Did you know that the former site of Top Taste Bakery in Kedron has been included in Brisbane’s Suburban Renewal Precincts initiative that aims to rezone former industrial or commercial sites for residential development?
Top Taste Bakery was one of Australia’s major food manufacturers for 50 years. In 2019, Newly Weds Foods acquired the company but then moved its main operations to Sydney.
By May 2020, the Kedron factory was officially shut down and the property was put up for lease until it was identified as one of over 70 hectares of land across 14 suburbs in Brisbane that could become new residential precincts.
Brisbane’s Suburban Renewal Precincts initiative was created to help address increasing demands for more housing. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said in a statement that this initiative is a win-win for both the suburbs and the city as a whole.
“They will help remove tired old commercial sites that no longer stack up and replace them with vibrant developments that deliver new housing, as well as employment and retail opportunities.
“By utilising land within our existing urban footprint like this we will also deliver an environmental dividend by helping keep existing low-density areas, bushland and greenspace preserved.
“In the same way we are helping to transform Teneriffe, Howard Smith Wharves and West Village in West End, Suburban Renewal Precincts will ensure suburbs throughout Brisbane get even better.”
After the identified sites have been rezoned, developers and investors will have to go the usual routes for development applications. Mr Schrinner also said that the initiative is still in its early stages but the idea is to offer more affordable housing.
Here’s the first wave of Suburban Renewal Precincts:
| Suburban Renewal Precincts | Land Area |
| Hyde Rd, Yeronga | 12ha |
| Glenora St, Wynnum | 0.15ha |
| Bonemill Rd, Runcorn | 16.3ha |
| Mina Pde, Alderley | 6.4ha |
| 35 Hamilton Rd, Moorooka | 1.15ha |
| 123 Muriel Ave, Moorooka | 3.2ha |
| Gladys St, Stones Corner | 0.32ha |
| McIlwraith Ave, Norman Park | 0.09ha |
| Kedron (either side of Gympie Rd including the Top Taste factory) | 11.7ha |
| Fairlawn St, Nathan | 6.9ha |
| Sandgate Rd, Nundah | 1.3ha |
| Burke St, Dutton Park | 1.6ha |
| Newmarket Rd, Wilston | 8.2ha |
| Newnham Rd, Wishart | 2.6ha |
“This is just the beginning,” Mr Schrinner said. “This is stage one of identifying potential precincts across the city. There will be more that will come online, no doubt.”
