{"id":241231,"date":"2019-08-06T23:12:14","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T13:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=241231"},"modified":"2020-07-18T15:18:37","modified_gmt":"2020-07-18T05:18:37","slug":"gift-turns-crazy-idea-into-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/08\/06\/gift-turns-crazy-idea-into-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Gift Turns Crazy Idea Into Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A building housing seven shops that makes up most of Proston’s CBD has been bought by a community group which hopes to use it to revive the town’s fortunes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
South Burnett Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff donated the money to help buy the building<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

August 6, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

A “crazy idea” to buy a large slice of Proston’s CBD became reality last week when a community group acquired ownership of seven shops in Blake Street.<\/p>\n

The shops, located between the town’s Spar supermarket and the library, form the core of Proston’s CBD and have been on the market for several years.<\/p>\n

However, the limitations of the 1930s building that housed them and trends in modern retailing have seen the number of tenants steadily dwindle over time.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Proston Round Table discussion group explored the idea of buying and refurbishing the building to attract new businesses to the town.<\/p>\n

A few months later – after calling for community interest in the idea – several local residents incorporated Proston Queensland Ltd, a non-for-profit company, to examine the proposal in detail.<\/p>\n

While they found it was a feasible idea and the building was capable of being refurbished to more contemporary standards, they were unable to raise the necessary cash to buy the property.<\/p>\n

So it appeared the proposal was dead in the water.<\/p>\n

But things changed suddenly when Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff received an unexpected inheritance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cr Duff, who spent her childhood in Proston, knew all about the project and shared the belief it was a viable idea.<\/p>\n

So she donated the money to the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), a national grants body, on condition that FRRR assess the proposal and pass the money to Proston Queensland Ltd if they found it was a worthwhile project.<\/p>\n

FRRR passed on the grant and contracts for the sale of the building were exchanged on July 29.<\/p>\n

Proston Queensland is now the building’s landlord and will start out with one tenant: the Jacaranda Tearooms, operated by Nick and Anita Blanch.<\/p>\n

Over time, through donations and grants, the groups hopes to renovate the entire building so that modern retail businesses can set up shop.<\/p>\n

Peter Simpson, who is one of Proston Qld Ltd’s six directors, said the group expected reviving Proston’s CBD would be a long process.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But one immediate plan the group hopes to put into play is to open a Community Information Centre in the former newsagency so visitors can be encouraged to stay longer and explore the area.<\/p>\n

Peter said at the moment, visitors who come into Proston on a weekend often turn around and leave because it appears nothing is open.<\/p>\n

“We want to open an Information Centre where they can grab a cup of coffee or tea, get maps and brochures of the area, talk to people about things to see and do and maybe look over some historical displays to get a feeling for this area’s history,” he said.<\/p>\n

“If we’re going to get more visitors and keep them in town longer, we need to work together as a community to do that, and a volunteer Community Information Centre is something we can do very quickly.”<\/p>\n

To look at other ideas for the shops, a community meeting will be held at Proston Town Hall on Saturday, August 17, at 1:45pm.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter said the aim of the meeting was to look for suggestions about how best to use the property and any idea – no matter how unusual – was welcome.<\/p>\n

“You never know where a good idea might come from,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes a part of an idea can turn into something brilliant if you tweak it here and there.<\/p>\n

“So we’d like everyone to come along and have a say.”<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Blake Street building was erected in the 1930s and will require renovations to bring it up to contemporary standards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
At present, the Jacaranda Tearooms is the sole tenant in the building … but Proston Queensland Ltd hopes it will have company in the future<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A “crazy idea” to buy a large slice of Proston’s CBD became reality last week when a community group acquired ownership of seven shops in Blake Street <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":241238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,3],"tags":[86],"yoast_head":"\nGift Turns Crazy Idea Into Reality - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A "crazy idea" to buy a large slice of Proston's CBD became reality last week when a community group acquired ownership of seven shops in Blake Street.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/08\/06\/gift-turns-crazy-idea-into-reality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gift Turns Crazy Idea Into Reality - 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