Greyhound hotel owner Will van der Linden ‘almost broken’ trying to save site

THE OWNER of the iconic Greyhound hotel in St Kilda says he has been thwarted in his attempt to save it and now has no choice but to develop the site.

There is a tug of war over The Greyhound hotel in St Kilda. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

THE OWNER of the Greyhound hotel has spoken about the stress and financial strain of trying to develop the site.

The former gay bar is slated for redevelopment into an eight-storey apartment building, spurring a campaign by the St Kilda community who rallied to fight against the proposed demolition.

Earlier this month, heritage consultants Context found the Brighton Rd hotel had strong historic and social significance and should be saved.

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Speaking to the Leader from his rented flat as hoarding was due to be installed, Will van der Linden said he would not demolish the 163-year-old building until the Planning Minister had ruled on its fate. Mr van der Linden’s demolition permit expires on June 21.

“I am almost a broken man over this — I have done the right thing every step of the way,” he said.

“I’ve got a permit (to put the hoarding up), I’ve already paid for it and I keep getting stalled. I don’t have the resources to keep fighting this.”

Mr van der Linden said since he bought the building in 2006 he had fought an “uphill battle” to save the once popular night spot and now had no choice but to develop the site.

“We tried to get a license to extend trading hours and (the council) slammed us; we tried to get a permit to increase capacity and they slammed us,” he said.

Mr van der Linden said the building had been broken into “so many times” in recent weeks, and the inside had been decimated by vandals.

“They’ve just almost completely destroyed the inside — it’s not worth anything to anyone anymore,” he said.

The 73-year-old told the Leader he had commissioned leading heritage consultants Lovell Chen to undertake his own separate heritage study of the building.

“That will take a few weeks for them to complete but I will wait until that has been done and the Minister has made a ruling before I demolish,” he said.

Vandals have damaged the inside of the hotel. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

St Kilda resident Andrew Ball, one of 115 people to make a submission to Context’s heritage assessment, commissioned by Port Phillip Council, said the building was seen as a gateway to the bayside suburb.

“It has been part of the fabric of St Kilda for a very long period of time,” he said.

“Ideally we would like (the developer) to retain key aspects of the facade and have some sort of social function.

“But that doesn’t mean apartments can’t be incorporated into the design.”

Mr Ball said many members of the LGBTI community had strong ties to the Greyhound, a former gay bar.

“There’s a fair bit of personal connection for me; I met my partner there seven years ago,” he said.

“And it has been a key part of LGBTI culture over what has been a very important period in the evolution of LGBTI rights.”

Mr Ball urged Planning Minister Richard Wynne to make a decision on the building’s fate “in a timely manner”.

“I am pleading with him to put protection in place but in terms of closure, if we just don’t get a response and it’s torn down that would be the worst — we’d always be wondering ‘what if?’,” he said.

Patrick Lane, spokesman for acting Planning Minister Lisa Neville, said she was considering the council’s submission “with priority” but had to give “careful consideration to all the facts”.

“The Port Phillip Council has sat on its hands and allowed the developer to obtain a demolition permit, only to wake up at the 11th-hour after sensing community anger,” he said.