The Belalie Hotel

[Ray]

There is a new development in this long running saga.

It was noticed this morning by one of our readers that there is a new banner adorning the balcony of the Belalie. If you look closely at the photo below you will see what it says, and for those of you who can't read it. It says something like,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Project by,
The De Young Group
Seaford
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And who the hell are they"? I hear you ask,...  well, have a look, I think it will surprise you. http://www.deyoungs.com.au/

I'm hoping that they are just going to be doing some rather serious renovation work as I can't really imagine anyone buying this building merely to demolish it.

[utegirl70]

OMG! 

I sure as $#%t hope they are only doing reno's... this mob are serious demolition experts.

They're locals from where I live, and whenever we see them at a property, it usually means the place will be gone. 

[Ray]

Today we had a truck and some people from De Youngs on the site and so far it appears that they are stripping out the old bar fridges and cupboards etc.

Very little else can be seen.

[Susie]

I heard the other day from a local councillor that they had spent half million to buy it, and planned to spend another half million doing it up. Perhaps we should wander in and ask what they are doing?

[Ray]

Who are "they"?  That is the interesting point to me. I have a source who told me it was going to be extensively renovated, no mention was made of who for, but was waiting to watch developments.

I would like permission to go inside and take photos before and after, now that is something I feel I could really get my teeth into.

[Ray]

I should have some shots of the site and some new info shortly.

This morning I met with the site manager and have received permission to take "before and after" photos of the work. I must wait until I have more light, as there is no power connected to the building and all the rooms are only lit by natural light.

More to follow,....

[Susie]

Sounds interesting.  Also heard last night that the upstairs accomodation rooms were being "gutted" and having on-suite facilities added to them.

[hatchbackgirl75]

Well, there's certainly a need for more accommodation in this town. Every time my parents visit they just get what they get, even booking well in advance there are barely any rooms free, anywhere.

[Ray]

I can't say whether much is being done to the accomodation, well, at least not right now. The people who are up here have removed a lot of the old Bar furniture and are repairing the ballustrades on the first floor verandah and otherwise doing general cleaning up, like removing all of the carpets and floor coverings etc.  Most of the old timber interior fittings including one Bar and glass fronted chillers, were removed last week and taken to Adelaide.



The photo above shows the replacement of the Hand rails and ballustrades on the Western verandah.

From what I can see so far, there are numerous markings on the walls of the Lounge area and dining area, also the back yard will be levelled and landscaped for a re-vamped beer garden, also I believe that the bars and toilets are going to get a good work over.

[Ray]

This morning, I went down and introduced myself to Troy De Young, the new owner and developer of the old Belalie Hotel.  He is a very approachable person and is bringing his many skills and ideas to this project, we had a long and interesting talk about his plans and aspirations for the pub, it promises to be a very interesting project and should be of great benefit to the town.



Seen in the photo above, Troy has a very diverse business base including such things as, demolition, salvage, earthmoving, stone products, a brewery, crane hire and fabrication. The planned renovations will take some time, as there is a great deal to be done, and will be occurring as time and manpower becomes available.

Having spoken to Troy I now feel a lot easier about posting some photos. The two photos below show the old lounge area and adjoining Beer Garden, an area that is due for a lot of structural work with the removal of pillars and new openings in the wall through to the old dining room opening up the whole area making it much lighter and airier.

So far i have taken over 70 still photos of the interior and exterior and about 15 minutes of un-edited video. I will put up selected photos from time to time, many will mean much more when we have the "After" shots for comparison and the remainder are merely a record of the inner structure of one of Jamestown's more prominent and historic buildings as it is in early 2011.


Above we see Mick Klein standing in the Lounge area where you may just be able to discern some of markings on the walls showing areas to be removed and modified.


Here we are looking out into the proposed Beer Garden which is long overgrown. All of this area will have extensive earthworks done, ripping up and removing the old cracked concrete and getting the area levelled so that the planned renovations can commence.

[utegirl70]

Nice to know that it isn't going to be knocked down.

Looking forward to seeing the progress of this project, through your camera lens, Ray. You did an awesome job with the new Foodland project. You should start up your own News paper. 

[Ray]

When I mentioned our earlier concerns about the old pub being demolished, Troy was very quick to assure me that nothing was further from his mind, as it would have made the site one of the most expensive building blocks outside of Adelaide CBD.

This afternoon when I returned to get some inside shots Troy asked if I might find a club or group in Jamestown to whom he could donate the very nice chairs and tables, some of which can be seen in the photo of the Lounge in my post above. There are approximately 50-60 grey vinyl and tubular steel chairs, and about 8 - 10 tables of varying sizes.  The Show Society has very gratefully accepted them.

[utegirl70]

I wonder if they're interested in doing something with the old United supermarket?    It seems such a shame that the main street's shopping precinct has become cluttered with closed and defunct shops.

How very generous to donate the furniture. That's awesome. 

[Ray]

Yes, it was a very thoughtful gesture I just hope that people remember it when the pub opens for business.  I think that Troy has his hands full for the moment, just going by the amount of work both underway and outlined in his plans.

[Ray]

Over the last week I have not had as much time as I would have liked to devote to this site, so it's time to do a little catching up.
Below is a photo taken in Stacey Pavillion at the Showgrounds showing the 20 brown  and 50 grey vinyl upholstered chairs and 7 grey laminex tables donated by Troy DeYoung, to the Show society who were over the moon about this much appreciated windfall.


Below we see some of the happy campers who took the time to come and take delivery of the chairs and tables and deliver them to the Showgrounds. L to R:  Kaye Bottrall (secretary) John Malone, Tom Bray and Neville Gibb, Absent is Simon Seppelt (Muscles)* who had to get back to work while we gasbagged after the job. The many willing helpers were greatly appreciated.
*Simon was seen carrying five chairs at a time.