Albany’s iconic Middleton Beach will be the site of a landmark new hotel with a buyer secured for the prime waterfront development site with absolute beach frontage.
The sale of the 3,700sqm site to a consortium between Pacifica Developments and Ausglobal Group, with the Seashells Group as the hotel operator, will see the development of a four-star-plus new hotel, five to seven storeys, with 80 to 100 rooms.
The hotel will see the creation of beach front food and beverage facilities to be enjoyed equally by the local community and hotel guests, further enhancing Middleton Beach as a prime Great Southern tourism destination and driving visitation to the surrounding area and businesses.
Working to design guidelines for the site, the developer will be seeking proposals from architects with proven capability of design excellence in the hospitality sector.
It is anticipated the successful architect will be engaged in early 2021, with a local architect already in place to provide input from a local perspective.
Located within DevelopmentWA’s Middleton Beach Activity Centre area, the drawcard of a premium hotel at Middleton Beach will help underpin the economic growth of Albany and the Great Southern region for years to come.
The development is anticipated to create 180 construction jobs and dozens more ongoing employment and training opportunities once the hotel is operational.
The announcement of the hotel site sale comes as designs have been unveiled for an exciting new mixed-use housing product, to be constructed and sold by DevelopmentWA as part of Stage 1 of the Middleton Beach Activity Centre redevelopment.
Known as duettes, and created in conjunction with local architects PTX, these double purpose double-plus storey homes in a medium density terrace setting offer true flexibility to help bridge the work/life divide.
Featuring two independent entrances, the ground-floor has been purpose designed for use as a work place, but is also suitable as a separate apartment for multigenerational or tenanted living without the need for expensive conversion.
Up to six duettes will be delivered as part of DevelopmentWA’s Innovation through Demonstration program, marking the first residential/mixed-use built form project of its type to be delivered by DevelopmentWA outside the metropolitan area.
The construction tender, preferencing local builders where possible, will be released in May 2021 and built form construction is expected to commence in mid-2021.
In the meantime, civil and site works will soon commence with tenders from local contractors currently being considered to deliver high voltage power upgrades to the site area and a tender for further civil works to be released in early 2021.
Local Aboriginal contractors have been engaged to undertake initial works to improve the presentation of the site area.
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
“I am delighted to announce the next step in what is sure to be a landmark development for Albany.
“My Government has prioritised efforts to find a hotel developer to deliver a quality new hotel at the Middleton Beach, which will deliver huge benefits for tourists and locals alike.
“The work being done to prepare the Middleton Beach Activity Centre site for development has already led to work for local contractors and, together with the work on the new hotel, is expected to create some 180 construction jobs as these projects take shape.
“When complete, the Middleton Beach precinct will generate dozens of new employment and training opportunities in the region’s growing hospitality and tourism industry.”
As stated by Lands Minister Ben Wyatt:
“The vision for a world-class tourism and activity centre for Middleton Beach is a significant step closer, with a contract to develop now secured with Pacifica Developments and Ausglobal Group.
“Middleton Beach will also be the first development in Western Australia to feature Duettes, a new mixed-use housing product from DevelopmentWA, purpose designed to respond to the way people’s lives are changing, accelerated by the events of the past year.
“This is yet another sign that confidence is returning to Western Australia’s economy, and I look forward to the project taking shape.”
As stated by Albany MLA Peter Watson:
“This is a great outcome for Albany that will benefit our tourism and hospitality businesses, bring activity back to the Middleton Beach precinct and deliver local jobs.
“People started to doubt if anything would happen at the site after it’s been vacant for so long, so its great news and I look forward to the economic benefits it will bring to Albany.”
