Bass Coast developments: Isle of Wight, Fantazia, Newhaven Boys Home, hot springs

With more people flocking to the coast, developers are using this as an opportunity to redevelop well-known sites. Here are five developments to keep your eye.

Developers are bringing major projects to Bass Coast.

Bass Coast is a developers dream with more people flocking to the area to the escape the city hustle and bustle.

It’s the fastest growing economy in regional Victoria, having grown by 45.6 per cent since 2007.

While 33,000 people already live in the area, the permanent resident population is expected to increase by 37 per cent by 2035.

Developers have taken on the opportunity to buy, propose and build developments that will benefit the community but also attract more visitors to the area.

Here are five developments that you should keep your eye on this year.

OLD FANTAZIA SITE

The old Fantazia building in The Gurdies has been left vacate for years. Picture: Brooke Grebert-Craig

Whether you remember it as a gift shop, caravan park, milk bar or petrol station, a well-known property in The Gurdies has been sold.

The 1003 Bass Highway land has been on and off the market for years, with remnants of the old ‘Fantazia’ buildings still in place.

Locals hope the site is turned into something appealing that the whole community can benefit from.

ISLE OF WIGHT

Phillip Island’s Isle of Wight site has been the talk of the town since the building burnt down in 2010.

The 9-10 The Esplanade, 2-8 Bass Ave land was snapped up by Melbourne-based development company Moda in January this year.

Moda Founder and Director Ed Farquharson said he is weighing in multiple opportunities for the site.

“The obvious one would be to bring back the Isle of Wight hotel in some shape or form,” he said.

“There would be a bit of romance about that.”

Other development ideas include in the lifestyle, health or residential sector.

PHILLIP ISLAND HOT SPRINGS

Phillip Island hot springs is set to open in the 2022. Picture: Supplied

A $60 million hot springs development is set to open in Phillip Island in 2022.

The first stage of the 1215 Phillip Island Rd development — which shares the same site as The Cape Kitchen restaurant — will have 10 large pools with a number of different features including a swim-up bar, whirl pool, bubble beds, foot spa, reflexology walk, cave pool and mist cave.

It will also include a main building, retail section, cafe to seat 87 people and carpark with 225 spaces for cars and buses.

INVERLOCH OLD MARINE SITE

After a proposal to build a five-storey building on Inverloch’s old marine site was withdrawn by developers, locals are on high alert about future planning applications.

The proposal for a mixed use development at 2-4 The Esplanade had residents outraged after details were released about the project on February 22.

The proposal included 40 apartments, an underground basement with 61 carparking spaces a gym and pool and four retail and commercial tenancies at ground floor.

NEWHAVEN BOYS HOME

The old Newhaven Boy's Home has been on and off the market for years. Picture: Brooke Grebert-Craig

The former St Paul’s Home for Boys is back on the market after a local company bought the site on November 23, 2020.

The previous developers wanted to build a five-star hotel on the land but their plans fell through because of uncertainty with the pandemic.

Watch this space to see what the historic building is eventually turned into.

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