NEWS DESK
Partnership to restore hotel Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au THE owner of the Continental hotel in Sorrento, Julian Gerner, has entered into a joint venture partnership with property developer, Steller. Under the terms of the deal Steller will refurbish and renovate the 1875 icon and then lease it back to Mr Gerner to run as a going concern. The announcement is likely to calm critics worried it might fall further into disrepair after lying idle since Mr Gerner took over from long-term owners the Di Pietro family in mid-2016 for a reported $13 million. Two years of inactivity at the gateway to the main street is “not a good look”, Sorrento-Portsea Chamber of Commerce vice-president Marc Clavin said. The National Trust-listed Ocean Beach Rd hotel built in 1875 by the “Father of Sorrento”, comedian, actor, entrepreneur and politician George Coppin, is believed to be the largest limestone building in the Southern Hemisphere. Since taking over Mr Gerner has won contentious planning approvals for extensive redevelopments behind the old pub, even getting the go-ahead to buy a rear car park for $1.98 million – a windfall which he described recently as the “missing link” in the hotel’s viable future. He now has a piece of the action in the $22 million redevelopment that will feature a public bar and bistro, restaurant, dining room and cham-
End of year THE Red Cross Sorrento/Portsea/ Rye Unit final meeting for the year starts at 11am at the Rye on Thursday 14 December. Members have made and donated food and Christmas cakes which, with cakes donated by the Lions Club of Rye and Sorrento, will be distributed to people being supported the Red Cross Refugee Centre in Dandenong. New members welcome. Call Coralyn Wickham on 5988 0880.
The gift of ‘light’
Picture: Yanni
pagne bar, two function rooms, 38 hotel rooms, cafe, gymnasium, day spa, 25-metre lap pool, deck, spa, sauna and steam room, car park and 16 apartments. Steller managing director Nicholas Smedley said “building works will complement and enhance the existing heritage and provide a landmark tourist destination for the Mornington Peninsula”.
“Sorrento has grown significantly over the past decade and continues to evolve with year-round population and tourism,” he said. “Steller has had a close eye on the historic hotel since Julian announced plans for restoration.” Mr Gerner said the “magnificent limestone building [is] deserving of restoration and preservation”. “I am very proud to be the new cus-
todian of the Continental hotel and to breathe life back into a Sorrento landmark,” he said. Work will start early next year with a completion date set for early in 2019. Mr Gerner took over the Beach Shack in 2013 and, since then, has opened the Norfolk Pines Wine Bar and Morgan’s Fish & Chipper. He lives in Sorrento with his wife and young family.
RAY White Real Estate will continue its tradition of giving with the return of ‘A Little Ray Of Giving’ for Christmas. Ray White Mornington will partner with Rotary and the Mornington Information Centre to help disadvantaged children who need “a little extra light” over the festive season. “This gift drive is a really simple way to help put a smile on the face of children and families who may need some extra cheer at this time of year”, Ray White Mornington director Wendy Gillies said. “All you need to do is wrap your present and drop it under the tree at your closest Ray White office and please mark, or let us know in person, if the gift is for a boy or a girl.” Ray White Mornington, Shop 5, 117-133 Main St, will have a giving tree in its front window where gifts can be left. Other Ray White offices are at Rosebud and Rye.
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For further information please contact Nicole Grace 03 5950 0800 207 Boneo Road, Rosebud VIC 3939 rcc.marketing@rosebudcountryclub.com.au www.rosebudcountryclub.com.au Southern Peninsula News
12 December 2017
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