Gurner, who has announced a string of high-end residences and hotels, visited Geelong last week and floated the idea of a 20 to 30 level six-star hotel on the pier that was bought in 2005 by prominent Geelong identity, the late Frank Costa.
The pier is less than a block from the Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre which is expected to open next July.
Gurner met with Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj and Costa’s widow, Shirley, to discuss the joint venture partnership to redevelop the 170 year-old Cunningham Pier before writing about his plans on LinkedIn.
“Gurner Group to create Australia’s most unique project on the 330m long Cunningham Pier and create a true global icon,” he wrote.
“We are truly humbled and feel a huge sense of obligation to do something incredibly special on what we know is one of Australia’s most important landmarks – a heritage icon over 330m long where we will be building a world leading piece of design to put Australia and Geelong further on the map.”
He compared the project with the Santa Monica pier in California and the Dubai waterfront, saying: “Imagine owning a piece of history 20-30 levels above the water 330m from land”.
He announced an international design competition to find the world’s best proposal for the project.
Gurner also suggested the development would retain public access to the pier and provide hospitality facilities including bars, restaurants and public event spaces, and went further to suggest a cruise terminal could potentially be part of the project.
Geelong is the new home to the passenger and vehicle ferry service to Tasmania and has also hosted international cruise ships. The city council recently updated a masterplan for the waterfront, calling for public comments before a revised plan is released, expected to be in December.
In addition, Gurner, also behind St Moritz in St Kilda and the $1.7 billion Elysium Fields proposed for Docklands, announced that a $300 million mixed-use residential and hotel redevelopment of the 153 year-old Dennys Lascelles wool store on Geelong’s Brougham Street will also proceed with sales commencing in 2026. The project was first unveiled in 2022.
