Unions vow to protect interim heritage listed pub The Curtin from redevelopment
Melbourne’s union movement has promised to protect Carlton’s John Curtin Hotel from demolition after its sale to an anonymous buyer.
Agent CBRE told The Age that the hotel had been sold but the identity of the buyer and the price it sold for were not disclosed.
The asking price was $6 million, but according to two sources with knowledge of the deal, the buyer paid below that price.
One source said it was purchased by an overseas-based investor and developer who, in the short term, will continue to operate The Curtin as a pub but will potentially redevelop it in the future.
Last month The Curtin was nominated by Victoria’s National Trust and the Victorian Trades Hall for protection on the state’s heritage register, however is it still in the process of being assessed by heritage Victoria.
The Curtin was granted interim “significant” heritage listing earlier in the month by the City of Melbourne.
“Any application for redevelopment of the site will be reviewed very carefully by us, and by that I mean very carefully,” deputy lord mayor Nicholas Reece said.
“Melbourne has lost too many of its heritage pubs and it’s important we protect venues like the John Curtin Hotel not just as an important building in a heritage precinct, but also as a venue with enormous cultural and social significance to our city.”
The hotel was named after former prime minister John Curtin and is located opposite Trades Hall.
It is regularly used as a union meeting place and the unions have promised to protect it.
“Under no circumstances will the union movement let the pub be demolished,” a spokeswoman for Trades Hall said.
Advocacy manager for the National Trust of Australia, Felicity Watson, said the building was protected by a local heritage overlay in the Melbourne Planning Scheme. This means proposed development must consider the heritage values of the hotel as it pertains to the City of Melbourne’s heritage policy.
Irit Jackson, 12th April 2022
