Precinct about to take shape

THE first stage of the new Toowoomba Mills Precinct development is about to take shape.

Developer Mandy Adams, of Richard Adams Homes, said the company had applied to Toowoomba Regional Council for a development application to begin the first stage of work, which will feature a food and shopping precinct located in the old sawtooth buildings at the far north of the site and the Ruthven Street buildings on the northern side of Campbell Street.

Mrs Adams said the shops and showrooms would go hand-in-hand with the food and restaurant offerings planned for the site.

The company has also been hard at work constructing the new-look facade for the precinct.

“Building work will include both internal and external renovation to bring in a fresh look, while maintaining clear references to the original use of the site,” Mrs Adams said.

Mrs Adams hopes the facade will be completed next month, with landscaping work to start shortly thereafter.

Once stage one was complete, Mrs Adams said the next project would either be the business and office precinct, market precinct, or boutique accommodation precinct, depending on which section generated the highest level of interest.

The project had a much slower start than originally anticipated, in part owing to the substantial time and effort needed to come to grips with the legalities of the Priority Development Area planning scheme document, and also due to the huge amount of infrastructure improvements needed to bring the site up to date, Mrs Adams said.

“However, we are gaining momentum now and are so excited to be able to see part of the vision coming to life,” she said.