Former Shute Harbour Motel destroyed by Cyclone Debbie has sold for $2.65 million
The site of the Shute Harbour Motel, which was destroyed when Cyclone Debbie ripped through the Whitsunday region in 2017, has been sold to a NSW buyer who plans to transform it into a residential development.
The freehold site, located around 10 kilometres south-east of Airlie Beach, was sold by an expression of interest campaign run by Ray White’s Andrew Burke and Mark Beale for $2.65 million.
The Shute Harbour Motel operated for many decades before the cyclone hit in March 2017. Parts of the motel remain on the site and demolition work will be required by the new owner.
Longtime owner and local businessman David McInerney was looking to retire, Mr Burke said.
A report from AAP at the time of the cyclone indicated that his father had started the business around 50 years prior, while the Whitsunday Times reported that the property had been rebuilt in 1970 following Cyclone Ada.
Most recently the site, which is spread across two separate allotments, has been generating about $50,000 a year in income from a boat maintenance business that is leasing the lower portion of the 8199-square-metre block on an short-term basis.
The site’s mixed-use zoning allows for residential, tourist accommodation, business, retail and service industry applications.
Before the cyclone, Shute Harbour was best known as the port where guests would depart for the Whitsunday resorts. The local council has plans to restore the area as a transport hub.
The former motel site is located between the existing harbour facilities and a proposed marina, with its planned 109-room hotel, 395 marina berths and shops.
Mr Burke said interest in the property had come from those in the marine industry, land bankers and residential developers, with the onset of coronavirus restrictions in the final weeks having little impact on the campaign.
“The best two offers were very close in price – both parties submitted a best and final offer in contract form – and then the owner simply signed the best offer,” he said.
The buyer, a NSW resident who frequently holidays in the area, intends to keep some sort of marine operation on the lower block and develop residential accommodation on the upper half of the parcel – either units or a house that will take advantage of the sweeping views to the Coral Sea.
