Push back on for $30m city hotel

PLANS for a $30 million hotel development on the site of a rug and tile centre in Hobart’s CBD have been resurrected under the new planning scheme.

A development application by Ressen Property Group — based in Sydney — to build a 225-room hotel development on the site of the former Myer homewares store in Macquarie St was approved by the Hobart City Council in August 2015.

The Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal later upheld an appeal lodged by nearby businesses, based on height and plot ratio grounds.

The approval was appealed by Sunset Rock Investments Pty Ltd and JK Tasmania-Hobart Pty Ltd, which owns the neighbouring old Hutchins Building, beside the subject site.

JK Tasmania-Hobart also shares common directors with Fragrance Tas-Hobart Pty Ltd, developer of the Ibis Styles Hobart directly next door.

A new development application for the site has been lodged with the council for “demolition and new building for residential hotel”.

The previously proposed building would have been 36.6m tall at its highest point, but was lodged under the former planning scheme which at the time allowed buildings only to a height of 12m in the central commercial and administrative zone.

But, under the newer Hobart Interim Planning Scheme, buildings in the central business core area, which the Macquarie St site sits in, can have a height of up to 30m. Both iterations were designed by local firm Michael Cooper Architects and Boss Design in Sydney.

Mr Cooper said the new application for 202 serviced apartments took its cues from the recommendations of the planning tribunal’s refusal.

“Their hands were tied in relation to height and plot ratio, but we’d satisfied the use, car parking, heritage and traffic aspects,” he said.

“The new planning scheme has come in and that has allowed us to have a building that sits 30m in height.

“The 12m limit was a historical thing — I’ve seen chicken sheds taller than that — and the scheme just had to catch up a bit. The new scheme has allowed somebody who owns a property in the city to make best use of it if they chose to develop it.”

The new design of the midrange accommodation development also includes a cafe and small conference facility.

In March last year, Ressen Property Group managing director Terry Choi said he would take his case to the Supreme Court in an effort to overturn the planning tribunal refusal. Mr Cooper said this action was not ultimately pursued. The new development application is expected to be publicly advertised in coming weeks.

Meanwhile, scaffolding and hessian bagging covering the future site of the $50 million Marriott hotel at the Parliament Square redevelopment is expected to come down this week.

It will give the public the first glimpse of what will be the first hotel of its kind in the country. It is expected to open late next year.