Last Wednesday, a ‘ground breaking’ ceremony was held at 116-118 Jonson Street, Byron, as the first soil was turned for the new Bonobo by Raes development.
Demolition of the Holiday Village Backpackers, located south of Mercato, has been underway since October 2022, says developer Podia and their joint venture partner, Centennial Property Group.
Prior to that, the buildings were made ‘available to flood victims for temporary crisis accommodation’.
The developers say, ‘Two upper levels will house 41 two, three and four bedroom hotel-apartments, which will be available for short-term letting, and will be managed exclusively by Raes. Raes is also curating the retail and food and beverage tenancies surrounding the large public courtyard on the ground floor’.
The developer’s spokesperson told The Echo the DA was approved unanimously by councillors in November 2021.
They said, ‘The staff report to Council’s Ordinary (Planning) Meeting of November 2021 said, ‘…while the height of the roof generally meets the 11.5m height limit, there are roof top elements that exceed it to a varying extent’.
‘The proposal was assessed by an independent design excellence expert engaged by Council to ensure compliance with the Design Excellence controls, contained in Byron LEP 2014, which were gazetted on August 20, 2021.
‘Of the 21 submissions received in response to the public exhibition of the DA, 19 were in favour, one raised issues which were subsequently resolved, and one was against’.
The development is expected to be completed at the end of 2024.
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