Plans for a huge new hotel in the centre of Orange appear to have fallen through. It's reflective of a wider trend.
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Investors behind the proposed 98-room complex around Summer Centre village have pulled funding, Orange City Council was told last month.
Costing an estimated $25 million, the CBD site would have been the largest hotel in Orange. Renders suggest multiple retail outlets were planned on the ground floor.
"[This is] bringing a Melbourne laneway vibe with a hint of Italian piazzas, and a little bit of Double Bay," developer Paul Saunders said in 2021.
At least five other proposed motel and hotel developments in the CBD have been greenlit but since stalled.
"There's a pattern here; Approvals [are granted], and then nothing happens," council CEO David Waddell said.
Work is yet to begin at the:
Development on the Australia Cinema hotel at Lords Place also appears to have come to a standstill after a flurry of demolition activity. In February the Central Western Daily reported work is 103 Prince Street is also yet to begin.
This is despite demand for accommodation remaining sky high.
Every bed in Orange has been booked out multiple times already this year, including for the Running Festival and FOOD Week.
Michael Banks of Banksia Building told the Central Western Daily surging building costs, labour shortages and interest rates are putting the brakes on development in Orange.
"My suggestion would be that the biggest influence on these projects not going ahead is the price escalation," he said.
"Materials have definitely gone up in the last three years ... by something like 40 to 50 per cent.
"It could be a two-year process from buying a block of land to getting an approval ... then it doesn't stack up anymore."
The CWD has reached out to developers of the above projects for further information on plans. This story will be updated when it becomes available.