Frontrunner emerges for major hotel build

A major hotel development company is closing in on getting the nod to develop the Brisbane Road carpark site.

Project director Kenneth Wagner at the Oaks Hotel, the site of the former Gladstone Hotel. Picture: Nev Madsen. Thursday, 24th Oct, 2019.

EXCLUSIVE:

A MAJOR hotel development company is closing in on getting the nod to develop a prime beachside site the source of decades of council angst.

KPAT Property is reportedly close to being given the green light to develop a hotel precinct on the remaining half of the Brisbane Road carpark site at Mooloolaba.

When contacted by the Daily, KPAT Property owner and founder Kenneth Wagner, son of high-profile Toowoomba businessman Denis Wagner, confirmed his company had participated in the open and closed tender processes.

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He said his company was "working closely" with Sunshine Coast Council, and had been working with the previous council.

He said they had put forward a submission on the property, and Mr Wagner understood the matter was set to go to a council meeting in the coming months for determination.

"We're certainly seeing positive signs that they're interested in doing something," Mr Wagner said.

Construction was due to start later this month on the long-awaited multi-storey Brisbane Road, Mooloolaba car park - weather permitting.

He said he'd been "very keen" to invest on the Sunshine Coast for some time.

The hotel developer said he had worked with international hotel brands to operate and manage hotels, and his company had been working on several major projects in Toowoomba.

It was understood a hotel of about 150-160 rooms and some retail space was the scale being proposed for the Brisbane Road site, which would sit alongside the multistorey carpark currently being developed by Evans Built.

Mr Wagner's company did a lot of work with Minor Hotels Group, which operated Oaks Hotels and Resorts.

Mr Wagner said he'd been looking at other regions, but the general development of the Coast, including major infrastructure like the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, had appealed to him.

Kenneth Wagner asks a question of Toowoomba Regional Council election 2020 candidates at a forum hosted by the Toowoomba Chamber at Burke and Wills Hotel, Thursday, March 12, 2020. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The timelines for development were still to be determined, pending the all-clear from council on what was expected to be multimillion-dollar deal.

It was understood the matter could come before councillors as early as this month to be ticked off.

The Daily reported in February that a deal had been close to being finalised on the site before former council CEO Michael Whittaker's resignation and the March local government election, which had stalled the process.

The council released on January 19 last year a valuation of $16.25 million for the whole Brisbane Road carpark site.

A previous deal struck between the council and Abacus Property Group to redevelop the site fell through in mid-2018.

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