Punthill Geelong project looks for new home after walking away from Bellerine St site

A new hotel that was originally scheduled to open in May will no longer be established on a central Geelong strip, it can be revealed.

Renders of the Punthill apartment hotel complex due to open in Geelong in 2024.

Plans for a 15-storey, 80 apartment hotel in Geelong’s CBD have been abandoned, with the future of the site now uncertain.

The Veriu Group was to operate Punthill Geelong at 20-22 Bellerine St, however the company, which runs more than a dozen Punthill properties nationally, is now exploring other Geelong sites.

A Veriu spokeswoman did not detail the reason behind the change of direction.

Renders of the now-abandoned Punthill apartment hotel project in Geelong.

The Romero Group, headed by ex-AFL player Jose Romero, was to be the developer, but the spokeswoman said Veriu was no longer in discussions about the project that was slated to be finished in May this year.

The Romero Group could not be contacted for comment.

The Bellerine St site sits vacant, blocked from public view by black hoardings and it is understood the current building permit will soon expire.

The signage of prospective builder FourSQ was recently painted over.

The Veriu spokeswoman said the company was in negotiations with developers to build and operate two other properties in Geelong – a Punthill hotel and a Veriu hotel.

They would be the company’s first foray in Geelong.

Unsightly: 20-22 Bellerine St, as viewed from Kirk Place.

Upon announcing the now-abandoned project in 2022, Veriu chief executive Zed Sanjana said the hotel would target solo and group business travellers seeking quality corporate accommodation close to the city centre and waterfront.

“We believe that business travellers are increasingly looking for more unique and localised accommodation experiences within these corporate hubs,” he said.

Conference rooms and meeting facilities were to form part of the development.

Opposite the site, there are plans for a 12-storey, 85-apartment “vertical retirement village”. The state government is yet to give the project the green light after documents were lodged the Department of Transport and Planning late last year.

Originally published as Punthill Geelong project looks for new home after walking away from Bellerine St site