Wrest Point’s $70m play

FEDERAL Group will next week reveal plans for a $70 million redevelopment of its Hobart hotel and casino Wrest Point.

HOBARTS WREST POINT HOTEL Picture: SUPPLIED

FEDERAL Group will next week reveal plans for a $70 million redevelopment of its Hobart hotel and casino Wrest Point.

Federal Group chief executive Greg Farrell and Wrest Point general manager Lyndon Adams will share plans for the redevelopment with community and business leaders at a presentation on Tuesday.

The group’s corporate affairs director, Daniel Hanna, said details would be “kept under wraps” until Tuesday, but Federal has already announced stage one of the redevelopment would include a number of new bars, restaurants and casino — including VIP facilities — that showcase Tasmanian produce and take greater advantage of the property’s riverside position.

The company says the redevelopment “heralds a new chapter in the long and proud history of Wrest Point; a chapter that will invigorate it as a centre of entertainment and inspire a new generation of visitors”.

Mr Hanna would not comment on whether the redevelopment was contingent on Federal’s exclusive licence to operate poker machines in Tasmania, which expires in 2023, being extended.

In September, Mr Farrell said the group’s plans to invest more than $100 million — including stage one of the Wrest Point development — “require certainty”. In addition to the $70 million West Point development, the $100 million would also fund a new luxury boutique hotel at Port Arthur, and a redevelopment of the Country Club Casino in Launceston that would include a new health spa, restaurant, bar and golf facilities.

The State Government is “taking its time” to consider the long-term future of gaming in Tasmania, Treasurer Peter Gutwein has said.

Federal Group is also behind Hobart’s $35 million, 114-room MACq 01 development on Macquarie Wharf.