Plans for beachfront hotel revealed as State Government secures buyer for Albany’s Middleton Beach hotel site

Middleton Beach will once again be home to a hotel after the State Government announced it had secured a buyer for the 3700sqm beachfront hotel site.

Premier Mark McGowan flew to Albany today to announce a consortium between Pacifica Developments and Ausglobal Group would develop a “four-star-plus” hotel with 80 to 100 rooms.

The hotel would stand between five and seven storeys high, forming the centrepiece of DevelopmentWA’s vision for a “world-class” Middleton Beach Activity Centre.

It would be operated by the WA-owned Seashells Group, which has accommodation facilities in Perth, Mandurah, Scarborough, Broome and Yallingup.

“I am delighted to announce the next step in what is sure to be a landmark development for Albany.

“My Government has prioritised efforts to find a hotel developer to deliver a quality new hotel at the Middleton Beach, which will deliver huge benefits for tourists and locals alike.

“The work being done to prepare the Middleton Beach Activity Centre site for development has already led to work for local contractors and, together with the work on the new hotel, is expected to create some 180 construction jobs as these projects take shape.

“When complete, the Middleton Beach precinct will generate dozens of new employment and training opportunities in the region’s growing hospitality and tourism industry.”

Middleton Beach was previously home to the Esplanade Hotel, which was built by entrepreneur Paul Terry in 1991.

After Mr Terry died in a freak helicopter crash in Hawaii in 1993, the site was sold to a Singaporean development company which demolished the hotel in 2007.

Construction at the Middleton Beach Activity Centre is set to begin in mid-2021 with six multi-storey innovative townhouses on the site of the old hotel were announced by DevelopmentWA in July.

The designs for the new-mixed use housing were revealed yesterday.

Designed with local architects PTX, the double purpose, double-plus storey homes called duettes will be a first for DevelopmentWA.

The buildings will have two separate entrances with the ground-floor designed to be used as a workplace but suitable for use as a separate apartment for “multi-generational or tenanted living”.