First Edition of Albion Exchange News

Welcome to the first edition of Albion Exchange News

Geon Property is launching Albion Exchange News to keep our neighbours updated on project status, upcoming milestones and events at Albion Exchange.

Please encourage your neighbours, friends and local businesses to subscribe via the link below or via the website, as this e-newsletter will be our future communication tool.

Community Consultation

Over the last six months, Geon Property has held a series of consultation sessions focusing on plans for Albion Exchange Stage One and more recently, for the overall Albion Exchange masterplan. We have met many residents of Albion and surrounding suburbs and have received an enormous amount of very insightful and helpful feedback.

Activities have included:

1600 letters to residents in the Albion catchment
2 printed newsletters distributed to more than 20,000 homes and businesses
Media announcements in the City North News, The Courier-Mail, Channels 7 and 9, together with other media outlets
Advertising in City North News and via Brothers Rugby Club’s database and Facebook page
3 community open days
One local resident focus group
Several smaller meetings with residents of The Hudson building
More than 300 calls and emails via our community relations team
Personal meetings and briefings with key stakeholders including Councillor David McLachlan and State Member for Clayfield, Tim Nicholls

We lodged the development application for Stage One in early September and have now lodged the development application for the masterplan. Lodgement of the masterplan application with Council is a necessary step in the development process and during this process, we will continue to consult with the community about our future intentions for the area.

During our consultation sessions, there were a number of matters to consider and discuss as we plan/design Stage 1 and future stages. As we progress through the Council process, we welcome more feedback and input to help inform and improve the project. Some of those matters include:

Traffic – Having worked in the suburb for over 10 years, the owners of Geon Property are well aware of the traffic issues throughout the suburb. We are also aware that Albion is a desirable suburb (for residents and workers) and will continue to evolve / grow in the coming years. We understand the feedback regarding traffic / congestion and we will work closely with Council to manage urban growth and transport needs through the development process.

The vast majority of community feedback has been focused on traffic and commuter parking in Albion generally. Our project team and traffic engineer will be meeting again with Council’s Strategic Traffic Planning Team in October to better understand future transport plans and discuss the community feedback on this issue. We hope to provide more information on the outcomes of this meeting in our next newsletter.

Buses – On behalf of local residents, we have initiated a conversation with Government regarding the use of alternative transport (buses) during rail track maintenance. We will continue to advocate on behalf of the community on this matter and work with Government on solutions.

Heights – We will continue conversations with neighbours about building heights for Stage 1 and our masterplan. We are happy to communicate the evolution of our Stage 1 design and explain why our concept provides for a better design / open space outcome than what is currently allowed for in the City/Neighbourhood Plan. We believe our design allows for more open public space on the ground level, slimline buildings and better views through and around Albion Exchange. We have also made some modifications to building height in the masterplan application following feedback at the community consultation sessions.

We will be honest and up-front in our communication and we encourage you to get in touch if you need more information.

Albion Exchange Masterplan

We believe Albion Exchange will be the keystone for regeneration in Albion.

We understand it will result in change for the suburb, however, we believe where there is change, there is opportunity. Over the next 15 years we hope to work with the local community to deliver:

The $28.7 million upgrade to Albion Train Station
A range of residential accommodation throughout the precinct
Integrated health, wellbeing and recreational facilities
4,900sqm of new green open space where people can enjoy the outdoors
East-west pedestrian access
North-south Brisbane Bikeway connection
Potential for social infrastructure to support increased population growth in the area.

New Public Space for Albion

Geon Property is keen to invest in the future of Albion well beyond the Albion Exchange site.

For some months, we have been working on a vision / concept to transform under-utilised, low-lying State Government land for sport and recreation and parkland uses (land parcels south of the Albion Overpass, along McDonald Street).

The land parcels would form a linear park, providing facilities for sport and recreation, as well as general open space for public enjoyment.

This would be a public project, however Geon Property is taking the lead in developing early concept plans for discussion with Council, State Government and the community. We are also in discussions with sports operators who have strong interest in establishing their sport and recreation facilities in this portion of Albion. We will provide more details on this project as soon as we can.

Since we last spoke

We met recently with Bicycle Queensland CEO Anne Savage to troubleshoot BQ’s concerns on cycle connectivity across the project.

We’re pleased to report the meeting went well, with a number of new ideas on the table to make the Albion Exchange welcoming for people who walk, ride, or require disability access.

Bicycle Queensland welcomed Geon’s approach to reviewing draft plans to better cater for cycling.

“I’m greatly encouraged by Geon’s willingness to enhance the public benefit of the project by integrating healthy travel options across all alignments of the project,” Anne said.

“We’re very hopeful that the community will soon be able to enjoy safe and seamless east-west and north-south cycling connectivity, which will be an urgently needed first for this precinct.

“We are committed to working with Geon and the community to ensure the Albion Exchange is fast, enjoyable, and convenient to use.

“Evidence demonstrates that strong investment in bikeways can boost property values and stimulate local business activity — offering an innovative and healthy approach to community enhancement.

“If we can work together to get this right, the future looks bright for the Albion precinct.

“Projects like this are the legacy we leave for our next generation — we are committed to making it welcoming for all members of the community.”

Contact Us

The project team is committed to working with the community to better understand your views and ensure the successful delivery of Albion Exchange.

You can contact the project team via:

E: enquiries@albionexchange.com.au