Sea Temple plans hit the rocks
Juniper has abandoned plans to build a $175 million Sea Temple resort at Yorkey’s Knob in Cairns and has also put another proposed Sea Temple on hold, cancelling sales contracts of nearly $90 million, refunding deposits to 109 buyers for Cairns project.
Juniper Sales and Marketing Manager David Kortlang said that increased construction costs over the last 18 months and the shortage of labour in North Queensland were given as the main reasons for the decision on the Yorkey’s Knob site, with the company having gained a new development approval two months ago for the 3.69ha site for a 205-suite resort to be built in stages.
Mr Kortlang added that they still did not see that as being a viable situation and that the Company will consider very other opportunity available for the site.
Juniper has opened two Sea Temple resorts in north Queensland – one at Port Douglas in May and another at Palm Cove in August 2004, but the Yorkey’s Knob resort was to have been the biggest.
With buyers having signed contracts at an average price of $800,000, Mr Kortlang said it was not a shortage of buyers that led to the plan’s collapse.
Juniper has also put on hold its Sea Temple Juniper project on Magnetic Island off Townsville, with the Company saying that, no marketing had been done or contracts issued on that site.
The 5*Sea Temple brand is owned by Juniper, but operated by Mirvac Hotels & Resorts, with Mirvac Hotels Marketing and Communications Manager Linda Sweeney saying the two existing Sea Temple resorts had won industry awards and had been trading “extremely well”.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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