State government buys city hotel for essential worker accommodation

The state government has bought Hobart’s Fountainside Hotel from the University of Tasmania as accommodation for key health workers.

The Fountainside building, which has been bought by the state government

The state government has bought Hobart’s Fountainside Hotel from the University of Tasmania as accommodation for key health workers.

The 50-unit hotel will used by health workers from the Royal Hobart Hospital, Minister for Housing and Planning Felix Ellis said, as part of a bid to attract and retain more staff.

“Providing our health workers accommodation is crucial to supporting our frontline services, but also allows previously used rentals to be released back into the private market for Tasmanian families,” he said.

“This will mean doctors, nurses and other health staff that work at the RHH have one less thing to worry about and can focus on their amazing work caring for patients.

“Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, we are committed to delivering more key worker accommodation to grow Tasmanian frontline services.”

Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing Guy Barnett said providing housing was essential to attracting and retaining healthcare workers.

“Key worker accommodation is one of the many ways the Tasmanian government is working to ensure the delivery of the healthcare services Tasmanians expect and deserve,” Minister Barnett said.

“The Tasmanian government is doing what matters for Tasmanians by delivering on its pledge to boost the number of health workers in our hospitals.”

An in-principal agreement has been reached between UTAS and the government, with settlement expected in the coming weeks.

Craig Barling

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Student Services and Operations Craig Barling said the property was surplus to the university’s needs.

“Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the opening of our new 422-bed student

accommodation facility in the city, the Fountainside and Mid City hotels were no longer

needed to support access to education.

“The two CBD properties were put on the market in April. We received strong interest and

have accepted offers on both hotels with work continuing to finalise the sale process.”

The Mid City Hotel was bought in 2018 for $23.5m and the Fountainside in 2019 for $18.76 and provided accommodation for 174 students at their peak but were not required following the opening of Hytten Hall in Melville St.

Fountainside has been leased by the state government for between $420,000 and more recently $580,000 a year since early 2020. It was used as a Covid case management facility and is currently used as accommodation for new recruits from interstate and overseas, agency nurses, rotating medical registrars, locums, paramedics, senior clinical staff and other short-term contracted staff.

Mid City was leased to Vision Hotels in 2021 and operates as a commercial hotel.

UTAS has previously said it would invest the proceeds from the hotels’ sales into upgrading its teaching, learning, and research facilities, particularly in developing IMAS Taroona.