City ticks ‘Garden Inn’ lease

City of Busselton councillors have unanimously voted to approve the subleasing of prime real estate at the Busselton Foreshore precinct to make way for a Hilton “Garden Inn” development.

The City will seek a lease from the State Government at a cost of $1000 per year with a term of up to 65 years.

The cost of the sublease will be phased in starting at $1000 during the first year and increasing by $25,000 each year over a five-year period.

The proposed beginning of the sublease is January 1 next year with preliminary works conducted by the City of Busselton completed by April.

The 110-room four-star hotel will be built by Pacifica Development.

In June last year, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the City and Pacifica Hotel Holdings Pty Ltd to outline the intended legal structure and development terms of the project and each party’s roles and expectations.

Once complete the hotel will include luxury short-stay accommodation, meeting and board-room facilities, a north-facing rooftop function room with a viewing deck and food and beverage facilities.

However, the hotel plan only includes room for 30 parking bays on the busy foreshore precinct that will also include the Shelter brewery, other existing hospitality venues, The Youth and Community Activity Building, The Busselton Jetty and Busselton Entertainment Arts Cultural Hub.

It will be the first four-star hotel within Busselton’s city centre, which is expected to cater for business and leisure accommodation.

City of Busselton Mayor Grant Henley said the project would stimulate the Busselton CBD night-time economy and create local jobs.

“Council’s goal has been to enhance community infrastructure projects looking at the commercial benefits and jobs that can be derived from that investment. The microbrewery and hotel will be important tenants driving new jobs,” he said.

“Importantly the hotel will be the first significant accommodation premises in the town centre which will drive people to stimulate the night-time economy which is important to our main street as we evolve from a retail economy to a service economy for tourism.”

The “Garden Inn” is expected to be complete by August 2022.