Community
26 April, 2024
Towers ‘still alive’
LIKE the Anzac spirit, a dream to build high-rise residential towers and a new Cairns RSL Club on the city’s Esplanade is still alive.
The two tower proposal –which dates back to 2007 – has been given a two-year ministerial extension, granted for development applications caught up during COVID-19.
RSL subbranch president Nathan Shingles said “we are keeping it alive. It is not dead and buried … you never know.”
The original proposal was 11 floors of holiday apartments, including two level 15 penthouses, basement and three levels of car parking, a ground floor club with a gaming lounge, restaurant, bars, TAB, offices and function rooms. It also had Cairns Regional Council approval.
But Prime Constructions later advised the sub-branch in January, 2018 it was terminating negotiations for the RSL redevelopment.
It was later axed by the-then board. It caused a lot of animosity and division among senior board members after $1 million was spent on the project.
Mr Shingles said one of the key barriers was the land component which had to remain in RSL ownership. However, he said, any developer would want the land as part of the project – “but we can never let that happen”.
Mr Shingles said the project would probably cost $90 million today, double that of the original estimate.
In a letter to the council seeking an extension (not necessary for another two years), he said the RSL had encountered “unexpected and substantial increases in building costs, which have significantly affected the financial viability of the project within the originally anticipated timeline”.
“Such economic fluctuations were not predicted during the initial planning and approval phases,” Mr Shingles said.
“Secondly, our community and region have been impacted by recent natural disaster events, which have not only created immediate demands on our resources, but have also diverted our focus towards recovery and support efforts,” Mr Shingles said.
“As a not-for-profit organisation, our capacity to allocate funds towards the development project has been considerably strained in the short to medium term, leading to the need for a revised commencement timeline,” he said.
Mr Shingles said there was a possibility that Defence could get involved as it extended resources and personnel in the Far North.
“It is important to note that there could be potential interest from the Defence sector in utilising the development for defence accommodation, in line with the expected increase in defence personnel arriving in Cairns in the coming years,” he said in the letter.
“Should Defence decide to support the project, it is conceivable that we may be able to initiate the development earlier.
“However, such backing is not guaranteed at this stage, and we must plan on the basis of current circumstances.”
Mr Shingles said, if successful, the project would provide significant benefits, not only to RSL subbranch members, but also to the broader Cairns region.
