A rare commercial block of land in Logan Central is primed for development.
But it comes with a catch. The block at 42 Railway Parade will likely become a multi-use development of apartments and small retailers, but on one condition: the monument stays.
The monument sits on a 20 sqm plot in the top corner of the land, fronting Logan Central train station.
It was built by the Logan RSL Sub Branch, which folded in 2019, and is protected under the national register for memorials.
RSL South Eastern District secretary and Logan Village Sub Branch Judy Alterator has been involved with discussions about the memorial’s future.
“It’s for all service men and women,” she said.
“It’s not only a memorial, there are also ashes buried there as well for ex-members of the sub-branch, but it is a registered memorial in Canberra.
“That’s why it can never be moved without Canberra’s approval.”
Ms Alterator said it will eventually be restored back to its former glory once power to the site is turned back on.
“Once it’s back up and running, it’s supposed to have lights on, floodlit, and have flags up day and night,” she said.
The memorial is a site acknowledging servicepeople from all conflicts.
It does not hold any major ceremonies.
Small numbers congregate on Remembrance Day and Vietnam Veterans’ Day.
Families of the servicepeople inscribed on its walls also visit occasionally.
The plot of land the memorial sits on is small and out of the way, meaning it would not hinder development on the remaining 1,300 sqm set to be developed, Ms Alterator said.
Selling agent Lincoln Eade said: “It’ll be written into the contract that the monument is saved.”
Conditions of sale are typically commercial in nature and can vary, according to conveyancing specialist Brian Fang, principal solicitor of S&B Legal.
“With the Queensland contracts, we’ve got the set REIQ contracts, but there are special conditions that a seller can input into the contract that form part of the sale,” he said.
The common requirements are building and pest inspections, but conditions have evolved more recently.
“With the increasing demand in the property market, the sellers do have a bit more control and say in how they want to sell the property,” Mr Fang said.
At this early stage in the sale of 42 Railway Parade, both the seller and buyer will need to negotiate the terms of the condition.
“At the end of the day, the person selling the property gets to choose whether they want to sell it to you, so if they want to have the memorial there then they can hold off until they find the right buyer,” he said.
The only time a condition might be reversed is if, for example, a commercial property developer offered a large sum of money to dispense of it.
However, that will not be possible in this instance because the monument is on the national register for war memorials.
“[In that case] It is governed by a whole new set of rules,” Mr Fang said.
The land is zoned for a five-storey development.
Mr Eade said it could well become a combined apartment and retail precinct.
“It will potentially be retail at the bottom and apartment living on the top,” he said.
“It’s also right in the middle of the new Logan town plan, so in years to come it will look different to what it is now.”
He also said there is another contract on the block behind it which will follow a similar fate.
Development of the blocks around could commence in the next two years.
“It’ll look like a mini South Bank through there, going off what they’ve [council] has projected for the area,” he said.
