development through waiver of infrastructure charges for things like bars, childcare centres, education establishments, hotels, healthcare services, tourism attractions and offices – projects that will employ people and inject money into our economy.
“It’s great these grants and incentives are available and we’re hopeful they will get a number of new projects across the line and continue to generate investment to the region.
Main image: The Speckled Hen Townsville
Image credits: Hello Muse
