A charity cafe that was kicked out of a Brisbane City Council-owned historical building has cost ratepayers nearly $18,000 in rent, councillors have been told.
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The Uniting Hands Foundation Australia won a contract in 2016 to take over the renovated Engine Room in Teneriffe, a nearly 100-year-old building once used for industry in the area.
But last week the council announced the small not-for-profit UHFA, which ran a cafe out of the building, had been evicted from the premises after failing to pay rent.
Council had spent $1.2 million to restore the building in 2016, after initially saying the cost to ratepayers would be $500,000.
In Tuesday’s council meeting, opposition leader Peter Cumming asked lord mayor Graham Quirk how much was owed to the council and when the UHFA began to fall behind in rent.
Cr Quirk said UHFA was one of two bidders for the original tender in 2016 after the renovations on the Engine Room were complete, and was the recommended tender.
The lease was signed in January 2017, Cr Quirk said, but after receiving allegations about the validity of the charity, council officers undertook searches to confirm UHFA was a registered not-for-profit with the national charity commission.
Cr Quirk said the council also conducted another search of ASIC records to confirm the business was operational.
“In December of 2018, the company that was listed for the cafe’s food licence was believed to be deregistered,” Cr Quirk said.
“That meant a licence was no longer valid.
“Council officers undertook further inquiries to confirm the validity of the licence … council terminated the lease.
“The reality is without a food licence they were not going to continue operating.
“They were popular but clearly not popular enough to make money.”
When council evicted UHFA last week, rental arrears were at $17,616.
It followed numerous issues with the property and its lease, including the addition of a kitchen chimney that was not part of the state-approved renovation plans for the Engine Room.
Cr Cumming also asked about the lease agreement between UHFA and the council, including bank agreements and whether the council could reclaim some money according to the lease.
But Cr Quirk questioned the opposition’s interest in the issue and why Cr Cumming was so focused on the UHFA.
Brisbane Times contacted UHFA last week for comment but did not receive a reply.
According to the organisation’s website, a minimum of 10 per cent of profits from the Engine Room Cafe went to the foundation.
An attempt by Cr Cumming to suspend standing orders and call an urgency motion to demand an independent audit of the council’s selection of the UHFA for the Engine Room was defeated.
