A new Logan City Council upgrade will breathe new life into one of Logan’s oldest city centres.
The works are part of the $5 million Beenleigh Implementation Plan, which has delivered on key outcomes from the Council-hosted 2017 Beenleigh Summit.
The upgrade includes streetscaping improvements, new garden beds and trees, creative lighting and custom-design directional signs.
It also includes extensive urban artworks featuring designs of local artists, including award-winning Mary Barron, Kyra Mancktelow, Madhu Khanna and June Hintz.
The artists’ colourful designs, some featuring indigenous themes, have been painted on laneways, footpaths and traffic calming devices, and were also integrated into new shade discs on John Lane and City Road.
It is also hoped that new wider footpaths will encourage local businesses to take advantage of Council’s footpath dining incentive fund.
Economic Development Chair, Deputy Mayor Jon Raven, said Council had worked closely with the local community and businesses to ensure the city centre was more accessible and vibrant.
“This investment in Beenleigh will help unlock the enormous economic potential of this area,” Cr Raven said.
“We want the Town Square and nearby streets to be inviting for day and night activities, encouraging more people to visit, shop and work in Beenleigh.”
The urban art complements, and is an extension of, the new innovative art-inspired shade solution in Beenleigh Town Square.
Shade is created by 457 circular aluminium discs that feature laser-cut designs from Madhu and June, with the artwork becoming a colourful light show at night.
The artworks also go well with the eye-catching giant wall murals on the recently opened multi-storey development The York, which overlooks the Town Square.
Other upgrade works completed across the Beenleigh city centre include a large electronic screen in the Town Square, the installation of free-wi-fi and the first stage of a new smart parking trial which provides real-time updates on the availability of parking bays on key streets.
Division 12 Councillor, Karen Murphy, said completion of the upgrade was the start of an exciting new era for Beenleigh.
“Beenleigh is open for business, and I look forward to local residents and visitors flocking to the area to support the retailers and enjoy all the new facilities and amenities,” Cr Murphy said.
Some of the upgrades were co-funded from the Queensland Government’s Unite and Recover Funding program, which aims to help kickstart the local economy after the setbacks of the pandemic in the last two years.
The Member for Macalister, Melissa McMahon, said the local community can be proud of Beenleigh’s new look.
“Beenleigh is buzzing again, and I encourage everyone to visit and enjoy our new-look city centre and support our local businesses,” Ms McMahon said.
Image: City of Logan. Division 12 Councillor, Karen Murphy, and Deputy Mayor, Jon Raven.
