Maroochydore's new city centre project is welcoming new hotel options as leading business hotel brands express interest in developing and operating a venue in the city centre.
The news comes after an announcement last week that infrastructure and property developer John Holland was poised to strike a $200 million deal for five super-lots totalling 1.4 hectares in the new city centre.
The John Holland submission could include construction of the new Sunshine Coast Council headquarters plus student accommodation and teaching facilities for the University of the Sunshine Coast.
SunCentral Maroochydore, the company established to oversee design and delivery of the new Maroochydore CBD, has been in negotiations with several hotel groups since Expressions of Interest for the core commercial precincts opened.
SunCentral Maroochydore Chief Executive Officer John Knaggs said strong interest in the new city reflected great confidence in the development.
“Confidential discussions are continuing but there is no doubt that this site has captured the attention of Australia’s business community including hotel operators,” he said.
“The new hotel will primarily be aimed at business clientele and there is widespread recognition that demand for such accommodation will grow significantly as the CBD takes shape.”
The Sunshine Coast Regional Council has estimated up to two million more passengers would be flying into the region by 2040 once the expanded Sunshine Coast Airport was operational by 2020.
“Maroochydore is already the commercial heart of the entire region but the introduction of direct international flights from Asia to the Sunshine Coast will be a huge driver of business travel to our region,” Knaggs said.
“We’ve seen an eight per cent increase in business travel to the Sunshine Coast in recent years and 230,000 people have attended business events in the region in the year ending March 2017.
“All indications are that this growth will continue with improved access and infrastructure.”
KPMG demographer Bernard Salt predicted national technology, construction and professional services companies would have head offices on the Sunshine Coast by 2040, driving business visitation to the region.
“By the 2030s, there will be flourishing businesses based on the Sunshine Coast that export to and that connect with South East Asia as comfortably as they connect with other parts of Australia,” Salt said.
“By 2040 there will be head offices of nationally significant businesses based in Maroochydore, mostly in the services, technology and construction sectors.”
Knaggs said discussions were continuing with a number of other parties seeking to develop commercial, retail, residential and mixed-use projects in the 53-hectare greenfield CBD site.
Details of a planned hotel development are expected to be revealed before the end of the year.
