Hotel bid revealed: Build us an ‘icon’

Alex de Vos
Developers plan to build an “iconic” hotel adjacent to the start of the Great Ocean Road in Torquay.
The plan for a three-storey hotel at 2-4 Geelong Road has 36 apartments, covered parking for 33 cars, a reception centre and a manager’s residence.
But Surf Coast Shire’s planning department has told the architect to go back to the drawing board and come back with a plan befitting the site, opposite the roundabout at the start of the Great Ocean Road.
The planning department recommended dumping the proposal for a “more iconic design”.
“The subject land is in an iconic location,” a planning department report said.
“The application represents an appropriate use but an inappropriate development.
“A smaller-scale tourist development would lend itself more appropriately to this site.”
Objectors said the development would restrict views, create a traffic bottleneck and had potential for expansion.
Project architect Jim Bufton, of Torquay, was reluctant to comment, saying it was “too early” to know what the proposed hotel might look like. “The decision has been deferred – they (the planning department) have asked for an iconic design,” Mr Bufton said.
The planning department’s ruling on the Geelong Road project followed motoring giant RACV releasing plans for a $90 million redevelopment of nearby Torquay Golf Club.
The proposal featured a resort-style hotel with 70 rooms and a range of recreational facilities including a swimming pool, tennis courts, a gymnasium, a kids’ games room, a day spa and a “wellness” centre.
The RACV would rebuild all tees and greens on the 18-hole golf course and install a new irrigation system. Other features were a 170-plus seat restaurant and cafe, a conference centre and function rooms for about 200 patrons.
RACV managing director Colin Jordan said completion of the redevelopment could take nine years.
“Facilities and services will progressively open as the works are completed,” Mr Jordan said.
“RACV is particularly pleased with the proposed architectural design, showing an environmentally sensitive structure that blends almost seamlessly with the surroundings.
“The design vindicates our decision to appoint a top-class Australian architectural firm to this project.”