Kingsord Smith Drive remains a heavily-used access road from Brisbane Airport to the city despite the recently opened Airport Tunnel that drivers avoid in droves, refusing to cough up a toll when a free (albeit slower) trip is available. It also serves as a conduit to the northern residential and industrial areas as well as linking to the Gateway Motorway to provide access north to the Sunshine Coast and south to the Gold Coast.
In recognition of that Brisbane City Council and the federal government are funding an upgrade that will see Kingsford Smith Drive widened together with the addition of dedicated bicycle and pedestrian access. This will mainly be accomplished by extending the road out above the river, but locals have been warned that some resumptions will occur. Details are yet to be announced - let's hope there is minimal disruption.
Riverfront properties have always been in demand and therefore expensive. Some of Brisbane's prime residential real estate is situated along Kingsford Smith Drive - we have already looked at El Nido and Greystaines. Today we are looking at the excellent Blair Lodge, designed by Claude William Chambers and built around 1912. Chambers was a prominent local architect mostly known for non-residential work such as Perry House and the United Services Club. Blair Lodge is one of the few homes that he designed. This is a recent picture of it showing its proximity to Kingsford Smith Drive.
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(Photo: google.com) 2013
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(Photo: JOL: 159854)c1912
And in more recent history we can see a newspaper clipping recording the sale of the residence for $60,000 in 1968. The notional current value of that amount according to the RBA Inflation Calculator is just under $700,000 but my bet is that this piece of real estate would attract a far higher price than that if sold today.
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(Photo: https://www.facebook.com/Lost.Brisbane) 1968
Blair Lodge is currently on the Brisbane City Council heritage register and also appears in the federal Department of Environment listings. Here are further photos from 1976 showing the exterior detail of the house and its superb river vantage point.
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(Photo: JOL 199874) 1976
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(Photo: JOL 199885) 1976
There is no suggestion here that this property will be adversely affected by the proposed roadworks. We simply don't have that detail yet. I hope that home owners along this ultra-busy corridor do not have to suffer resumptions as well as putting up with all the noise, dust and traffic delays.
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(Department of the Environment rt36908) 1988
Click here for a Google Map.
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In recognition of that Brisbane City Council and the federal government are funding an upgrade that will see Kingsford Smith Drive widened together with the addition of dedicated bicycle and pedestrian access. This will mainly be accomplished by extending the road out above the river, but locals have been warned that some resumptions will occur. Details are yet to be announced - let's hope there is minimal disruption.
Riverfront properties have always been in demand and therefore expensive. Some of Brisbane's prime residential real estate is situated along Kingsford Smith Drive - we have already looked at El Nido and Greystaines. Today we are looking at the excellent Blair Lodge, designed by Claude William Chambers and built around 1912. Chambers was a prominent local architect mostly known for non-residential work such as Perry House and the United Services Club. Blair Lodge is one of the few homes that he designed. This is a recent picture of it showing its proximity to Kingsford Smith Drive.
This is a view of the area just after the house was completed - it can be seen in the centre of the photograph.
And in more recent history we can see a newspaper clipping recording the sale of the residence for $60,000 in 1968. The notional current value of that amount according to the RBA Inflation Calculator is just under $700,000 but my bet is that this piece of real estate would attract a far higher price than that if sold today.
Blair Lodge is currently on the Brisbane City Council heritage register and also appears in the federal Department of Environment listings. Here are further photos from 1976 showing the exterior detail of the house and its superb river vantage point.
There is no suggestion here that this property will be adversely affected by the proposed roadworks. We simply don't have that detail yet. I hope that home owners along this ultra-busy corridor do not have to suffer resumptions as well as putting up with all the noise, dust and traffic delays.
Click here for a Google Map.
tff