Dog Rock Motel expansion plan to add 30 apartment-style rooms and rooftop function room

Dog Rock Motel would add 30 rooms in a new three-storey building under plans before City of Albany council. The new building would focus on self-contained apartment-style accommodation and feature a rooftop event space. It would take the motel’s total capacity to 110 rooms. Owner Neville Buss said the project had been in the works for more than four years, with the Advertiser first reporting on a proposed $8.5 million addition in June 2017. Those plans were approved before funding and COVID got in the way. Modified plans were lodged with the council late last month. The building would sit between the motel’s existing administration area and Burt Street. Mr Buss said he hoped it would expand their clientele and attract more families. “It will give people an option to stay in town,” Mr Buss said. “There’s quite a lot of accommodation like that out by the beach, but there’s not a lot of that type of accommodation right in the centre of town.” Plans created by CBD Architects, and led by designer Roberto Forgione, include a rooftop function room and barbecue area on top of the second storey. “People can rent it out, they can have a party up there or they can have a boardroom meeting up there,” Mr Buss said. The exterior of the existing buildings, all but eight of which have been renovated inside, would also be upgraded to match the new addition. The amended plans have been lodged with the City of Albany and are open to public comment until 12.40pm on June 15. In its proposed form, the development would require variations to the City’s planning framework because of issues such as a shortfall of car parking bays and inadequate setbacks. City planning and building services manager Jan Van Der Mescht said depending on issues raised during the public comment period, the item would either be referred to the council or progressed under officer delegation. “Should the proposal be approved, then the proponent will need to apply for a building permit for the development to commence,” Mr Van Der Mescht said. The Dog Rock Motel project comes at a busy time for Albany tourism, with the $27 million Hilton Garden Inn opening in November, a new $30 million hotel on the horizon for Middleton Beach and and a luxury resort planned for Frenchman Bay. Mr Buss said he thought that in a sense, the COVID-19 pandemic had helped Albany’s hospitality industry, with the motel now busier than before the pandemic. “To be honest, I think COVID in a strange way has helped because when people couldn’t leave the State, they were all travelling up and down (WA) and I think a lot of people discovered Albany,” he said. “And instead of just staying one or two nights, people are staying two weeks and things like that. “When they’re leaving they’re all saying ‘geez, I didn’t realise it was so nice down here, we’ll be back’.” Mr Buss said he thought the demand experienced during the pandemic would “ease off” now the borders were open. “But one thing’s for sure, I think it will be busier than it was pre-COVID,” he said. “And I think the word has got out that Albany’s a beautiful place.”