Landmark building ready to come down piece by piece to create an open plaza

DEMOLITION of a landmark Hobart building could begin as early as this month to make way for an open plaza with restaurants, shops and bars.

DEMOLITION of a landmark Hobart building could begin as early as this month to make way for an open plaza with restaurants, shops and bars.

Scaffolding will be erected around 10 Murray St before the piecemeal demolition process begins in late November or early December.

The State offices building at 10 Murray St is set to be brought down over the next six months. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

The slow process is expected to take six months, with concrete cutters chomping at the building from the top down.

The old government office block is being brought down as part of the completion of the Parliament Square development.

A Marriott Hotel being built at the site is on track for completion in late 2018.

The 128-room hotel, which marks the debut of Marriott International in Tasmania, will be housed in an assortment of repurposed heritage buildings.

Marriott regional vice president Sean Hunt was in Hobart on Tuesday to reveal the name of the new hotel: The Tasman.

The name of the new hotel was revealed at a special event in Parliament Square, where guests were shown a mock-up luxury room.

Citta Property Group’s Nikki Reid checks out the mock-up heritage suite at the new Marriot International Hotel, The Tasman, under construction at Parliament Square in Hobart. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

Construction manager Barney Phillips said scaffolding would be erected around the building and a tower crane placed beside it.

The crane will lift off small chunks of concrete from the top down, using cutters perched on the roof.

Concrete will be brought down to ground level via internal chutes and the building will be covered to reduce the dispersal of dust.

The 1960s office block was the subject of a long-running campaign to save it from demolition, on the grounds it was a landmark example of 20th century architecture. The appeals were lost.