Excavators have moved on the Mi Hi Grove unit complex in Brassall, Ipswich, bringing a long and emotionally charged chapter to a close for the 42 households who once called the flood-ravaged site home.
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The demolition, which began in early April 2026, marks the end of a four-year process that began with the devastating 2022 floods and stretched through years of negotiations, disputed valuations, and a hard-fought community effort to have the complex included in a state and federal buyback scheme.
For former resident Odette Summers, watching the excavators move in stirred mixed emotions. She described the moment as bittersweet, saying the complex had once been a tight-knit community, and that sense of belonging was now gone. But she acknowledged that the site had been completely inundated during both the 2011 and 2022 floods, and that selling up and moving on had been the right call. She said she took some comfort knowing no family would ever have to go through flooding at Mi Hi Grove again.
The buyback of all 42 units was completed through the Resilient Homes Fund Voluntary Home Buy-Back Program, an initiative that allowed councils to acquire homes built within flood zones following the 2022 flood events.
Ipswich City Council now owns the entire complex, with 40 units purchased under the voluntary scheme and two compulsorily acquired after their owners declined to sell. Across the city, the program has facilitated the buyback of more than 200 homes, creating over 500,000 square metres of new greenspace across 16 suburbs.
The road to demolition was not without its difficulties. Mi Hi Grove was initially deemed ineligible for the program, and it took sustained pressure from council and the community to have that decision reversed. Many former owners felt the valuations they received fell short of what their properties were worth, and with property prices rising sharply in the years since 2022, some found they could no longer afford to buy back into the same area.
That was the reality for Alannah Lewis-Stafford, who said her mother had saved her from homelessness after the settlement left her without enough to purchase elsewhere. Adding to her frustration, she continued to receive water bills for the property for two years after she had moved out. Still, watching the demolition in early April 2026, she said she hoped the site would be transformed into something the whole community could enjoy.
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Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding acknowledged it had been a long and drawn-out process for everyone involved, and said she hoped future buyback programs could move more quickly to help residents get back on their feet sooner, particularly as property prices continue to rise.
Division 4 Councillor Jim Madden said it had been a long road for former owners and residents, and welcomed the start of demolition as a positive step forward.
From Flood Zone to Green Space
Demolition and land rehabilitation are expected to take around six months. Once complete, the site will be rezoned for greenspace at a future council meeting. Mayor Harding said she envisioned the area becoming a welcoming public space with bushland where families and pets could walk and relax.
For Ms Lewis-Stafford, that vision offered a measure of peace. She said she hoped people would be able to come and relax there, and that the space would become something genuinely good for the community.
Published 6-April-2026
