THE Scarborough beachfront was the site this week for the signing of a tourism promotion and the unveiling of a hotel upgrade, but the long-awaited redevelopment of the area is still some time off.
The City of Stirling has started preliminary site works in the area, but substantive work on the Scarborough Beach master plan will have to wait at least until after next year’s state budget.
The city is banking on a $30 million injection from the state towards the project’s estimated total cost of $60 million.
City of Stirling spokesperson Simone Holmes-Cavanagh said the project would go ahead regardless of the state government’s response, albeit at a slower pace if funding was not forthcoming.
“If the City of Stirling receives the $30 million it will go ahead rapidly, however if we don’t receive state government funding the speed of the project will be dictated by our funds and it will have to be staged,” she said.
“We’ll have to do what we can with what money we have; we might have to revisit the plans and the timings around them to determine whether or not the next stages go ahead or whether we have to scale it right back.”
Ms Holmes-Cavanagh said the foreshore development would start near the corner of Brighton Road and The Esplanade, and work its way up to the northern end of The Esplanade.
Whatever the funding arrangements, the redevelopment cannot start until after the Australian lifesaving championships, to be held at Scarborough in March 2014.
This week, at an event where Rendezvous Hotel Perth unveiled its first stage of renovations, the City of Stirling and Tourism WA signed a memorandum of understanding over the popular beach’s tourism potential.
Tourism WA chairman Peter Prendiville said Scarborough was of particular interest because it had the highest concentration of metropolitan accommodation outside the CBD.
A spokesperson for Tourism WA told WA Business News the memorandum would be up for review in two years and that its main role was to market upcoming events such as the surf lifesaving championships.
The Rendezvous Hotel Perth’s refurbishment includes renovation of its top four floors and a new lounge. The second phase of its redevelopment will involve the lobby, bar and restaurants.
Northerly Group, Built and Credentia Construction are among the companies to have tendered for the next stage of the project. The total value of the renovations is $65 million.
Other developments under way in Scarborough include the $13 million, 36-dwelling Bluewater, which is 60 per cent sold and scheduled for completion in January 2014.
Construction of two small bars, Café Spaggia and Zanders, is also under way.
A total of $180 million in other projects has been approved for construction.
Among these are a 49-dwelling development on Hastings Street, a 13-dwelling development on The Esplanade, and mixed-use projects on the old White Sands Tavern site, and in Filburn Street.
