News Source: www.abc.net.au
Hotel at Albany's Middleton Beach secured with land sale
News Source/Courtesy: www.abc.net.au

A four-star hotel standing at least five storeys tall will be built at Albany's Middleton Beach, with design works starting next year, the WA Government has confirmed.

Key points:

The State Government has sold a hotel site at Middleton Beach

The hotel is expected to stand at least five storeys tall, with 80-plus rooms

Works are expected to create 180 jobs

Pacifica Developments and Ausglobal Group purchased the foreshore lot and would begin seeking architects for the site, Premier Mark McGowan said.

It comes after two years of attempts by the Government to find a buyer who would be willing to construct a multi-storey hotel at Middleton Beach, 400 kilometres south-east of Perth.

Mr McGowan said developing the 80-plus-room beachfront hotel with oceanside public bar and restaurant would "deliver huge benefits for tourists and locals alike".

Hotel at least four stars, five storeys

The Premier's office said the Middleton Beach hotel would be rated at least four stars and stand between five and seven storeys high.

It could host up to 100 rooms, with a publicly accessible beachfront bar and restaurant overlooking Ellen Cove.

The Premier's office said the developer was expected to secure an architect for the project early next year with a "local perspective" to be considered in designs.

The works are anticipated to create about 180 jobs during construction.

That size appears to be a reduction of the State Government's original aim of a hotel up to 12 storeys tall, with between 80 and 140 rooms.

A picnic bench overlooking Middleton Beach

The hotel will overlook Albany's Middleton Beach.(ABC Great Southern: Toby Hussey)

Who are the developers?

The developers, Pacifica Developments and Ausglobal Group, claim an extensive history of residential and commercial projects across Australia.

Queensland-based Pacifica lists 14 major projects across Queensland on its website, including a Whitsundays resort and a 27-storey apartment complex in Brisbane.

Ausglobal, which is based in Perth and has offices in mainland China and Hong Kong, is currently building a hotel in Busselton and commercial spaces at a shopping centre in Perth's northern suburbs.

Hotel plan years in the making

The State Government began its search for a hotel developer for the Middleton Beach site in mid-2018.

That year, then-lands minister Rita Saffioti said the state's search for a company interested in operating a future hotel at the site had attracted "big name brands" among applications from state, national and international businesses.

The area most recently hosted the Esplanade Hotel, which was demolished in 2007.

Its demolition was expected to make way for a new project on the site, which was scuppered when the Global Financial Crisis hit just months later.

The Barnett government purchased the land in 2014 for $7 million.

It has remained undeveloped since.

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Albany enjoying tourism boom

Once built, the Middleton Beach hotel will become Albany's second in recent history.

A $24 million Hilton hotel under construction on the edge of Albany's marina is expected to open in the first half of 2021.

That project is backed by local business mogul Paul Lionetti, who owns a substantial share of the town's commercial properties.

Albany's appeal as a tourist destination has increased in recent years, with Airbnb recording booking spikes in 2018 and the popular Field of Light display in 2018-19 attracting more than 150,000 visitors.

Last year, passenger numbers at Albany Regional Airport increased beyond 60,000, before a tourism boom this year due to COVID-19 movement restrictions saw accommodation book out for months in advance across the south coast.

Hospitality operators during that time said demand was so high, staff were struggling to keep up with the pace.

Nearby project updates

The land sale announcement was paired with updates for a mixed-use housing project set to be built across the road.

The double purpose homes known as "duettes" are designed as all-in-one office and home spaces, and are being built by Development WA — the State Government's central development agency.

Up to six will be built at the site, with construction set to begin in mid-2021.

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News Source: www.abc.net.au

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