Hotel bid heads to court

THE developer of a proposed $45 million hotel for central Hobart says he is taking his case to the Supreme Court in an effort to overturn a planning tribunal refusal.

Proposed $40 million hotel complex for 179 Macquarie St, Hobart

THE developer of a proposed $45 million hotel for central Hobart says he is taking his case to the Supreme Court in an effort to overturn a planning tribunal refusal.

Ressen Property Group managing director Terry Choi writes in today’s Talking Point about his fight to build a 225-room hotel development on the site of the former Myer homewares store in Macquarie St, which was approved by the Hobart City Council in August last year.

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The Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal later upheld an appeal lodged by nearby businesses based on height and density grounds.

The approval was appealed by Sunset Rock Investments Pty Ltd and JK Tasmania-Hobart Pty Ltd, which is the owner of the neighbouring old Hutchins Building, a building directly behind the subject site.

JK Tasmania-Hobart also shares common directors with Fragrance Tas-Hobart Pty Ltd, which is developing another hotel directly next door.

The old Myer site in Macquarie St. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

The proposed Ressen development included a hotel, cafe, rooftop restaurant, retail and conference spaces and an outdoor plaza.

It would have been one of seven new hotels on the horizon for Hobart to bring extra beds to meet growing tourism demand.

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The refusal from the planning tribunal was ­labelled a blow for the tourism industry.

It also reignited debate about building height limits in the city. The building would have been 36.6m tall at its highest point. The planning scheme allows buildings only to a height of 12m in the central commercial and administrative zone.

Mr Choi said he decided to take his case to the Supreme Court for many reasons that would have follow-on economic benefits for Hobart.

“We want to employ ­Tasmanian builders and ­apprentices to construct our hotel,” he writes.

“We want to employ more Tasmanians within the hotel when it’s finished — hotel staff, chefs, waiters, cleaners — and all the associated companies and suppliers who will stock my hotel 365 days of the year.

“If we are successful, Ressen will build its 225-room hotel for the benefit of my company, certainly, but also for the Tasmanian economy and the state’s tourism industry.”