Bris Venue The Tivoli Faces Potential Redevelopment As Sellers' Net Widens

The future of iconic Brisbane venue The Tivoli has long been nebulous — the site was put up for auction in 2012 and for sale again in 2013 — but its prospects have become a little murkier with the revelation that its owners are taking expressions of interest for redevelopment as part of the sale.

As Fairfax reports, the venue is currently listed with commercial property vendors Colliers International, with expressions of interest on the 2160m² building space and its land now open.

Of some concern, among its attractive features — there are many, being a "prime inner city development site with secure passing income!" — are subject-to-council-approval development opportunities, the chance to "benefit from Brisbane's booming inner city apartment market", its proximity to the CBD and RNA Showgrounds and, right down the bottom, the fact that it's "[h]ome of The Tivoli Theatre, one of Brisbane's most successful entertainment venues".

According to Fairfax, Colliers agent Hunter Higgins was "reluctant to comment" on the likelihood of the venue being redeveloped upon sale but confirmed that the owners (the O'Rourke family, of Tamworth) were hopeful of its chances to persist as a music venue.

They're probably not the only ones; aside from its rich and well-established history as part of Brisbane's live music landscape, The Tivoli presently has gigs in the pipeline through till early September, starting from 27 February with a performance from NZ dub/reggae/soul/jazz/everything ensemble Fat Freddy's Drop. Among the many other acts booked in to play the beloved theatre are Luka Bloom (6 March), City & Colour (26 March, sold out), Gang Of Youths (8 April), Sarah Blasko (15 April), Danny Brown (22 April), Sticky Fingers (23 April, sold out), Of Monsters & Men (28 April, sold out; 29 April), Millencolin (1 May), twenty one pilots (3 May), ODESZA (4 May) and The Rubens (11 June), and that's not even everyone.

The widened expressions of interest campaign closes on 10 March.