07/09/2026
SkyHaven has broken ground at Cairns Airport.
Construction started on 3 September on the first onsite accommodation at Australia's seventh busiest airport, and the first major private accommodation development to commence in Cairns in eight years. Barker Wealth investors hold equity in the project, so this is a progress update as much as a milestone.
Stage 1 is 98 rooms, with completion expected within 18 to 24 months. Stage 2 adds a further 88 rooms from mid 2027, taking the project to 186 units across a 7,560 sqm site inside the Cairns Airport Business Park. Total project cost is $60 million, with 90% of the equity raised locally.
What separates this project is demand contracted before a shovel moved. Long-term accommodation agreements were secured ahead of construction, tied to the $1 billion expansion of the Cairns hospital precinct, and more than 30 organisations have lodged written expressions of interest for corporate accommodation. Cairns Airport is approaching 5 million passengers a year on 5.5% annual growth, and was the only airport of its size in Australasia without accommodation on site.
Delivery sits with MiHaven, a certified B Corporation that has built more than $200 million of projects across Far North Queensland over 15 years. Mandala Hotels & Resorts operates the asset on completion. CBA is the financier.
That combination is what we look for in a real asset: income contracted before construction, a builder with a regional track record, and a specialist operator from day one.
Doors open late 2027.
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