Notorious, abandoned Queensland hotel for sale with $1 starting price

A notorious 66-room hotel that hasn’t operated for more than a decade has been listed for sale.

The Rockhampton Plaza Hotel at 161 George Street, Rockhampton City was put on the market after a court ordered the sale of the property.

The seven-storey hotel, which has been closed since 2014, was hit with a public health order last year to clean up the site after complaints about its rundown state.

Listing images show many of the hotel’s windows have been boarded up, while others on the upper level have been smashed.

Temporary fencing surrounds the site, with the gardens heavily overgrown and the swimming pool partially filled with green water.

The hotel was opened in 1977 and was purchased by businessman James Chang in 1996 through his company Chang Holdings Pty Ltd.

In 2019, Mr Chang pitched an ambitious plan for the site, which involved constructing a 38-storey skyscraper costing $1.6 billion.

However those plans never eventuated and the hotel was left to fall into a state of disrepair.

The vacant hotel has since become notorious for trespassing, squatting, vandalism and drug use, and there have been countless calls to clean up or redevelop the site.

Last year the Rockhampton Regional Council sought a public health order to clean up the property, which had become strewn with waste, erecting temporary fencing to prevent public access.

Mr Chang has been previously ordered to pay more than $200,000 in unpaid rates as well as more than $44,000 in fines relating to fire safety breaches. 

The rubbish-strewn site is surrounded by temporary fencing and windows have been boarded up to prevent tresspassing. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

The property is being marketed by Lloyds Auctions in conjunction with Ray White.

Lloyds Auctions chief operations officer Lee Hames said the property was a “magnificent development site”.  

“We’re excited to bring it to market and pass it on to someone who could do something awesome with it,” he said.

“It comes with full support of the Rockhampton community as it’s been a bit of an eyesore for the past couple of years.”

The 4047sqm site is expected to be redeveloped, with the existing hotel demolished. Picture: realcommercial.com.au/buy

Mr Hames said it was likely that the eventual buyer would demolish the hotel and start fresh.

“The right developer might be to work with the bones of the building but I would expect it will be knocked down and redeveloped,” he said.

Rockhampton is set to host rowing and canoeing events on the Fitzroy River as part of the 2032 Olympic Games and there have been concerns about a lack of short-term accommodation in the region.

“We see that as an opportunity,” Mr Hames said. “There will be demand and we expect that demand to increase closer to 2032.”

The Rockhampton region hosts 641,000 domestic visitors and 30,000 international visitors per year, according to Rockhampton Regional Council.

The hotel will be sold at auction on 21 May. Mr Hames said the auction would be held onsite and simulcast online, with bidding starting at $1.