Blacksmiths Forges Ahead
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday December 6, 2000
A $20MILLION resort development known as Paris by the Sea has been proposed for Blacksmiths.
The recreation and tourist facility is the brainchild of Swansea developer Malcolm Downie, who bought the 4.2ha site at 57 Pacific Highway in April from the Bahtabah Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Developer's spokesman Perry James, of Street Real Estate, said the 3- to four-star resort would provide an estimated 50 full-time jobs and more part-time positions.
It would cater for families as well as conferences in a building of up to 10 levels (a basement car park, a lobby level, five accommodation and two penthouse floors plus a small service level) on the north-eastern side of the site.
The hotel section would offer 86 serviced apartments comprising 10 four-bedroom, 53 two-bedroom, 20 one-bedroom motel-style and three three-bedroom penthouses as well as conference facilities, a restaurant and other support services.
Another 19 condominiums also offering serviced tourist accommodation would be separately located near the centre of the site.
Mr James said the units would be marketed by Street Real Estate to individual investors. The resort would then be managed by a hotel management group.
Street is also handling the sale of Mr Downie's other major development in the area, the Paris Apartments at Swansea. Mr James said 30% had already been sold off the plan.
Other features of the Blacksmiths development are a miniature golf course, separate backpackers' accommodation, providing 49 rooms, a tavern and road cafe and commercial tourist outlets.
Mr James said a skateboard park would be `the biggest in the world'.
He said the supervised park would be open to visitors and locals for a small fee and would offer everything from easy slopes through to a challenging U-shaped course for top riders, with stands for spectators.
A 25-metre lap pool, a tennis court and a pool shaped into a miniature Lake Macquarie surrounded by a display garden with plants for sale were other proposed features of the landmark development, served by 294 car parking spaces.
Mr James said the site was appropriately zoned for tourism. The development would be well back from the beach but still offer ocean views from the main resort building.
The site, Crown Land before being granted to the Bahtabah, is bounded by Belmont Golf Club to the north, Nine Mile Beach to the east, a flora reserve to the south and the Pacific Highway to the west. Belmont Aeropelican airport is across the highway, on the shores of Lake Macquarie.
Plans for the development, designed by Newcastle's EJE Architecture, were lodged with Lake Macquarie City Council this week.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald
