Rockhampton Leagues Club to buy Kortes Resort and turn it into ‘Club Parkhurst’

Plans for a major new facility which would include a full service cafe, sports bar, gaming area and function spaces have been revealed for a growing Rockhampton suburb. FULL DETAILS HERE.

As Rockhampton’s urban sprawl continues in the northern suburbs, plans for a major redevelopment of a resort on the city’s outskirts have been revealed by Rockhampton Leagues Club.

Looking to capitalise on the growth of Parkhurst, RLC is in the final stages of purchasing Kortes Resort and has submitted plans to redevelop and expand the restaurant facility, rebranding as ‘Club Parkhurst’.

A development application was submitted to Rockhampton Regional Council by Gideon Town Planning earlier this month detailing the plans.

The application proposes to extend the existing building to the northeast by about 600 sqm and build a covered entry, making space for a further two function areas, bringing the capacity up to around 600 guests.

Members and visitors would be welcomed through a spacious reception and cafe area which will have indoor and outdoor seating, a courtyard and a kids play area.

The courtyard will lead to the large dining area, sports bar and designated gaming area.

The existing amenities, kitchen and back of house service areas will be retained, with minor changes and service yards, designated outdoor smoking areas and garden beds.

The club is proposed to ‘generally operate’ Sunday to Thursday from 9am to 12am and Friday and Saturday from 9am to 2am.

Kortes Resort currently holds 52 motel units, which would remain unchanged in the new plans and would still be managed by the Korte Group. 

RLC general manager Danny Finch told this publication the club had first looked at Korte's Resort three years ago but at the time it was not clear what was happening with the Rockhampton Ring Road project.

As things have progressed and the northern suburbs have continued to expand, Korte's Resort ticked all of the boxes for RLC.

“Our background is community club land … This club here (RLC) is in place to support Rockhampton Rugby League, including CQ Capras, primary and secondary school and junior and senior league,” Mr Finch said.

“To broaden our horizons, we have identified Parkhurst as being the growth development area of Rockhampton and surrounds.

“We have just been looking for the right venue and the right site and we believe the one out there at Korte's Resort will be the one with the growth corridor.

“There’s nothing out at Parkhurst at the moment that is realistically there to be able to support the future community in the region.”

Club Parkhurst would have a focus on supporting community clubs, like the local school P & C, the Caves Rural Fire Brigade and Riding For The Disabled, Mr Finch said.

“That’s what community clubs are all about, it’s an establishment for people to come and communicate, eat, have functions, have a drink, and enjoy themselves … but also it’s part of the community and a way of raising funds to be able to support back to the community,” he said.

“The Korte property just gives us the opportunity to diversify our business, in relation to the motel, but our plans are to develop that 400-seat function facility.”

The new redevelopment plans, by Design + Architecture, overhaul the current look of the facility and include a new modern facade screen along the Yaamba Road frontage.

“The main focus points with the design was to give Parkhurst something different and to improve that visual outlook as you come into town from the north,” Mr Finch said.

The $25 million resort opened in late 2015 and has consistently won awards as one of the top rated venues on TripAdvisor.

The property was listed for $15 million in 2018 and was last listed in April 2020 for $12 million.

Mr Finch was unable to disclose the purchase price.

“The club (RLC) will go into substantial debt, but with the operations of the motel, we will lease the accommodation out, and then we will develop the club to be able to fund our debt levels but also the local community,” he said.

The plan would be to start the construction of the expansion straight away, with the hope to be fully operational by 2024.

“This project not only with the commercial build of the properties for tradies, it will employ about 50 locals,” Mr Finch said.

“That’s not to take in effect your supplies and increase in supply demand, for food, beverage.

“This (Club Parkhurst) is getting developed and built for the community.”

The application is now subject to council approval.