Plans for Hobart’s tallest building head to court
by Leon Gettler
The developer of a proposed $45 million hotel for central Hobart is taking his case to the Supreme Court to fight a planning tribunal knock back.
In January, the $45 million hotel proposed for the Hobart CBD was refused by the planning tribunal after surrounding businesses appealed against council approval.
Businesses had appealed against the development on height, heritage and density grounds.
Sydney based Ressen Property Group managing director Terry Choi says he is now taking the case to court.
In August last year, Hobart City Council had voted 7-4 to approve the 225 room hotel, with aldermen Helen Burnet, Anna Reynolds, Suzy Cooper and Philip Cocker voting against it.
Sunset Rock Investments Pty Ltd and JK Tasmania-Hobart Pty Ltd, which is the owner of the neighbouring old Hutchins Building, a building directly behind the subject site appealed against the council decision.
JK Tasmania-Hobart shares common directors with Fragrance Tas-Hobart Pty Ltd, a company developing another hotel directly next door.
The Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal upheld the appeal based on height and plot ratio grounds. It did not consider heritage concern to be sufficient grounds.
The proposed hotel would have featured a cafe, rooftop restaurant, retail and conference spaces as well as an outdoor plaza. It would have been one of seven new hotels for Hobart at a time when there is growing tourism demand for the Apple isle.
In another development, the project director of a proposed $40 million hotel in what will become Hobart’s tallest building is working with a Singaporean developer, who wishes to remain anonymous, to find a new design that Hobart Council would approve of.
The council was set to reject it when a deferral motion was passed giving the developer a time extension to consider changes.
“It’s going to cost a lot more money to make these adjustments, so [she] just has to look at it as a longer-term investment,” project director and Jaws Architects director Neal Macintosh told the Hobart Mercury.
29th March 2016
