Tenant found for Gateway
October 26, 2006
Section: News
PROGRESS toward the opening of the $5.8 million Southern Gateway tourism complex at Bulli Tops is another step closer.
On Monday, Wollongong City Council gave the green light to Tourism Wollongong to lease the site, the first of three leases to be issued with project partners Mid-Link (Australia) Pty Ltd and the Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation.
The lease will allow the city's peak tourism body to establish visitor operations at the Gateway as one element of the complex, which will also feature a restaurant and an indigenous interpretive centre.
Development approval for the complex was granted on July 26. Tenders for construction of the main building will be called soon from the expressions of interest earlier this year.
Lord Mayor Alex Darling said the issuing of the first lease agreement would eventually lead to three leases which would be submitted to the Department of Lands for final approval.
"Pending the Minister's decision, the result would be that we will be able to move forward to the next phase of the program knowing the necessary arrangements are in place for our partners to occupy the completed building," the Lord Mayor said.
"Council is certainly looking forward to the completion of the site, expected some time during 2007, in order to take advantage of the city's growing tourism market to further stimulate the local economy and provide further hospitality sector jobs."
The transformation of the 1.1 hectare site has been managed as a joint project between Council, Mid-Link (Australia) Pty Ltd which operated the former Horizons Caf? at the site, the Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation, and Tourism NSW.
In other Council news, the controversial proposal to allow an access road into the Sandon Point residential development will be placed on public exhibition.
Council approved the exhibition of plans to reclassify part of Thomas Gibson Park from community land to operational land to allow the construction of the road.
Labor councillors rejected Independent Councillor David Martin's rescission motion of September 25 to delay the extension of Wrexham Rd until further information was available on the upgrade of the bottom of Bulli Pass.