$10m facelift coming to an end
28 August 2008
Four and half years of planning, a shade over $7.5 million from traders’ hip pockets, a year of construction sounds – now all that’s left is the all-singing, all-dancing relaunch of Hastings Street.
Come November, Hastings Street traders will gladly pop the bubbly on the close of the $10 million project.
Hastings Street Traders Association president Jim Berardo said he was very proud of the results.
Mr Berardo said one of the greatest challenges was convincing traders and council to invest when tourism was going through a rough patch, but any hesitation was quickly overcome once they saw the benefits.
“It was 15 years since it was last done,” he said.
“Now we have something very special to market.”
Mr Berardo said the design included stencilled concrete, public artworks, more seating and five shared zones, and all materials were a reflection of Noosa National Park.
“It’s all a matter of taste but I think in general people love the openness,’’ Mr Berardo said.
There’s a nifty change in parking arrangements, too.
As part of the former Noosa Council’s Scooter Strategy, shops and cafes were allowed to sacrifice a car space to make way for scooter or motorbike parking.
The majority of the streetscape was funded through a special levy introduced to Hastings Street and adjoining property owners and tourism operators, totalling $7.7 million.
Council contributed the remaining $2.1 million.
A planned relaunch party for the street will take place on November 28, 29 and 30.
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