A radio station car park beneath the Story Bridge could soon be transformed into a sleek inner-city racquet sports venue, as developers push ahead with plans to bring one of the world’s fastest-growing sports to Kangaroo Point.
Planning documents lodged with Brisbane City Council have sought approval to convert the covered car park at 120 Main Street, used by radio station 4EB, into an indoor sport and recreation facility featuring three courts and a two-storey clubhouse with food offerings and a bar.
The applicant, House of Krug, hopes to build three covered and enclosed padel courts alongside a clubhouse on the 1848-square-metre site.
Padel is a hybrid racquet sport blending elements of tennis and squash. It is played on a smaller, enclosed court, where players can use the surrounding walls.
The slightly lower-compression balls are hit with solid paddles, rather than a stringed racquet.
Its social, fast-paced format has driven rapid growth overseas, with developers increasingly targeting dense urban areas for new facilities.
House of Krug is owned by Courtney and Simon Caulfield, two local real estate agents.
Courtney Caulfield said they had agreed to buy the site from Ethnic Broadcasting Association of Queensland, with the settlement expected in September.
“Simon and I live in the area and we would like to contribute to the community, and we wanted it to be something fun and social,” she said.
“Padel is one of the fastest growing sports in the world – it has like 42 per cent more members year-on-year, it’s actually crazy.
“It is a great sport for socialisation and fun, but also really healthy.”
Caulfield said the couple discovered the sport during a trip to Dubai, and had played around the world since.
Simon Caulfield said, approvals permitting, they hoped to have the venue open by Christmas. He said the fact the site was already zoned for indoor sport should make for a speedy approvals process.
Town planning firm Urbicus, which submitted the assessment report to the council on the Caulfields’ behalf, says the clubhouse would include “internal areas for amenities, reception, bar, food and drink outlet, and viewing area”.
The location sits beneath the Story Bridge approach in an area planners describe as a “prominent inner-city peninsula suburb” with strong residential, tourism and mixed-use activity.
In the assessment report, Urbicus says the project would sit comfortably within the precinct.
“Indoor sport and recreation use activates the site, is a use and form consistent with the zone and relevant neighbourhood plan, and being enclosed and separated from residential has minimal amenity impacts,” Urbicus says.
No on-site parking was proposed, despite the sporting use, with Urbicus pointing to the inner-city setting and nearby transport links.
Instead, access would be primarily pedestrian, with entry points from Main Street and bicycle parking for four bikes.
Because the site directly adjoins the heritage-listed Story Bridge, the application would be referred to the State Assessment and Referral Agency. However, Urbicus says the development would “not alter the heritage place or its view lines” so was unlikely to affect heritage values.
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