$40m Mackay hotel and retirement project on cards

Plans are afoot for multi-million dollar shopping centre, retirement village and hotel development that would transform a vacant block in the northern suburbs of Mackay.

Local property developer Charlie Camilleri lodged a development application for the $40 million seven-storey hotel and retirement village with Mackay Regional Council late last month.

Camilleri is seeking preliminary approval for a retirement village and hotel at 194-202 Malcomson St, Mt Pleasant, on a site adjacent to the Mount Pleasant Shopping Centre.

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The retirement village and hotel would sit alongside a shopping centre on the same parcel of land, which is also yet to be built, but which Camilleri secured approval for two years ago.

Under the latest development application, Camilleri would build a 109-room, seven-storey retirement village complex that would also have a basement carpark and a separate 114-room, seven-storey hotel.

The development would be constructed on the 8687sqm site, with the retirement village to cover 1391sqm of the site, while the hotel will cover 1371sqm.

The hotel would include ground floor hotel services and amenities including a restaurant, gym, day spa and recreation facilities, with the proposed building to have a gross leasable area of 6290sqm.

The development will be spread across an 8687sqm site.

The retirement village would include a mixture of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units and common areas including a library, gym, cafe, storage and administration spaces covering a total GLA of 7865sqm.

It is understood that Camilleri has been in discussions with council about the proposed development for several years, after council initially knocked back his original proposal to build office blocks on the site.

I believe this time we’ve got traction going forward

Council is believed to be unhappy with the proposal, due to its desire to keep office workers within the Mackay CBD.

But Camilleri says he is confident the new proposal will be approved.

“After three or four years of debate and dialogue, this is what we’ve come up with,” Camilleri he says.

“You’ve got to have growth. I believe this time we’ve got traction going forward.”

He claims the project could inject $120 million into Mackay’s economy during construction and create 108 direct jobs.