Urban reveal: Gurner release teaser of Port Douglas project, The Davidson by Gurner
Tim Gurner has revealed what his development firm, GURNER™, is creating at their huge Port Douglas site.
He's already had the green light from the Douglas Shire Council for four luxury homes at 69-73 Murphy Street, and now he's revealed his plans for a mixed-use hotel and residential villa development on Davidson Street, just behind the Sheraton Mirage.
GURNER secured three adjoining sites last year, 97-113 Davidson Street, paying just under $18 million to create a near 26,000 sqm block.
One of the sites was the Port Douglas Pandanus Tourist Park Caravan Park, and another the award-winning Dougies Backpackers Resort Port Douglas.
GURNER has had local architecture firm Hunt Design to create what is being called The Davidson by GURNER™.
They weren't giving too much away in the near 1,000 page application, only a few teaser images of the central pool, the focal point of the development.
Described as more of a lagoon, the ocean pool will have a beach, a swim up pool bar, and an island in the water.
Around the pool will be a kids club, with play area and separate pool, a treatment space, yoga room, a lounge, a cafe, and a separate restaurant and dining space.
Flanking the pool will be a 107-room hotel, a mix of Garden Suites and Poolside Suites. The ground floor Garden Suites have private access to another pool, exclusively for guests. Each Garden Suite room is 40 sqm, with a further 14 sqm of balcony space. The Poolside Suites are a touch larger.
The low-rise hotel will also home a sky bar on level three.
45 private villas then complete the resort-style development, on blocks ranging in size from 155 sqm to 470 sqm. There are six different configurations of villas, each two levels. They will have three or four bedrooms and their own pools.
In their planning submission, Hunt Design said The Davidson by GURNER™ is the touchstone for a new era for the tourism industry in Port Douglas.
"From the outset, the GURNER™ brief to Hunt Design was to actualise the developer’s vision whilst being respectful of the objectives of the town plan," the planning application read.
"The proposed luxury hotel and private homes are demonstrative of this objective being attained."
Hunt said the vision by GURNER™ is to reinstate Port Douglas as the most desirable tourism destination in Australia.
"Excellence in design and execution will propel “The Davidson by GURNER™” to become a new benchmark for luxe travel in Australia, as measured against the best in the world.
"Elements such as the integrated swimming lagoon at the epicentre of the Luxury Hotel will capture the imagination and vibe of a Beach Club."
Hunt also wrote in their submission there is a trend of developers moving away from fully hotel-precincts and creating a mix of hotels and private residences.
"The tourism accommodation industry is continuing to evolve with a shift away from conventional hotels with a collection of rooms and suites to a model with a wider range of accommodation types, including more conventional private homes.
"This is clearly manifested on examining premium operators such as Four Seasons, where they now have in the order of 47% of their inventory being what they term as 'Residences'.
"Such private homes span several typologies ranging from Villas with varying bedroom counts through to stand alone mansions.
"GURNER™ have determined that their intention is to deliver a product meeting contemporary expectations of high-end luxury hotel brands which in turn resonates with sophisticated travellers.
"Part of the residential product is tailored towards absentee owners that may visit numerous times a year and have the choice to enjoy a rental income from the letting of their luxury home at other times.
"To that end the Hunt Design Master Plan captures this ethos with a luxury hotel located in the centre of the site flanked by Private Homes on both sides, draped around an internal private driveway."
Hunt said the hotel is poised to propel Port Douglas back into the heady days when the Sheraton Mirage put the Village on the “must do list” of visitors from around the world.
"The catalytic effect of the Sheraton Hotel cannot be understated.
"It spawned a raft of new tourism projects in the town and set the upper benchmark.
"The Davidson by GURNER™ will do the same. It will recalibrate the premium tourism product in the village …. And within the Region."
GURNER™ have steadily increased their footprint in Queensland, with their $1.7 billion, four-tower development La Pelago the cornerstone of their expansion. They also have a site in Burleigh Heads where they are planning a 22-level project with 80 apartments.
Read more: Exclusive first look: Tim Gurner lodges Burleigh Heads apartment plans
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