Cairns Global Tourism Hub: City unites in call for development action
A prominent Cairns developer has more than $24million worth of investments riding on the promise of the Global Tourism Hub going ahead — and it could go either way.
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A PHALANX of industry captains has issued a unified plea for the State Government to stay the course and march towards achieving a spectacular Global Tourism Hub in Cairns.
Private investment worth tens of millions of dollars has already been spurred on by the promise of a breathtaking development.
The project’s realisation will only further stimulate spending and blow wind into the sails of a flaccid tourism sector.
Nobody knows that more than Frank Gasparin.
The property investor is overseeing a million-dollar upgrade of his building at the corner of Abbott and Spence streets – and also convinced retail giant DFS to invest a staggering amount to revamp DFS Galleria across the road.
The Global Tourism Hub promise was the inspiration behind both investments.
“They have spent $23 million to renovate the brands to ensure the tourists have a place to shop,” Mr Gasparin has written in a letter to Cairns MP Michael Healy.
“DFS Galleria is the only place in Cairns to do that.”
Mr Gasparin warned the city would not accept another all-glitter-no-gold production like the Aquis casino debacle.
Advance Cairns CEO Nick Trompf said he knew the State Government was working hard to get a deal with casino giant Star Entertainment, believed to be the only proponent still standing.
“What’s not wanted is just an apartment block or another hotel,” he said.
“A Global Tourism Hub needs to be much more than that, and that has been the ambition from day one.”
The project was initially scheduled to have a proponent announced by the end of 2019.
That timeline has been pushed back with a decision now due by April, and construction earmarked to kick off before the end of this year.
Mr Trompf said the timing could not be better.
“With the quality of that piece of land, and with the current challenging times for tourism, we would all welcome a really positive announcement about a significant player making a significant investment,” he said.
Builders are banking on the project having wings.
Developer Tom Hedley said it would be critical after big projects like Crystalbrook Collection’s hotels and the upcoming Cairns Convention Centre upgrade wound up.
“The town’s going all right, the economy’s good, we haven’t got fires and we haven’t got droughts,” he said.
“I hope it happens, and it’s in my interests that it does – we’re a chance of doing the building work, so I’m all for it.”
Enterprise North president Kevin Byrne said the government needed to make a decision and stick to it.
“You can’t have that land sitting there quarantined forever,” he said. “We know there’s already been an offer made on one of the blocks for a waterfront hotel by Ghassan Aboud. He was knocked back, so that opportunity’s gone.
“It’s incumbent for the government to make sure there is an opportunity to develop down in that part of the city.”
Urban Development Institute of Australia Cairns branch president Ranjit Singh said the city needed action and assurance about the project.
“Any steps that can be taken to move the project forward would bring an injection of confidence to the property market,” he said.
Originally published as Cairns Global Tourism Hub: City unites in call for development action
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