Developers of a new 156-room hotel at The Mill are hopeful it will be open for business by early 2020.
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A massive development application submitted to Wagga City Council details plans for the six-storey building, which will dwarf the nearby International Hotel. However, the developers will need council to lift height restrictions for the area, with the proposed block standing almost as tall as the old grain silos.
Estimated to cost close to $28 million, the final stage of The Mill development will also include a two-storey commercial building in front of the hotel, a landscaped plaza and 237 car parking spaces.
Project manager Michael Stokes said negotiations with an operator were still underway, but the developers were convinced there was a market for the hotel.
“Wagga is the centre of the Riverina… this is about recognising the city as the engine room of the region,” Mr Stokes said.
“You’ve got solid performance at the airport, solid performance of Charles Sturt University, the new hospital drawing doctors and specialists, government services and industries that serve southwest NSW… there’s a lot of business travel occurring.
“The operator has asked us to make it bigger than we originally thought, they’re convinced this is one of the most appropriate locations in NSW for their drive into regional areas.”
Destination Riverina Murray boss Richie Robinson welcomed the scale of the development and said it would be one of the largest hotels in the region.
“We think this reflects the level of activity and number of events we’ve been seeing in Wagga over the past few years,” Mr Robinson said.
“Wagga plays an important hub and spoke role in the Riverina and anecdotally we’re seeing an increase in key areas like business and travel.”
A significant part of the development application focused on preserving the facade of the heritage mill and grain store, while the interiors will be repurposed into restaurants, function rooms and apartments.
Mr Stokes hoped construction could begin by March or April next year, with the hotel opening to the public in 2020.
International Hotel owner Joel Berrigan gave the developers credit for being proactive in creating more tourist accommodation.
“They’re investing $28 million in Wagga, who wouldn’t want someone like that in town?” Mr Berrigan said.
“I’d rather (this development) was done 10 years too early than 10 years too late… (and) I think this will put more pressure on state and local governments to look at Wagga and ask ‘why not’.”