BIG RESORT PLAN FOR BELLARINE
$50m tourism site planned for Peninsula
A SEVEN-STOREY resort could soon tower over a small town on the tip of the Bellarine Peninsula, under $50 million developer plans submitted to the City of Greater Geelong.
The mega-development would include a 160-room hotel and day spa, 17 villas, three hydrotherapy pools, 10 outdoor hot springs, a restaurant, bar, gym, large lake and outdoor water feature.
Under plans submitted by Contra Constructions’ Con Garofalo, the Tower Rd site in Portarlington would be overhauled to take advantage of an “identified demand for visitor accommodation on the Bellarine Peninsula”.
“There is a significant growth projected for the local tourism market, which is punctuated by the Bellarine north’s considerable lack of commercial accommodation and short stay offerings,” a planning report for the application noted.
“The plan identifies the provision of an integrated tourist resort (self-contained accommodation including restaurants, conference centre, recreation and spa and wellness) as a priority.”
Key findings of an economic analysis for the project claimed the development would attract 70,500 visitors to Portarlington each year, boosting the area’s “visitor spending” by $2.5 million.
Application documents also include a visual impact analysis for the proposed seven-storey hotel.
“This analysis demonstrates that, despite the elevation of the property, the development would appear subdued and certainly not dominant in the landscape,” the report noted.
A website created for the Portarlington Resort also seeks to allay potential concerns regarding the size of the development.
“The location, design and siting of the buildings mitigates the visual impact,” the website claims.
“The proposed resort will not be visually dominant to the township, coastal area, and the large acreage rural landscape (areas regarded as significant).”
Construction is expected to be held in two stages over 30 months, with the construction of the day spa, cafe, hot springs, outdoor pools, water features and carparking to take a year, and construction of the hotel and villas and associated facilities a further 18 months.
The construction process is expected to create 310 direct full-time equivalent jobs, while the resort is expected to support 65 full-time jobs when operational.
The total investment in the proposed development will be about $50 million, according to the economic analysis.
The planning application will remain open for community comment until June 10.