Global investment firm Pro-invest Group has started construction on the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sunshine Coast in the heart of the new Maroochydore CBD.
Pro-invest Co-CEO Jan Smits said the new nine-storey hotel on First Avenue, Maroochydore would feature 181 rooms, a roof-top swimming pool, bar and dining venue, conference and function facilities, parking and ground-level retail space.
The hotel will employ up to 1500 people during the construction phase and 30 full and part time staff will be required when the hotel is operational.
“We believe Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sunshine Coast is a great addition to Maroochydore, particularly as the region transitions from a largely leisure-based to a more diversified market with major growth in businesses establishing themselves in the city centre to take advantage of the large-scale infrastructure projects currently underway,” Mr Smits said.
“The Holiday Inn Express brand is ideal for the destination as its midscale positioning will make it highly-suitable for targeting business, meetings and leisure travellers,” he said.
Pro-invest and IHG Hotels & Resorts have enjoyed a highly successful partnership in Australasia over the last decade, with 11 Holiday Inn Express hotels open or in the pipeline, as well as two voco hotels in Auckland and Brisbane and a Hotel Indigo in Brisbane, all of which will open later this year.
“In alignment with our commitment to sustainability, the hotel had been designed to achieve a 5 star NABERS rating, making it the first hotel on the Sunshine Coast to achieve this,” Mr Smits said.
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National construction company Minicon has been engaged to undertake the construction scheduled to finish in May, 2022.
Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson said Pro-invest’s commitment was another vote of confidence in the Maroochydore City Centre and the Sunshine Coast.
“Our Council is very pleased to see this project come out of the ground, at a time when we are encouraging opportunities to support the recovery of our tourism and hospitality industries,” he said.
“This project will provide a significant economic boost to the region with up to 1500 people working on the project during construction as well as 30 full and part time staff employed when the hotel is operational.
“Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sunshine Coast will be an important part of the Maroochydore CBD precinct and will offer brand new, quality hotel accommodation in the heart of our region’s new city centre,” Mayor Jamieson said.
SunCentral Maroochydore Chief Executive Officer John Knaggs said the development was the fourth major construction project to have commenced within the first stage of the Maroochydore CBD.
“There’s multiple tower cranes and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of investment currently underway within the Maroochydore CBD, it’s a real hive of activity and it is pleasing to see so many tradespeople and suppliers working onsite each day to create a lasting legacy for future generations,” Mr Knaggs said.
