Waltons, Fortitude Valley

This site documents the past, present and future of the Waltons building (formerly Overells Building) in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Fortitude Valley has seen an enormous change in appeal over the last 50 years mirrored in urban areas throughout the western world. From being highly desirable as both a retail and residential area between the 1890s and the 1950s, the area struggled with the rise of the more popular suburban shopping and residential areas. The area lost both shoppers and residents in huge numbers until it became synonymous with undesirable inner city vice in the 1970s. Properties were largely not maintained by uninterested owners, eventually offloaded and cheaply bought. In the 1980s, the Brisbane City Council began a series of revitalisation programs to 'clean up' the area which continues today. Fortitude Valley is now perceived as a 'character' area and is more popular as a residential and retail area.

A university lecturer and two nurses who are sisters, the Lees, built a property empire in Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba starting in the mid-1960s. Their residential portfolio, as documented on this site in 2011, amounted to more than 35 properties (2021 press reports put the family's holdings at more than 50). A company associated with the family, Mount Cathay, acquired the Waltons building in 1984. It has been largely empty since 1988 and has fallen into disrepair. (Another associated company also acquired a large building in Mount Gravatt in 1982 and left it largely vacant for years before selling it in 1999.)

In contrast, the Brisbane City Council Fortitude Valley Local Plan states: "Landmarks and vistas of local and city wide significance must be maintained and enhanced. Significant landmarks include, but are not limited to ... McWhirters, Waltons and TC Beirne buildings". The draft Fortitude Valley Neighbourhood Plan [dead link] states: "Development must ... maintain the visual signficance of the McWhirter's, Walton's and Judith Wright Centre buildings within the streetscape". The Wickham Street frontage and the adjoining lane are heritage listed. So what has happened?