School, pool saved as state government sells off abandoned campus
The Queensland government is selling off Griffith University’s abandoned Mount Gravatt campus in Brisbane’s south, but with strict conditions.
The old, decaying campus nestled in Toohey Forest, near the summit of Mount Gravatt Mountain, has been put on the market, on the condition that Yarranlea Primary School, the swimming pool and the tennis centre located on the site remain operational.
The government will retain ownership of the swathe of bushland on the 42-hectare site.
The 55-year-old campus closed last year as Griffith University consolidated resources on its much larger Brisbane South campus at Nathan and a new Brisbane City campus, set to open in the historic Treasury Building in the CBD in 2027.
Nearly 1000 people signed a petition calling for the state government to find a new operator for the swimming pool, saying the aquatic centre was an important community space for residents and school students.
The government will sell the university campus and the recreational precinct freehold, on the condition the primary school and sporting facilities remain operational.
“This is about providing certainty to the students, parents and teachers of Yarranlea Primary School and delivering an exciting new space for the community that will guarantee the future of the existing facilities,” Minister for Natural Resources Dale Last said.
The site would be prime real estate, were it not perched on the mountain and surrounded by bush, making it a high bushfire danger zone. However, that has not stopped developers and public housing advocates eyeing the large parcel of government land.
Nine buildings, including deserted student dormitories, an auditorium and lecture halls, remain, as well as Yarranlea Primary School.
The sports and recreational precinct includes the 25-metre pool and aquatic centre, a 12-court tennis centre, outdoor basketball and netball courts, and a rugby field.
In its information memorandum, the government says it will not contribute any funding to the development of the site and is “seeking the private market to undertake private investment and development of the Mount Gravatt site”.
“The procurement process for this project is designed to expedite the sale of the education precinct and sporting precinct to interested parties and activate the site as quickly as possible,” it reads.
“Located only nine kilometres south-east of the Brisbane CBD, the site offers exceptional connectivity, proximity to major transport corridors, and access to a thriving community, making it an ideal location for education, innovation and community-focused development.”
Yarranlea School board director Adrienne Innes welcomed the assurance that the unique, independent school would remain open.
“Our community love this little school and the multi-age education and wellbeing it provides children,” she said.
“We look forward to working with both the state government and future owner so that our school can grow and flourish for years to come.”
The former Labor state government scrapped plans to convert the unused student accommodation into emergency housing over concerns about the potential bushfire risk.
That plan was hastily announced after the former Palaszczuk government’s housing roundtable in 2022, then abandoned after it was determined it would cost too much to bring the buildings up to code, although $2.1 million had already been spent on redevelopment works that went nowhere.
Matthew Burke, an urban researcher and Griffith University adjunct professor, said the campus’ good public transport links made it an ideal location for a selective high school or education academy.
“It’s an old asset that’s going to need some money pumped into it if the old buildings are to be retained,” he told this masthead last year.
Expressions of interest will close on March 13, 2026, with the government due to approve the sale in April.
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