Oaks Hotel to help transform Tooowoomba CBD
A PIECE of history will be preserved with the towering Oaks Hotel development on Ruthven St to incorporate pieces of the former Gladstone Hotel.
Toowoomba
Don't miss out on the headlines from Toowoomba. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A PIECE of history will be preserved with the towering Oaks Hotel development on Ruthven St to incorporate pieces of the former Gladstone Hotel.
The ambitious build which will transform Ruthven and Annand St is on track for completion by mid to late April, marking the first expansion of Minor Hotel Group into regional Queensland.
Kenneth Wagner, director of KPAT Asset Management, said the 102-room hotel with 1000sq m conference room would be balanced with a modern industrial-style hotel, bottle shop and retail space, bringing something new to the CBD.
"We will have a large tavern operation fronting Ruthven St and council's Kwong Sang Walk lined with retail operators," Mr Wagner said.
"We currently have on pallets bricks and original floorboards from the (Gladstone) hotel and we intend to use them in the design aspects of the pub and tavern operation."
Mr Wagner said one high-end retailer had signed on to open at the site, with plans also to include a bottle shop and a "corporate style cafe".
"The accommodation is a modern contemporary typical sort of corporate style hotel," he said.
"The tavern is light industrial style, with a fairly modern dining operation.
"It's the newest; it's the biggest and we've got the best operators."
Minor Hotel Group chief operating officer for Australia and New Zealand Craig Hooley said the global company was excited for its first expansion into regional Queensland.
"We see demand drivers going in this area," he said.
"Your gross regional product is growing, employment is growing, you've got infrastructure development here.
"We see a great need for global-standard accommodation in Toowoomba in the next 10 to 20 years and this project is at the forefront of that.
"We see our loyal guests from around the world, when they choose to come to Austrlaia they are looking for unique destinations and we think Toowoomba has certain attractions that will allow guests a great stay here."
The hotel will be the latest transformative project for Ruthven St, with a 16-month build schedule on track after a complicated council approval process before it was given the green-light in September 2018.
"It's been an interesting process," Mr Wagner said.