New application lodged for Voco Maroochydore with approved hotel incentive

A proposal to build a hotel with restaurant and residential apartments in a major entertainment precinct has been lodged with council again, after it was withdrawn.

Renders of the proposed Voco Maroochydore development. Photo: DBI

Plans to build a massive hotel in the heart of the Sunshine Coast’s entertainment precinct have been brought forward once again, in the wake of a key incentive receiving approval earlier this year.

Felix Capital’s Voco Maroochydore project at 15 Ocean St has been pitched to Sunshine Coast Council once again after it was withdrawn in April this year.

The proposed development was intended to stack 13 storeys high at 47m, breaching the maximum height limit of 40m in the area.

Application documents of the time had stated the additional height would be acceptable under a temporary local planning instrument known as the accommodation hotel incentive measures.

Voco Maroochydore is expected to open on Ocean St in 2028.

The local planning instrument is intended to lure developers to build luxury hotel accommodation on the Sunshine Coast by relaxing certain development restrictions, such as maximum height.

Records of email correspondence between council and Adams and Sparkes Town Planning show the proposal was withdrawn after council staff sent a request for further information in December last year.

The request expressed concerns regarding building height as the temporary local planning instrument had not yet been approved by the state government and was still in a draft phase, thus prompting the withdrawal.

Since receiving endorsement for temporary local planning instrument from the state government in April this year, the proposal has now been pushed forward to council again.

Plans include a floor dedicated to recreational facilities.

Documents state the proposed height of the development “complies in full” with the height permitted under the now-approved temporary local planning instrument, and the application would be code assessable.

Current application documents show plans include 153 hotel suites, nine residential apartments, a hotel restaurant and bar across 13 floors.

The ground floor will comprise of the restaurant and function spaces, the second floor will offer recreational facilities and floors three to nine will provide hotel accommodation.

The remaining upper floors will be feature the residential apartments.

The development will include 104 parking spaces, 12 motorcycle bays and 50 bicycle spaces.

Documents state there are several other buildings exceeding the height limit in the Maroochydore area, including Northcliffe Apartments, City Hall and the Habitat apartments, with more under construction.

Voco Maroochydore is expected to open on Ocean St in 2028.

It was noted in documents the Ocean St precinct had been “largely void” of new developments, despite the need for infill development and its generous height allowance.

“The development of the subject site presents a genuine opportunity to stimulate the local economy and aid the renewal of this popular precinct, thereby delivering the intent of the planning scheme,” documents read.

The hotel was designed with coastal and contemporary themes in mind, referencing Maroochydore’s character as a “city by the sea”.

The 2190sq m site is located in the Maroochydore principal centre zone with a two-storey commercial building currently occupying the space and buildings of similar nature surrounding the lot.