The CFMEU has submitted plans for a seven-storey office building in Bowen Hills, where the controversial union now has multiple residential and commercial projects around its long-term headquarters.
As the federal Labor government keeps the CFMEU under external administration, and the state LNP government works to limit its influence on public projects, the new plans highlight the union’s other role as property developer.
The CFMEU projects are also in a Priority Development Area, meaning it require the approval of the state government to proceed.
The CFMEU has plans for a 34-storey residential tower (left), a 7-storey office building (centre), and a theatre and conference centre (right) at Bowen Hills.
Last year, the CFMEU updated its plans for a build-to-rent project in the form of a 34-storey residential tower at 19-25 Campbell Street, opposite the union’s headquarters.
It also submitted plans for a three-story “event space for CFMEU members” next to its headquarters, with an auditorium, rooftop terrace and bar.
With the CFMEU expected to eventually level its headquarters for another build-to-rent tower, the latest plans would give the union the option of a new base in a more prominent position nearby.
An artist’s impression of the 7-storey office building the CFMEU wants to develop in Bowen Hills.
Under the plans, submitted to the state government agency Economic Development Queensland, the CFMEU would redevelop several industrial sites on Jamieson Street, facing busy Abbotsford Road and a short walk from Bowen Hills train station.
The CFMEU’s architects, Nettleton Tribe, have designed a seven-storey office building with city and river views, backing on to the 34-storey tower, in a new gateway precinct it has likened to “West Village, Fish Lane and James Street”.
