Vast Modewarre site with plans for $500m sports, tourism hub seeks investor

CORA is a $500m international sports and tourism precinct proposed for a site in Modewarre, south-west of Geelong.

Proponents of a $500m international sports and tourism precinct southwest of Geelong are seeking a new investor to turn the project into a reality.

The 190ha Modewarre site for the Cape Otway Road Australia (CORA) project has zoning approval, an endorsed master plan and an anchor tenant, with international tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou’s anticipated to set up the first Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the southern hemisphere.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Noral Wild and Gabe Lindquist are heading the international expressions of interest search for the “large scale opportunity”, offered as a chance to “shape the next era of Australian sport, wellness, education, hospitality and regional development”.

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The property is the linchpin in the CORA precinct, which is described as a fully envisioned, planning-approved platform where high-performance sport sits alongside global education pathways, hospitality, wellness, nature-based tourism and environmental restoration.

The property at 1300 Cape Otway Rd, Modewarre comes to market following two other acreage properties which are listed jointly through HF Richardson Property’s Matt Poustie and Colliers Geelong agents Chris Nanni and Jonathon Lumsden.

The latter properties at 10 and 50 Connies Lane, Modewarre, combine 32.05ha, which are owned by a separate vendor, are listed with a combined price guide of circa $8.1m.

The main property at 1300 Cape Otway Rd, Modewarre, has been listed for sale.

More than $17m has been invested over eight years in enabling works, planning, and design, including significant state and federal government contributions on CORA.

No further public consultation is required and only ministerial sign-off needed for future stages, the delivery pathway is de-risked, and the site is exempt from Windfall Gains Tax.

While the Mouratoglou Academy is the first major confirmed tenant, the approved masterplan provides flexibility for additional uses, including elite sports facilities, a sports science hub, luxury lodges, a hotel, restaurants, retail village, cultural and events spaces, conservation areas, fitness and wellness amenities, plus agriculture ventures such as a vineyard and cellar door.

Phase One is to be anchored by luxury lodges, delivering a world-class racquet club and expand into the southern hemisphere’s first full Mouratoglou Tennis Academy.

International tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou is anticipated to set up the first Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the southern hemisphere at the CORA precinct.

CORA co-founder Daryl Pelchen said the project was always conceived as a global destination for sport, wellness and education, servicing the rapid economic growth of the Asia Pacific region and Australia’s strong domestic markets.

“From the outset, the masterplan was deliberately structured to aggregate a mosaic of complementary uses across a single site, creating a diversified and resilient platform with multiple revenue streams,” he said.

“As co-founders, we are excited that the process being led by Cushman & Wakefield will bring the right long-term capital and expertise to realise the full potential of the project and deliver an exceptional outcome for the region.”

The Comprehensive Development Zone land is structured into five precincts that can be delivered in stages.

Neighbouring farms at 10 and 50 Connies Lane, Modewarre, are part of the comprehensive development zone established for the CORA precinct. A separate vendor has listed the properties for sale.

The location leverages the Surf Coast’s proximity to the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne and Geelong and two major airports.

Mr Lindquist said it’s a rare opportunity to have an asset like this come to market.

“What they’ve done to strategically prepare this opportunity has obviously taken significant commercialisation and investment and time to get to this point,” Mr Lindquist said.

“It’s very exciting. It’s a landmark opportunity to shape the future of Australian sport, wellness, tourism, particularly for the region, given the undersupply of accommodation in the Great Ocean Road region.”

Ms Wild said CORA has all the ingredients investors look for but rarely find in one place – scale, flexibility, planning certainty and a globally recognised anchor partner.

“Importantly, it also offers diversification across sport, education, hospitality and tourism, making it a once-in-a-generation chance to redefine how sport, wellness, education and tourism can coexist.”