While in Victoria musicians and community fight to save Melbourne’s historic Palace Theatre following submitted plans to demolish the venue to make way for a $180M luxury apartment complex, up north in the Queensland capital, the future of one of Brisbane’s equally beloved and important venues remains uncertain.
Nearly a year to the day that it was put onto the property market, the owners of Brisbane’s Tivoli Theatre have yet to find a buyer willing to pay the reported $10 million plus asking price for the 1,500-capacity venue, as the Brisbane Times reports.
The paper alleges that industry sources have confirmed the million dollar price tag last Wednesday, with Leon Alaban of Ray White Hotels – who are handling the sale – confirming that the Fortitude Valley mainstay had attracted interest from a variety of buyers. Investors from Queensland, interstate, and overseas had all eyed the Tivoli, as well as entertainment and property developers but “at this stage it’s not actively on the market,” says Mr Alaban.
“Future (sale) campaigns may be possible but as it stands the owner is settled. It’s a reliable business and has been for a number of years and they are happy to wait until such time a buyer can be found,” adds the Ray White representative, who has been in discussion with the O’Rourke family, the venue’s current owners.
The O’Rourkes, who also own the Rockhampton nightclub Strutters and the Longyard golf course in Tamworth, bought the 2,160 square metre Tivoli in 2009 and put the venue up for auction on 18th July, 2012. The auction was disrupted however, by an anonymous neighbour who exercised a reciprocal agreement for pre-emptive right of refusal over the propert, leading to the auction being cancelled on 21st August. “It [demolition] is a distinct possibility if someone wanted to redevelop the site [but] as it stands the current owner loves the venue the way it is.”
The venue has been listed on Ray White Commercial for 12 months, noting that after the cancelled August auction “all interested parties are still encouraged to continue their due diligence enquiries. In the interim, if a party wishes to submit an offer they must do so via our office or alternatively by contacting one of the undersigned.”
Ray White’s Mr Alaban says that discussions were still being held about another sales campaign despite, with a decision to be reached within six to eight weeks. If the venue should go to a property developer, it could be demolished in favour of inner-city apartments or residential development as The Tivoli is not protected by heritage laws.
The Tivoli’s origins stretch back to its beginnings as a bakery in 1917, but it wasn’t until the Costin Street site underwent an extensive makeover in the 90s into a theatre-come-restaurant that its legacy as a live music venue were laid down.
“It [demolition] is a distinct possibility if someone wanted to redevelop the site,” says Mr Alaban. “As it stands the current owner loves the venue the way it is, but to answer the question of what might happen is crystal ball stuff,” he added.
The venue, which has played host to local musical heroes like Powderfinger and The Go-Betweens as well as major international tours, remains a much-loved part of Brisbane’s venue-rich Fortitude Valley, forming a key part in the entertainment precinct’s capacity range, hosting a potential crowd of 1,500 sanding or 700 seated.
“There are a lot of venues that have tried to compete and tried to replicate the Tivoli but it remains the premier entertainment venue,” says Mr Alaban, noting that support for the Tivoli comes “not only from the people who frequent the venue but even from the people who perform there.”
