Pub group LocalsCo has lodged an application for the first stage of a major hospitality play including the art deco Geraldton Radio Theatre in the port town’s west end.
Pub group LocalsCo has lodged an application for the first stage of a major hospitality play including the art deco Geraldton Radio Theatre in the port town’s west end.
The move comes month after the group won a $5 million grant from the first round of the state government’s $285 million Investment Attraction Fund in May.
The grant was awarded to Burt Cooper, a company owned by hoteliers Dave Allan And Lawson Douglas, whose group LocalsCo have become significant pub owners since starting out in 2013 with the Exchange Hotel.
The group now owns six pubs, including the The Rose Hotel in Bunbury, The Subiaco Hotel and Bayswater Hotel.
Their company Margland acquired about 1.6 hectares of land including the theatre site in 2021 for $2.4 million.
Margland director Blair Armstrong, who is leading the project, said the development application was lodged this week for the first stage of the development using the portion of the land along Fitzgerald Street which includes the largely derelict former theatre.
The application includes redeveloping the theatre into a food and beverage offering while some serviced accommodation is intended on an adjacent block.
The rest of the area will remain undeveloped for now, although the former Blue Heelers tavern site has been activated with a partnership between social enterprises Euphorium Creative, Pollinators Inc, and developer ADA Capital, to develop a creative industries hub as well an experimental market space.
Mr Armstrong said that while a lot of the area had become run down it had also had attractions.
"A lot of good boutique cafes and restaurants are along that stretch that we call the arts and cultural end of Geraldton," he said.
According to the state government's announcement is estimated the project will involve about $16 million in capital investment and create more than 130 full time direct and indirect jobs, as well as be a catalyst to further investment and development opportunities.
Stage one will include a providore retail space showcasing fresh regional produce and seafood, a family-friendly food and beverage venue, and reroofing the headspace Geraldton building, which will provide approximately 400 square metres of office or function space.
