A five-bedroom resort-style home, located near the Brookwater golf course, became the “most expensive” house to sell in the Ipswich neighbourhood for $1.58 million, breaking the 2019 record sale by nine percent ($1.45 million).
Sold by Brookwater Residential, the property is reportedly the first in the area to hit such a milestone.
Brookwater Residential General Manager Nick Kostellar confirmed that the new owner is also a local.
But the home also had interested buyers from other states, who were able to “tour” the house, despite COVID-19 restrictions, through virtual technology and video calls.
In fact, most businesses conducted during the pandemic were done online with many buyers never setting foot on the property before closing the sale.
According to Domain, Brookwater has become a haven for families looking to establish their roots and achieve their dreams since it opened nearly two decades ago. This neighbourhood, best known for its gorgeous surrounding and affluent homes with luxury fittings, is part of the Greater Springfield area and was designed around a Greg Norman championship golf course.
The property, which has ample open space and a rooftop view of the greens, is located just 30 minutes away from the CBD and is accessible to at least 10 schools, a private hospital and the Springfield Anglican church.
Work on a new primary school will soon kick off in North Maclean (Greenbank) following the awarding of the contract to the builder, FK Gardner & Sons Pty Ltd.
Education Minister Grace Grace confirmed that the tradies will “hit the ground running” by early 2021 and complete the school building in time for the January 2022 opening.
The $73 million Greenbank school is one of three projects that received funding from the State Government, along with a new primary school in Caloundra South and a special needs school in Coomera.
“More than $198 million (GST inclusive) has been invested into building Stage One of the schools, supporting a combined total of 600 construction jobs,” Ms Grace said. “These schools will not only provide students with a world-class education but construction will ensure local tradies can continue to work as we recover from COVID-19.”
Ms Grace posted on Facebook that the projects will ensure 600 local jobs for the first stage.
Photo Credit: Grace Grace MP/Facebook
The new school’s location is at the Ivory Parkway where a housing development for Mirvac’s Everleigh is ongoing.
“Stage 1 of the new school will include an admin block, library, multi-purpose hall, prep and junior learning areas, amenities, canteen and covered areas,” the minister added.
“As a proud Queensland and family-owned construction and engineering business, we are very pleased to be awarded the contracts,” FKG Group Managing Director Nick Gardner said. “Adding these projects to our pipeline is great news and gives us the chance to create further opportunities for local subcontractors and to support our local communities.”
Whilst everyone will agree that 2020 hasn’t been the greatest, it won’t stop people from celebrating the joys of Christmas. If you’re looking to do something special this holiday with your family, plot a visit to the Nerima Gardens for a truly unforgettable time.
Nerima Gardens has been turned into a Christmas Wonderland as part of the Christmas in Ipswich 2020 program. It’s a sight to behold, with over 50,000 colourful lights on the lush greens.
“The lighting design is by the super creative Sharon Penny and the intricate placement of millions of lights in the dark was the hard work of so many people bringing this creation to life! Flame Trees, origami boats, waterfalls, tunnels of dripping light bulbs, the tree of life – like walking into a dazzling wonderland from another world,” photographer Leah Desborough said.
Christmas Wonderland is a ticketed, half-hour event to ensure a COVID-19 safe environment. Proceeds for the tickets — priced at $5 (individual), $15 (group) and $20 (group) — will go to charities that have had a hard time raising funds due to the pandemic.
“It’s been a hard year for all, and charity groups are no exception,” Mayor Teresa Harding said. “The funds raised through ticket sales to Christmas Wonderland will go some way to helping these organisations continue the important work they do in our community.”
Ipswich is preparing to say goodbye to 2020 by planning over 220 events in music, sports, food and entertainment for 2021. As the second stage of the Nicholas Street Precinct redevelopment is underway, the Ipswich City Council has unveiled exciting major events that locals and visitors can look forward to in the coming year.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding highlighted some of these council-supported events:
It comes as the anticipated annual CMC Rocks won’t return until 2022. Ms Harding said that the Council’s liaising team was working with the promoters for several weeks to examine how CMC Rocks could proceed.
Photo Credit: Ipswich City Council
However, the event promoters decided to skip staging a 2021 event despite its economic, social and cultural benefits to the region.
“We have had to endure some tough times this year and everyone has had to make some tough decisions. But I think our community understands and will look forward to the next CMC Rocks with even greater enthusiasm,” the mayor said.
Greater Springfield is gearing up for an education boost! Plans are underway to deliver 11 new schools in this rapidly growing Queensland region by 2036.
Springfield City Group Education and Health Services director Meera Honan said in a statement that they have initially identified seven sites where they build the schools. Six of these sites are part of the Knowledge Precinct, covering 120 hectares of land within the CBD. The seventh site is near AFLW Stadium.
Included in the plans are a second university catering to health studies, an international school, exclusive single-sex schools, as well as state primary and secondary schools.
“With 11 schools currently accommodating our 11,000 school-aged students, at least 10 more will be required to accommodate the projected doubling of our school-aged population by 2036,” Ms Honan said. “Our vision for our Learning City is to make learning accessible to learners of all abilities. We invite new age schools and specialist academies who share our vision for innovation in learning to establish themselves in a city where learning is valued and championed.”
Photo Credit: Pixabay
These schools will be roughly 15 minutes away from the students’ home and other facilities for play and work. The plan aims to limit a family’s commute so they can enjoy and focus on more important things.
Greater Springfield, with 45,000 current residents, is projected to have a population of 80,000 by 2030. It is also home to existing institutions like the University of Southern Queensland and TAFE Queensland.
The Commonwealth Hotel in Union Plaza at the Ipswich CBD is going to rise and open again as the rebuilding of its century-old brick walls is underway. Following months of deconstruction and stabilisation, Built Qld Pty Ltd is putting back and bonding some 20,000 refurbished bricks as part of the restoration of this historic site.
This specific reconstruction work will take at least a month to complete, according to Ipswich Central Redevelopment Committee chair Councillor Marnie Doyle. However, the full reconstruction of the hotel will entail at least 23 weeks.
Photo Credit: Ipswich City Council
“The hotel was taken apart piece by piece and materials stored in a council warehouse ahead of reconstruction,” Ms Doyle said. “Original bricks have been preserved and new ones carefully chosen as the construction process blends old with new.”
“The reconstruction is being overseen by renowned local architect and heritage expert Peter Johnston as well as the project’s engineers, as they carefully put the old pieces back together.”
Also known as the old Murphy’s Town Pub, Commonwealth Hotel’s facade had been uninhabitable due to large cracks and deterioration.
Photo Credit: Cr Marnie Doyle/Facebook
In July, the Council pulled funding for its reconstruction from the $250 million CBD redevelopment.
The Commonwealth Hotel is the only 1910 structure to remain standing amidst the establishment of shopping centres all around the site in the 1980s.
Photo Credit: Ipswich City Council
“We have lost so many significant heritage and historical buildings that were victims of the 80s; many beautiful buildings were just bulldozed and replaced with modern structures that are now outdated,” Ms Doyle said. “I think this is one important win we need in Ipswich to preserve some of our history.”
By 2038, Greater Springfield will become the “model community of the future” as the Springfield City Group starts its ambitious transformation into the world’s greenest city.
Featured with houses with solar panels on every roof, electric car charging stations everywhere, hydrogen-powered buses and other advances in green technology, the strategic sustainable plan is a collaboration between French energy giant ENGIE, its subsidiary Tractebel, and the Springfield City Group. The partnership was established in 2018.
The investment is reportedly worth more than $3 billion, with 100 percent of the power usage turned into renewable energy. The development will also see Greater Springfield residents enjoying 30 percent of natural green space.
The five pillars of this project are focused on the following:
Urban – Greenspace mixed with urban agriculture and green transport routes.
Mobility- Reduction of average cars per household whilst improving EV charging infrastructure, including paths for electric scooters and bicycles
Buildings – Bioclimactic designs with solar protection and energy-efficient system
Energy – 100 percent renewable, with improved energy storage and hydrogen refueling
Chairman Maha Sinnathamby said that Springfield, with its current 45,000 population, is ideal for this project as the nation’s fastest-growing community.
“We have one chance – and the responsibility to our residents – to get this right and be an ongoing example for others to follow,” Mr Sinnathamby said. “The focus on efficient and sustainable energy production, storage, and integration with the community has never been more important for Australia and for us. I’m confident that ENGIE can assist us to be a world leader in innovative and smart city solutions.”
Photo Credit: Springfield City Group
In line with this project, some buildings within the city’s business district have started rolling out rooftop solar, including Orion Shopping Centre and the Springfield Tower.
University of Southern Queensland has announced the commencement of the $5.8-million expansion of its engineering building.
The USQ expansion project will have its single-storey building converted into a two-storey structure that will quadruple its teaching, learning, and research capacity. The school said that project will be the biggest undertaken at the campus since they opened the $45-million second major building in 2015.
Head of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Professor Kevin McDougall, said that the project is a significant investment that will provide students more opportunities to develop their technical and practical engineering and surveying skills utilizing the latest technology. He also stressed that engineers and surveyors play a crucial role in shaping our world and that their skills are critical in the nation’s economic recovery efforts post pandemic.
Photo credit: University of Southern Queensland / usq.edu.au
“We want to make sure our students have the best facilities and opportunities to learn, and ensure our graduates have the sought-after skills that industry needs, both now and into the future,” Professor Kevin McDougall said.
“It will also expand our capacity to conduct leading-edge research and work with industry to contribute to the development of new knowledge and solutions that address real-world problems.”
Quadric was contracted to undertake the expansion project which is expected to be completed in time for the start of Semester 1, 2021 and would provide learning spaces for the University’s comprehensive suite of engineering and surveying programs at Springfield.
Features of the expanded engineering building include:
• Civil engineering laboratory with separate concrete mixing
• Curing and durability facility
• Robotics and automation laboratory with fabrication facilities
• Student collaboration space
• Seminar room
• Surveying preparation room
• Heat treatment, fire testing and materials testing and metrology laboratories
• Mechanical engineering and fluid dynamics laboratory
• Electronics laboratory
• Communications laboratory
• Electrical power laboratory
The building, designed by dwp Architects, will have multiple built-in sensors throughout the structure that will allow students to conduct real-time monitoring of the building’s structural health performance. The system will facilitate the measurement of the structure’s critical and dynamic characteristics including strain-stress, deflection, frequencies and mode shapes.
Professor McDougall described it as a “living lab” that will provide both students and visitors with valuable opportunities for research and teaching collaboration across various disciplines.
Motorists using the on-street and off-street parking spaces around the Ipswich city centre will enjoy new parking options under two types of free parking trials adopted by the Ipswich City Council.
The trials were introduced on Monday, 26 Oct 2020, and will run until the end of April 2021.
The scheme will cover around 3,500 unrestricted or time-managed parking spaces, whilst approximately 710 spaces will be subjected to priced parking.
Parking trial 1 includes the free use of CBD parking spaces for 15 minutes. Parking trial 2 includes the lifting of the time and pay restrictions of on-street parking during Saturdays, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Photo Credit: Ipswich City Council
Motorists are encouraged to look at the new City of Ipswich Parking Pricing Strategy and share their comments or feedback about the free parking trials in the comment box.
Prior to the trial, Ipswich City Council’s parking pricing around the CBD were as follows:
TIME
PRICE
0.5 hr
$0.70
1 hr
$1.40
2 hrs
$2.80
3 hrs
$4.20
4 hrs
$5.60
9 hrs
$7.00
“It is great news for the business community and for people coming to the CBD. Some of the most common complaints have been from motorists having to pay for a brief stop in the city centre,” Deputy Mayor Marnie Doyle said. “[Feedback] is particularly important at this time, with the Ipswich Central redevelopment nearing completion, that we learn what works best for motorists and businesses in the CBD.”
Craving for a scoopful of happiness? Here’s how you can snag free ice cream for three months!! Ungermann Brothers at Limestone Street in Ipswich has created a gourmet Mystery Go Pink ice cream for Breast Cancer Awareness month this October, and you can win free ice cream if you can guess this secret flavour.
To taste the ice cream (hint: it’s pink and has nuts!), take home a tub or buy a scoop at Ungermann Brothers from their Ipswich store, their Gold Coast outlet, or online. Each purchase is equivalent to an entry stub, which gives you a chance to guess the mystery flavour.
Part of the proceeds of this contest will go towards the West Moreton Breast Cancer Research Project to boost projects like establishing a virtual breast cancer care clinic or improving support facilities for after-surgery procedures.
“What we want to do is expand on the existing after-surgery consultations, which focus on physical assessment and symptom management, to provide a comprehensive assessment of patient’s psychosocial health and quality of life,” West Moreton Health’s McGrath Breast Care Nurse Karen Miles said.
Ungermann Brothers Ipswich will continue to accept online orders for delivery until Friday, 23 Oct 2020 but you may keep guessing the mystery flavour in-store until the end of the month.
The winner will be notified on or before 9 Nov 2020. Follow their Facebook page for updates.
Ungermann Brothers is owned and managed by Danny Ungermann, who left the corporate world more than seven years ago to concentrate on this local business. All ingredients at the ice cream sources are locally sourced and prepared in-house.
