This was published 2 years ago
Gutted Palace Theatre redeveloped into luxury hotel
By Cara Waters
The gutted shell of one of Melbourne’s most iconic music venues, the Palace Theatre, has been redeveloped into a luxury 12-storey Le Meridien hotel and is set to open early next year.
The hotel will have 235 rooms, a ground-floor cafe, a bar, a restaurant and an 18-metre heated rooftop pool with views over Bourke Street, Parliament House and Fitzroy Gardens.
Le Meridien general manager Peter Minatsis.Credit: Darrian Traynor
The $100 million development follows the controversial demolition of the Palace Theatre’s interior, including its marble staircase and sweeping viewing balconies, in 2020. The art deco facade was retained.
Le Meridien’s development application had been rejected multiple times by the City of Melbourne before it was eventually approved by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The venue originally operated as the Excelsior Hotel in the 1850s, but it has taken many different forms over the years, including a theatre, a nightclub, a cinema, a dance hall and a Christian revival centre.
It was the site of the Metro nightclub for more than 20 years from 1987 and many university all-you-can-drink balls.
The Metro Nightclub at the Palace Theatre in 1992.Credit: Sandy Scheltema
As a live music venue, it hosted artists including James Brown, The Prodigy, Slash, Jane’s Addiction, Arctic Monkeys and Queens of the Stone Age.
But its doors shut in 2014 after it was sold two years earlier to Chinese developer Jinshan Investment Group for $11.2 million.
Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said the building had been the location for entertainment and hospitality from the earliest days of Melbourne.
An architect’s vision for the former Palace Theatre, which will open as a luxury hotel early next year.Credit: Le Meridien
“While it was a tragedy to see the loss of a much-loved heritage venue, that is now history and the opening of a new hotel is a welcome addition in the Hoddle Grid as the city’s economic recovery continues,” he said.
“Hospitality, entertainment and tourism will be more important than ever to the local economy, so this new hotel is a positive strategic addition.”
An artist’s impression of the rooftop pool being built at the former Palace Theatre. Credit: Le Meridien
Reece said the recent Hoddle Grid heritage review resulted in the biggest-ever addition to Melbourne’s heritage inventory and if The Palace had still been standing it is likely it would have received protection.
“Sadly, that ship has now sailed and so now we need to make the most of the situation and welcome a much-needed new hotel,” he said.
Le Meridien general manager Peter Minatsis said the redevelopment brought the site full circle back to its original iteration as a hotel, and that it was a great fit for the French brand to be at the “Paris end” of the city.
“I’m really, really happy that the designers have retained that history and really are bringing it back to life through the design and architecture,” he said.
Minatsis said architects Peddle Thorp’s mid-century modern design gave subtle nods to the building’s heritage and contemporary local culture with theatre-themed floors using rich red colours and heavy curtains.
Demolition of the Palace Theatre in Melbourne in 2020.Credit: Constantine Frantzeskos
“I think it’s about telling the entire story of what the building has been,” he said.
“Like anything, with redevelopments in the city there are certainly very passionate people about the last iteration of The Metro and The Palace and what it was, but this hotel is going to employ people it’s bringing over 100 jobs back into the market.”
The hotel will be the only Le Meridien in Australia after the brand exited Australia when it closed its hotel at the Rialto building in Collins Street.
“Our neighbours cannot wait until we open up,” Minatsis said. “Unfortunately, there’s a lot of empty shopfronts at the moment from COVID and I’m starting to see these places leased out.”
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.