CANBERRA based family company BACE Project Management has honored its commitment earlier this year to invest in the improvement of Cooma, with the former youth hostel project set for handover next week and design work to develop commercial and residential facilities on the old Dodds Hotel site progressing.
Director Claudio Alarcon told The Monaro Media Group the company was delighted to hand over the keys to a Snowy Hydro subsidiary for a long term lease on the former backpackers on the corner of Massey and Dawson streets, after unexpected delays.
"We had hoped to have it ready for the start of the winter snow season, but we had a few issues, so work was delayed," he said.
"We literally gutted the whole place, everything is brand new, new plumbing, electrical, and it has been finished at a very high level.
"There was a four month delay because of fire compliance issues which had to be resolved but we are now going through the final stages of paperwork and it will be ready in the first or second week of October and will be handed over to a long lease tenant who has taken it on board for the next four to five years."
Mr Alarcon said the building, which had been used for many purposes over the years including a backpackers, had been renamed The Cottage on Massey Street and had a new life as an upmarket accommodation facility.
"It used to have seven or eight large rooms, which have been converted to 10 rooms with ensuites and a large communal kitchen area, two ovens, two cooktops and a laundry facility with two washers and two dryers and a powder room," he said.
"There is also now a one bedroom studio apartment, self contained, in the same building."
The whole property will be leased out privately to a subsidiary of Snowy Hydro foir private accommodation but once the lease was complete, could potentially be used as a high end bed and breakfast.
Next project for Bace is the dilapoidated Dodds Hotel on Commissioner St, which the company purchased earlier this year.
"We are looking at developing a new precinct, with a hotel and the first set of high end apartments for Cooma," Mr Alarcon said.
"It should comprise a 44 bed hotel room and 62 apartments with commercial space below, 1500 square metres on the Commissioner St side.
"We have got to go through the approval process, but if all comes to fruition we will look at late 2026 to start building.
"We will seek expressions of interest in the commercial side and apartments for downsizers, investors, to sale, relatively soon."
Mr Alarcon said the company was also currently pricing a couple of prospective projects for local clients and was definitely open to any new projects if people were looking at them, residential or commercial."
"We are doing our best to achieve the goals and it all comes down to the market and what they are saying," he said.