The development would have completely transformed the top end of the Orange central business district.

Someone along the way even said the proposal had a bit of a Melbourne feel to it, mixed in with a little bit of Double Bay.

However, Orange's little Double Bay isn't the only project in the heart of the city that has seemingly stalled.

At least five other proposed motel and hotel developments in the CBD have been greenlit but have failed to come to fruition.

Work on the old Australia Cinema building has begun, but it is purely demolition at this point. And anyone who's walked along Lords Place recently will know the demo hasn't gone far at all. It's a real mess.

While, and perhaps more curiously, the rich Prince Street development, too, next to the Ian Armstrong Building remains a vacant block of land.

That's despite millions-of-dollars worth of real estate attached to the project already being sold.

These bumper, multi-million dollar developments appear pretty hard to get off the ground. Which is a real issue.

Orange is a growing tourism destination. Since COVID, when everyone's stay-cations pushed them out west, the colour city's reputation as a destination has ballooned.

It's hard to find a bed for visitors, and as such it doesn't take much for the full-house sign to go up ahead of the weekend, let alone a time that includes an event like FOOD Week.

So when these kinds of projects, like the one on Summer Street, seemingly vanish into thin air it's a real blow for the city.

Elsewhere, work is yet to begin on a luxury motel at 273-281 Peisley Street, a motel opposite KFC, at 14 and 16 Elizabeth Street, a hotel at 16 McNamara Street and a motel opposite Orange Courthouse, at 245 Lords Place.

Any of these projects has the potential to be a game-changer for Orange.

However, at the moment, all we can do is dream ... just without the extra beds when we could really do with them.

This cracking snap of Brinn and Anita Jackett ahead of the 2024 Shitbox Rally is my snap of the week.

Good luck to you both as you take the Magic School Bus across the Nullabor!

Enjoy your Sunday,

Nick McGrath, editor

HAVE YOUR SAY: Send us a letter to the editor by emailing: nick.mcgrath@centralwesterndaily.com.au