Following its $100 million purchase of the Novotel Twin Waters Resort in Queensland last month, The Shakespeare Property Group has revealed a further commitment to the region, announcing its latest project – a new, purpose-built convention centre for the Sunshine Coast.

The $8 million Convention Centre will be the destination’s pre-eminent event venue when it opens to local, interstate and international visitors in April 2019.

Shakespeare Property Group is planning to invest a total of $10 million dollars in upgrades to the resort and Convention Centre at Novotel Twin Waters Resort over the next couple of years.

Shakespeare Property Group CEO and Executive Director Yak Yong Quek, invited Sunshine Coast Mayor Mr Mark Jamieson, Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Simon Latchford and Jess Pugh MP, Member for Mount Ommaney (representing the Hon. Kate Jones, Minister for Innovation and Tourism Industry Development), and AccorHotels Vice President Operations QLD/NT Matt Young to turn the first sod and officially mark the start of construction.

“We are very pleased to form a strategic alliance with our partners in Queensland to deliver the Sunshine Coast this much-needed facility to capitalise on fresh opportunities in the business and events space,” Quek said.

“Our vision for continued development and investment in Queensland – not least of all here on the Sunshine Coast – is to create superior conference and accommodation options that supports overall economic and cultural growth for the communities we operate in.

“We are confident that further investment in infrastructure such as this will increase the capacity for the Sunshine Coast to attract significant events, conferences and exhibitions, with potential to cater to the domestic and international travel markets.”

The new-build centre, located within Novotel Twin Water Resort, will offer a choice of four different dynamic meeting and event spaces across 1,600sqm. It will cater for 2,000 delegates theatre style, or 1,000 banquet style.

The convention centre has been designed to seamlessly attach to the Wandiny Pavillion, an existing conference space located on the site. The Wandiny Pavillion can facilitate up to 1,200 delegates theatre style, or 75 exhibition booths (3×2 mtrs) making it an extremely versatile business events venue and taking the convention centre’s overall capacity to 3,400 people.

AccorHotels has also been announced as the preferred operator for the new convention centre.

AccorHotels Vice President Operations QLD/NT, Matt Young, said, “We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with Shakespeare Property Group with the management of the centre.

“AccorHotels are not just local hotel operators, but have strong experience in operating convention centres and premium meeting spaces at home and overseas.

“We are confident that this new convention facility, supported by our strong network of hotels in Queensland’s South East and beyond, will drive visitor growth to the Sunshine Coast, create jobs, support local businesses and deliver broader economic benefits to the region as a whole.”

Young added that Novotel Twin Waters Resort was the number one conference facility for the AccorHotels group in Queensland and the Northern Territory last year.

Shakespeare Property Group is an experienced hotel investor in Australia, with a string of projects in major centres along the east coast, including five hotels that equate to more than 1,200 rooms.

The convention centre is the group’s fourth major investment in Queensland in recent years, sitting aside its solid property portfolio which includes the recently renovated, Novotel Oasis Resort Cairns, Pullman Cairns International and Novotel Twin Waters Resort, all managed by Australia’s largest hotel group, AccorHotels.

The new convention centre and Shakespeare Property Group’s planned updates and improvements at the Novotel Twin Waters Resort comes at a time of renewed investment interest for the destination, including Bruce Highway updates for better accessibility from Brisbane, and new runway facilities for the nearby Sunshine Coast Airport to enhance the route for interstate travellers.

The convention centre project, which is being constructed by Hutchinson Builders and designed by Medhurst Architects, is expected to create more than 200 jobs during the construction phase, and a substantial increase of staff when fully operational.

For more information on the Sunshine Coast Convention Centre go here.