Heritage restoration works have begun on-site at Riverlee’s new ‘Seafarers’ site alongside the Yarra River in Melbourne, which will become home to Australia’s first 1 Hotels branded accommodation offering from parent company SH Hotels and Resorts.
The development has this week received final endorsement from the Victorian Government on its plans, clearing the road for construction to get underway.
The 1 Hotel Melbourne lifestyle offering will combine a 277-room hotel within a mixed-use residential complex which will operate with a separate entrance. The development is part of a newbuild adjacent to Goods Shed No 5 – one of Melbourne’s oldest heritage-listed sheds and wharves, which also includes the city’s original electric crane dating back to the immediate post-war era.
Guest and resident facilities will include a lobby lounge bar, health and fitness centre, event and meeting spaces and a number of F&B venues yet to be revealed.
Roof trusses, doors and windows are gradually being removed and taken offsite for remediation work before being returned as part of the construction process. Riverlee has opted to relocate the crane to the eastern end of the site to improve its integration with a new riverfront park – known as Seafarers Rest – which will feature as part of the site.
SH Hotels and Resorts President, Arash Azarbarzin, said sustainability and safeguarding the area’s natural beauty was at the core of the 1 Hotels brand and that the company was committed to its expansion plans into Australia.
Azarbarzin was a recent guest at the recent Design Inn and Australasian Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition (AHICE), headline sponsored by Intrust Super and Hostplus.
See our live interview with Azarbarzin at the recent Design Inn below.
“The resilience in the Australian and Melbourne markets gives us great confidence that Melbourne will return stronger than ever and 1 Hotels looks forward to being an organic part of that future growth,” he said.
Civil works are expected to begin in early 2021 with main works beginning later in the year and completion anticipated for two years later. It is expected that 1 Hotel Melbourne will generate more than 300 permanent and ongoing jobs once open and more than 1,000 jobs during construction.