4-storey Victor Harbor apartment complex targets Chinese visitors through educational camps
A $5 million apartment complex at Victor Harbor will be marketed towards Chinese families attending educational “camps” in SA, as their children prepare to move here to study.
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A four-storey, $5 million apartment complex at Victor Harbor will target the Chinese market – particularly those with children looking to attend local schools and universities.
John Van Diermen and his Chinese partner Feng Liang set up Australian Postcards to run educational “camps” for Chinese students travelling to South Australia during their school holidays.
The company’s proposal to build a complex with 13 apartments above the ground floor, which will feature a restaurant and two coffee shops or cafes, is under assessment at Victor Harbor Council.
If approved, the development will replace four vacant blocks on Flinders Parade, which overlooks Victor Harbor.
Mr Van Diermen said the company had a new partnership with Victor Harbor’s Investigator College to host Chinese students, who were staying at existing accommodation on the South Coast until the new complex was built.
While students are at the school, parents will learn more about local tertiary education institutions and high schools and tour the region, he said.
“They’re not going to send their children here to study on a longer-term basis if they haven’t seen it beforehand,” Mr Van Diermen said.
“Adelaide has just got direct flights from China and the market is increasing.”
The business plans to hire out the accommodation to other visitors while it’s not being used for educational camps.
It will include apartments on the first and second floors, and three penthouses on the top floor.
Victor Harbor’s development panel recently considered the company’s application and asked it to increase its parking spaces before deciding on its future.
Mr Van Diermen hopes work on the project will begin before Christmas.
Earlier this month The Advertiser revealed plans for a $40 million, six-storey hotel building overlooking the bay at Victor Harbor, also on Flinders Parade, to help draw tourists to the area for longer.
Anchorage Hotel owner Greg Phillips has lodged plans with Victor Harbor Council for the complex, which if approved, will sit alongside the State Heritage-listed pub.
michelle.etheridge@news.com.au