Gatwick Hotel residents to move out as notorious hotel to be sold

RESIDENTS of the notorious Gatwick Hotel will be moved out as the property’s owners near a sale, with TV show The Block not ruled out as a potential buyer.

RESIDENTS of the notorious Gatwick Hotel will be moved out as soon as this week as the property’s owners near a sale.

Housing Minister Martin Foley called on the Gatwick’s owners not to take on any new residents as notices to vacate are handed out to almost 50 people currently living at the St Kilda rooming house.

The government has sought the help of St Kilda Community Housing to relocate the Gatwick’s vulnerable tenants.

It is understood the troubled rooming house, which has been on the market for some time, could still end up in the hands of the creators of hit TV show The Block.

The Herald Sun revealed last year that the Channel 9 program was looking to snap up the property for an estimated $15 million.

The Gatwick Hotel on Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, is up for sale. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Inside the rooming house.

Mr Foley said today that the Gatwick had “long passed its time as a place that housed vulnerable people”.

“As they are intending to close, we would seek the co-operation of the owners and ask that they close their books and take no more residents into the property,” he said.

“This can be a very stressful and confusing time for residents and we want to ensure that it is managed appropriately and that residents are treated with respect during this process.”

“With much of Fitzroy St and surrounds being held back by the Gatwick we can now look forward to working with traders, Council and the community to turn a corner in the area’s future.”

A bathroom inside the Gatwick, pictured in 2013.

A double room that was in need of some TLC when photographed in 2013.

The 1930s building may end up in the hands of The Block.

More than 50 serious crimes occurred at the rooming house of horrors on Fitzroy St in just six months last year.

That included a stabbing, two rapes, an arson and at least 19 drug offences.

The imminent sale of the Gatwick comes as the government invests $10 million to overhaul rooming houses in Carlton, South Melbourne and Ballarat.

The money will turn the shared facilities into single studio apartments with private bathrooms and kitchens.

Another $10 million has already been invested in upgrading rooming houses in Ascot Vale, Flemington and St Kilda.

Mr Foley said the self-contained apartments would give residents “modern and safe accommodation”.

“We want to ensure that the rooming houses we own set the benchmark for rooming houses and provides the best possible accommodation and these upgrades will make a real difference for residents,” he said.

Twitter: @tminear