Funding Need

Flinders Steet Redevelopment Funding Success

Funding has now been secured from the State and Federal Governments to add to Townsville City Council's contributions for the redevelopment of Townsville's historic Flinders Street.

Flinders Street is the heart of Townsville's CBD and the administrative and economic hub of north Queensland.

The dream of re-energising the city's heart and return Flinders Street to its rightful role as Townsville's retail High Street is now about to become a reality. From humble beginnings as a dirt track, during the 1870s, to the development of the Flinders Mall in 1979, Flinders Street was the busiest street in north Queensland.

This redevelopment project will reinvigorate a CBD that is the home of over 1,100 businesses and 14,000 employees worth one billion dollars annually to the north Queensland economy.

Every week Townsville's CBD is used by more than 110,000 people for business and social needs. They include the city's workers, residents, tourists, students, and members of Townsville's 7000 strong defence force community. By realising the full potential of Flinders Street, the redevelopment project will improve the city's liveability for local residents and for a regional community that supports major defence, education and tourism sectors. It will generate new investment in a CBD that presently accounts for 10.4% of north Queensland's economy.

The redevelopment is part of a long-term vision to return life to the CBD from Flinders Street West and the Railway Precinct to Flinders Street East. A revitalised, tropical environment will be created and a unique cultural asset restored.

It has been nearly 30 years since the Mall was constructed and it is now time for a major investment to re-power this economic engine of north Queensland. Without urgent government investment, this economic and social asset is very much at risk of collapse and could be lost forever.

“… there has been a migration back to the CBD and as a consequence of this the city of Townsville is assuming the character of a modern, prosperous regional centre which desperately needs the CBD to reflect this change.”
Anthony Denyer, Chairman, CBD Promotions