THE 14-YEAR TUG-OF-WAR OVER ASSET’S OWNERSHIP

1938: Surfers Paradise resident Charles Joseph Hicks makes a deed arrangement with the Southport council to preserve the land, including Neal Shannon Park, as a recreational reserve.

1986: The Gold Coast City Council builds the Bruce Bishop Car Park and Surfers Paradise Transit Centre on the site, including recreating Neal Shannon Park on its roof. It is named after the former state member for Surfers Paradise.

March 2004: Mayoral candidate Ron Clarke announces the city should sell the “air rights” above the car park but retain ownership of the complex.

May 2004: Council officers push for its sale to fund the $26 million second and third stages of the Surfers Paradise Traffic Management Scheme.

July 2004: Plans commissioned by the council show at least two towers could be built on the site of up to 70 storeys under a proposal shopped to the development industry.

November 2004: Council endorses a plan to sell the car park. Bruce Bishop himself makes his first public comments in a decade, blasting the plan, as did former premier Rob Borbidge.

2005: Proposal to sell the car park dumped after public backlash.

2007: Portberg Property proposes an $850 million, 101-storey twin towers project for the site.

2008: A $1.3 billion redevelopment of the car park to create $400 million town hall/transit centre development goes before councillors. Fails to gain support with the financial crisis soon ending any major development plans.

2012: Sale of city assets, including the car park, becomes election issue, with mayoral candidate Tom Tate backing sales as a way of slashing council debt.

May 2017: Majority of Gold Coast councillors back Cr Tate’s proposal to sell the Bruce Bishop Car Park. The move sparks protests.

June 2017: Business leaders band together to create the Save Surfers Paradise group to fight the sale. March 2018: The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) announces it is investigating, among other inquiries, Cr Tate, council chief executive Dale Dickson and the sale of the car park. Cr Tate says, “I respect the confidentiality of the CCC”. Mr Dickson says he “welcomed an independent investigation” and would co-operate with authorities. June 2018: Cr Tate writes to the CCC urging it to move quickly on its investigation.

Yesterday: The council sells Bruce Bishop Car Park for $48 million to Care Park. Its majority shareholder is Hong Kong-based developer Far East Consortium.