BlueCares Lyons Street Westcourt Property

After lengthy consideration and consultation with community stakeholders, BlueCare has made the decision to sell part of its Lyons Street Westcourt property to the Cairns Regional Council.

Tracy Dare, Group Executive Commercial Services, UnitingCare Queensland said after relocating BlueCare’s administrative operations from Lyons Street to another facility in Cairns, it was no longer sustainable to keep the Lyons street property.

“As a not-for-profit provider of health and community services, if we ever have to divest a property we always work to identify buyers who will use the property in a way that continues to provide a benefit to the community.

“When Cairns Regional Council expressed an interest in the property, it made sense to enter into discussion with them.

“We are delighted to have found a buyer that has a strong commitment to the local community such as the Cairns Regional Council.

“After a thorough consultation process that took on board very constructive feedback from the Cairns and District Senior Citizens Association Inc., we have been able to sub-divide the site and secure a long term lease for the Cairns and District Senior Citizens Association Inc. under the new owners at Cairns Regional Council.

“This ensures the Cairns and District Senior Citizens Association can continue their highly valuable work with the community and is a great example of what can be achieved through a collaborative partnership,” Ms Dare said.

Cairns Mayor Bob Manning said Council’s strategic purchase of the property ensured it would continue to benefit the community.

“We wanted to make sure this land was protected for community use,” Cr Manning said. “We will now look at what community infrastructure is needed in this area and consider how we can best utilise this property for the benefit of the community.”

Council is working with current tenants, including Cairns and District Senior Citizens Association Inc., to finalise lease arrangements for the existing building.

Robyn Hooper, Secretary of the Cairns and District Senior Citizen’s Association Inc. has welcomed today’s announcement and is pleased the future accommodation of the Cairns and District Senior Citizen’s Association Inc. has been secured.

“We have done a lot of work with BlueCare and the Cairns Regional Council to secure the best possible outcome for our members and the Cairns community. We have secured a long term lease with the Cairns Regional Council which gives us the certainty we need to continue our work for the Cairns community.

“The site could have been redeveloped or sold to other buyers which may have potentially threatened our continued tenure at the site. We were able to avoid this by working collaboratively with our members, BlueCare and the Cairns Regional Council to ensure the site could continue to provide a community benefit to the people of Cairns, Ms Hooper said.

Settlement was finalised yesterday, Monday 25 June 2018, with ownership of part of the Lyons Street Westcourt property now transferred to the Cairns Regional Council.

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