Moreton Bay welcomes new eco-hotel and wellness retreat
Published 24 November 2022
Moreton Bay Regional Council has given the green light to the region’s first eco lifestyle hotel and wellness retreat, addressing an urgent need for hotel rooms to meet growing tourism numbers.
The North Lakes Eco-Lifestyle Precinct, a five-storey hotel and wellness retreat, combines environmental awareness and education, community connections, and healthy lifestyles to create a unique eco-precinct.
The 112-room hotel will help fill the demand for more accommodation in the region, to support growing tourism numbers as well as the influx of visitors the 2032 Olympic Games will bring to Moreton Bay.
Maple Development Group will develop the $72mil Northlakes Eco Lifestyle Precinct, located at the corner of Anzac Avenue and Diamond Jubilee Way, and the project will deliver more than 150 jobs to the region.
Complete with a day spa, organic grocer, garden to table dining venues, regular recreational events and food trucks, a naturopathy, home and garden centre, the precinct will be transformed into a successful retail and tourism destination.
A boutique eco-hotel, the precinct will become an “oasis” for guests to relax and unwind, with indoor and outdoor spaces, natural lighting, breezeblock walls, a fire pit, outdoor yoga platform and plenty of greenery.
Mayor Peter Flannery said it was exciting to see the smart money already heading to Moreton Bay ahead of the Olympics, and enthusiastically welcomed the North Lakes Eco Lifestyle Precinct to the region.
“This is exactly the kind of investment I was hoping to attract to Moreton Bay when I went to the Australasian Hotels Industry Conference & Exhibition in Adelaide back in June to try attracting investors to our region,” he said.
“Not only is this a high-end and eco-friendly development, it will help to provide much needed accommodation for visitors in a tourism market that’s currently surging beyond expectation.
“We know Moreton Bay needs up to eight hotels and 1,035 hotel rooms by 2032, with four hotels needed by 2026, so this is an exciting start just five months after we put out the call for investors.
“Moreton Bay is an opportunity not to be missed. We now see double the number of annual visitors that Noosa does, with 4.3 million visitors in 2021, and the fact is we don’t have enough accommodation to meet demand.
“We currently only have 204 full-service rooms which has been exposed by a growing number of major events, festivals and sporting events such as KiteFest, the NRLW Grand Final, Abbey Festival, Jetty-2-Jetty, Taste of Moreton Bay Food & Wine Feastival, and many more.
“I applaud the team behind North Lakes Eco Lifestyle Precinct for being ahead of the pack, this investment marks another milestone on our goal to becoming Queensland’s $40 billion engine room.
“Developments like this will help push Moreton Bay closer to being among the top Queensland tourist destinations.”
The new North Lakes Eco Lifestyle Precinct will not only cater for these needs but create a unique, tourism destination that is aligned with Moreton Bay’s commitment to sustainability and ‘going green as we grow’.
A naturopathy centre to cater for home, garden and health care, a farmer’s market, wildlife rehabilitation shelter facility, community food gardens, a drive-through compost and garden waste drop off point support the precinct’s sustainable approach.
Maple Development Group’s Managing Director Nick Liu said they chose the Moreton Bay site because of the region’s surging tourism industry, lower operational and land costs, and proximity to Brisbane’s domestic and international airports and ports.
“It is exciting to see this project become an inviting and welcoming precinct for locals and visitors as well as getting a balance between the lifestyle and economic growth in the region; and we really appreciate the effective communication support from Moreton Bay Council on our project”, Nick said.
“We will now conduct a process to select the right international hotel brand to suit the location and our stunning property”.
The precinct is expected to be completed by mid-2026.
Mayor Flannery said council was continuing to ensure the momentum of the region’s tourism industry, having adopted a tourism incentive policy focused on hotel accommodation and experiences.
“This policy assists investors and developers with infrastructure charges,” he said.
“The new policy specifically supports targeted new hotels, tourist parks, resort complexes, short-term accommodation, nature based or major sport, recreation, and entertainment facilities in Moreton Bay.”
To find out more about the hotel industry opportunity in Moreton Bay, download Invest Moreton Bay’s Hotel Investment Guide, which provides investors with all the essential tools to navigate and understand the opportunities available.