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Quest Serviced Apartments and new tavern for Wodonga
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Posted: 16/12/2011
A NEW $25 million development, incorporating Quest Serviced Apartments and a new tavern, will be built in Wodonga.
The Joss and Perry families will be co-developers of the new project, to be built on the current Scout Hall site in Reid St, opposite the RSL Wodonga Sub-Branch.
The new Quest Serviced Apartments in Wodonga will offer 80 studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments, while the yet-to-be-named tavern will have a community and corporate focus.
Wodonga Council's chief executive officer Gavin Cator said the council has been working with Bill Perry, a well-known publican and owner of the Wodonga Homemaker Centre, for a number of years and is pleased to have a terrific outcome for the city.
“A demand assessment part-funded by Tourism Victoria was carried out in 2007 which identified a need for high-quality accommodation in Wodonga's CBD,” he said.
“The assessment also identified the Scout Hall site as the best option for such a development.”
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A joint statement from Joss Group director Paul Joss and Bill Perry said: “The Joss and Perry families are pleased to join forces to develop this exciting project. The families see this development as an ideal partnership to contribute to the growth of Wodonga's business and cultural precinct.”
Mr Perry added that it was a “good team effort” to bring the development to fruition.
“It has been a journey and a lot of people have worked towards it,” he said.
“The Joss and Perry families thank the council for their professionalism and open communication. This would not have happened without the council recognising that it needed to.
“We want to build something we are proud of and something Wodonga will be proud of.”
Quest Serviced Apartments chairman Paul Constantinou said the company is very pleased to be bringing its second Quest property to the Albury-Wodonga area at a time when the region is experiencing such rapid growth.
“We open serviced apartment properties where business travellers seek quality, comfortable accommodation and Wodonga has been undersupplied for a long time,” he said.
“We have a very successful property in Albury and have been looking for the right opportunity in Wodonga for many years.
“Quest Wodonga will join almost 30 regional Quest Serviced Apartment properties across Australia and more than 140 properties in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. During the past 18 months, we've opened properties from Dubbo, NSW to Palmerston, NT for people travelling for business, working on projects or visiting friends and relatives.
“Filling this gap in other regional locations is a priority for our business going forward.
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“Quest has accommodated business and leisure travellers across Australia for more than 23 years and we understand what they need when travelling away from home. We look forward to working with the developer and the City of Wodonga to bring a new level of quality accommodation to Wodonga in the near future.”
Wodonga Mayor Cr Mark Byatt said this is a great day for the city.
“We have a number of major developments either occurring or in the pipeline, and the confirmation of this project is a significant sign of the confidence in the future of our city,” he said.
“Wodonga continues to experience strong residential growth, and it is great to see new employment opportunities being presented with this development.
“It is anticipated this development will add a minimum of 80 new jobs to the city.
“This follows on from the recent opening of the Woolworths plaza at White Box Rise Estate with 70 new jobs already, and the construction of the new Bupa headquarters on Melrose Drive, the TAFE driving facility at LOGIC, additions to Westmont Aged Care Services at Baranduda, and The Cube Wodonga development, to name a few, the future is taking shape and looks very strong for Wodonga.”
The planning application is expected to be submitted to the council early next year. A 12-month build is anticipated with the grand opening expected to occur prior to Easter in 2013.
