Sold Hotel – 12 APOSTLES HOT SPRINGS & RESORT
HTL Property and Stonebridge Property Group have sold a 79-hectare freehold site at the doorstep of one of Australia’s most iconic and visited tourist destinations; The 12 Apostles.
Designed by Neil Architecture, The 12 Apostles Hot Springs & Resort is shovel ready, with permits in place to deliver a natural bathing experience plus multiple food and beverage outlets and a luxury wellness resort.
The project has been significantly de-risked with planning approval, a thermal bore license, EPA approval and a conditional State Government grant for over $7 million.
The Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles are widely renowned as two of Australia’s most significant tourism icons, with more than 7.4 million people passing through the region annually and 2.2 million visiting the 12 Apostles each year. The project only requires a very small catchment of those visitors to underpin the projected visitation and trade rates modelled by the project team.
Projections see the resort thriving year-round – hot spring bathing promotes the concept of hot and cold therapy which is an experience that can be carried out 365 days of the year.
“The 12 Apostles is one of the most visited regional tourism attractions in Australia, but there is limited accommodation, or other complimentary experiences in the precinct, making this an incredibly rare development and business opportunity,” says Stonebridge National Partner, Julian White.
“With both domestic and inbound tourism levels rebounding sharply, experiential assets with unrepeatable magnets such as the inimitable 12 Apostles are as rare as they are sought after investment opportunities. And in respect of both the scale and dress circle positioning of this development, I can’t recall a more compelling long term tourism investment so meticulously curated for a successful purchaser,” adds HTL Property Managing Director, Andrew Jolliffe.
Not only has the Government recognised the importance of this project through its award of the grant, it has already commenced construction on a new, architecturally designed visitor viewing area at a cost of $9.2 million. In addition, the Shipwreck Coast Masterplan includes a total of $108m of State and Federal government expenditure to enhance the 12 Apostles experience for the millions of visitors that come to this iconic location which will include a brand-new state of the art visitor centre for the 12 Apostles.
The project itself has 4,092sqm of Gross Floor Area (GFA), made up of:
• 3,363sqm of state-of-the-art bathing facilities
• Up to 150 luxury eco-pods for accommodation
• A twelve-room spa catering to public and resort guests
• Conference facilities for corporate and private events
• Multiple food and beverage operations
• An amphitheatre and visitor centre
• Ample on-grade car parking
The project has been designed to be environmentally sustainable and to respect the pristine nature of the site and its surrounds. The natural hot spring allows for no significant heating of pool water and the water used for bathing is then re-injected back into the aquifer making the resource renewable & sustainable. Water from the bore can also have minerals removed and used for irrigation throughout the site.
A significant kitchen garden and nursery also forms part of the project.
