Nod to extra floor despite heritage view

A REQUEST to create an additional floor on the Murray St wing of the Parliament Square hotel development has been approved by the council’s planning committee.

Hobart City Council planning officers had recommended the application be refused on heritage grounds as the alteration, in the opinion of the council’s senior heritage officer, would have adversely affected the heritage value of the existing facade.

The proposal creates a third floor on the 12 Murray St site of the Tasman Hotel which connects with level 3 of the presidential suite building at 10 Murray St.

As a result of the changes, the Blackwood Rooms will be changed from hotel suites to meeting rooms.

It creates an additional six hotel rooms for a total of 152 rooms and raises the height of the wing to 17.2m.

At a planning committee meeting last night, Alderman Jeff Briscoe moved a motion to approve the extension based on evidence submitted by the proponent that the extension would not affect the facade.

“I do respect our heritage officer but in this case it goes the other way,” he said.

Acting committee chairman Alderman Simon Behrakis supported the motion along with Alderman Tanya Denison. Aldermen Helen Burnet and Bill Harvey voted against it.

No representations were received during the public consultation period.

The final decision will sit with the council at its next meeting on Monday.

The seven-storey, five-star hotel will operate under the banner of Marriott’s Luxury Collection — and is the first to do so in Australia.

The site will become a scaled-down version of Melbourne’s Federation Square, with the creation of a 2000sq m public plaza.

The new hotel is part of the redevelopment of Parliament Square in the Hobart CBD being undertaken by Trawalla and Sydney-based private developer, Citta Property Group.

The public open space will be surrounded by commercial and retail spaces, including restaurants, cafes and office space.

The $10 million demolition of the former government office block at 10 Murray St was the largest in the state’s history.