RAZED by fire last August, the precinct that was home to Officeworks Underwood is set to gain a new lease of life.
A new Officeworks is expected to be built by the end of the year.
And it will adjoin a new Zone Eats dining precinct, featuring Café 63, Zone Café and Kebab, Subway and The Cheesecake Shop – all due to open later this year.
The precinct rejuvenation comes as police and fire investigators remain puzzled by the blaze which gutted the old Officeworks store.
They have sought public help, but the exact cause and detail of how the fire started remains a mystery.
They say they are continuing investigations into the fire.
On August 23, firefighters were called out to battle the Officeworks blaze after the store suspiciously caught fire around 8:40pm while staff and customers were still inside.
No one was injured in the blaze, but the store and adjoining buildings – which needed the help of 14 fire trucks – couldn’t be saved.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services say the incident is still under investigation by police and the relevant authorities.
An Officeworks spokesperson said, “the health, safety and wellbeing of our team continues to be our highest priority.”
“Team members from our Underwood store have been redeployed and continue to work at neighbouring Officeworks stores which are in their busiest trading period of the year with Back-to-School shopping,” they said.
“A new Officeworks store will be built in Underwood in the same location as the previous store and is expected to be operational by the end of 2023.”
ZONE Underwood is owned by Newmark Capital whose representative said last week they’re committed to getting the site back up and running as soon as possible.
