Mount Logan Pty Ltd
Newspaper coverage (The Southern Star, 1996–1997) of the Lee family's long-vacant Mount Gravatt site.
THE SOUTHERN STAR Edition 1WED 23 JUL 1997, Page 5 DISPUTE OVER VACANT BLOCK A group of Mt Gravatt Central traders hopes to buy and develop a 4777sq m block on Logan Rd. This follows a long-running dispute between the owner of the vacant premises at 1420-1440 Logan Rd and other business operators in the area. The traders want to buy the property owned by the family of Dr C F Lee with the business name of Mount Logan Pty Ltd. Dr Lee is a former professor of mathematics at Queensland University. Mount Logan is tied into CNS Holdings Pty Ltd, which has two registered shareholders, Dr Lee's wife Nancy and his daughter Joyce Lee. (editor - sic - Nancy and Joyce are sisters) The block has been empty for years, apart from a few small shops which have come and gone. The company acquired the block from Phar Investments Pty Ltd in November, 1982, with the memorandum of transfer showing a purchase price of $900,000. The Southern Star has been unable to contact either Dr Lee or his family for comment. THE SOUTHERN STAR Edition 1WED 29 OCT 1997, Page 5 BUILDING THE KEY TO FUTURE WHAT many Mt Gravatt Central traders believe to be the biggest stumbling block to a major coordinated improvement strategy for the strip, could be about to topple. A 4777sq m mostly vacant building at 1420-1446 Logan Rd is up for sale. The family of former Queensland University mathematics professor Dr C Lee owns the property which some traders believe could fetch up to $2 million. At least two groups are believed to be interested. The property has been virtually empty for years, apart from a few small shops which have come and gone. The Woods Bagot report on Mt Gravatt Central identifies the block as a principal opportunity site for catalyst development. SOUTHERN STAR Edition 1WED 21 FEB 1996, Page 008 `The terminus' lives CONGRATULATIONS to the Southside Chamber of Commerce and the Mt Gravatt Sub-Committee for their in novative plan for the redevelopment of the Mt Gravatt Central Logan Rd strip still known to many as ``the terminus. The decision not to compete with the drive-in shopping centres of Mt Gravatt and Garden City is a wise one as we are already over-developed in many retail areas. As a central area for private and government agencies Mt Gravatt has much to offer, with room for specialised shops to service the area. There is no doubt that Australia Post did Mt Gravatt residents a disservice by moving away from its Logan Rd site. In the process it has contributed to the visible downgrading of the strip. Instead of the roomy, uncluttered post office, with room for stationery and philatelic needs, people now have a cluttered post office that looks like a penny bazaar, but with goods twice the price of those in retail outlets, hidden away in a shopping centre. (Will I now be able to buy a book of stamps at my local supermarket, I wonder?) The greatest obstacle to the redevel opment of Mt Gravatt is the block of empty shops between the Save the Children's shop and Ferguson's Phar macy. One has been vacant for so long that some residents do not remember it operating as a retail outlet. Such places are fire traps and breed ing areas for vermin. As a long-established resident and community historian for the Mt Gravatt district I am concerned with the seem ingly deliberate downgrading of these properties by owners who, I under stand, will not discuss development plans with other owners or the Chamber of Commerce. They do no good for the reputation of what has always been a thriving suburb. The only way the owners have shown any interest is to apply the highly suspect method of wheel clamping to people parking at the rear of the shops, (hardly encouraging to shoppers) and have a few potholes filled in. If authorities, on all levels, are able to apply any present legislation to prevent further deterioration of these shops, including requiring a definite develop ment plan for them, it should be done soon. Otherwise it is time that these same authorities laid down firm require ments to prevent undesirable specu lation leading to the downgrading of business areas such as Mt Gravatt Central. Gwen Robinson, Mt Gravatt.