Glenelg jetty redevelopment plan includes boutique hotel and public pavilion
A MULTI-MILLION dollar plan to return Glenelg jetty to its former glory and build a boutique hotel on its end is expected to be released within two months.
Consultant Mott MacDonald last week gave Holdfast Bay councillors a private briefing on the proposal, which includes extending the jetty to build a hotel, a public pavilion and possibly a marine research centre.
Mayor Stephen Patterson said detailed plans were expected to be presented to the council in the next couple of months.
“It’s very exciting because we can see the benefit for not only Holdfast Bay but for the broader South Australian community as well,” Mr Patterson said.
“We’re trying to make a really unique place to visit, not just in Adelaide, but in Australia.”
Mr Patterson said the project would need private and public investment and input from all levels of government to succeed.
“It’s not something the council could take on by itself.
“Once we’ve got more of a business plan built around it we’ll give briefings to local MPs.”
He said it was too early to put a timeframe on the project but he expected it to be complete within 10 years.
The Jetty Road Mainstreet Committeekickstarted the project in February last year by hiring Mott MacDonald to “further develop concept plans for their Glenelg jetty proposal” at a cost of $35,000.
Mott MacDonald was the company responsible for the design and project management of the $450 million Adelaide Oval upgrade.
Committee chairman Mark Faulkner said last week the group was still “100 per cent committed” to the vision.
“There’s still a long way to go with it but so far we’re feeling really positive,” Mr Faulkner said.
“It’ll get even more tourists here and it’s a big idea that will make us the number one destination for a jetty/pier in Australia.
“It’s really being modelled on the old jetty … Mott MacDonald are using that as an inspiration point.”
The original jetty, built in the 1850s, was 381m long.
Over the years it had tea rooms, public baths, an aquarium, a police shed and a three-storey kiosk built on it and became a popular attraction.
It was destroyed in a freak storm in 1948 and the 215m jetty that stands today was built in 1969.
Glenelg Historical Society has run a Rebuild Glenelg Jetty Facebook page since 2012.
Society president Jan Smith said she would love to see the jetty redeveloped but was concerned about a private hotel being built and blocking jetty access to the public.
“In any proposal that came forward I think we have to look to the history of what the jetty once provided,” Mrs Smith said.
“It was a public space which had all of those facilities and people would make a weekend of coming down.”
State Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said the government was open to discussing a redevelopment of the jetty with the council.
Source: Herald Sun - 23 March 2015
