DOCKLANDS > Stadium Precinct - 700 Bourke / salta / Lacrosse

[lenicrombie]

Hawaiian hotel giant Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is to buy a 6600-square-metre site in the Docklands precinct, with plans for a $250 million hotel and residential development.

The Bourke Street site next to Telstra Dome will be developed through a joint venture with Melbourne-based RIA Property Group. The proposed 35-storey Outrigger on Bourke will include 350 hotel rooms on the first 19 levels.

There will be 17 levels of private residences and separate commercial office space.

The sale will be a coup for VicUrban, which has overseen the development of the Docklands precinct against a backdrop of slow apartment sales and negative publicity. VicUrban chief executive John Tabart said the announcement yesterday was evidence of the precinct's emerging profile in the international hotel market.

"It recognises Melbourne Docklands as a great location for hotel developments, taking advantage of the waterfront, proximity to the CBD, the excellent transport and the activity in the area created by Telstra Dome restaurants and events," Mr Tabart said.


Outrigger's managing director for Oceania, Dave Law-rence, said the Outrigger on Bourke would be the resort operator's first metropolitan development, and would benefit from strong inbound and domestic tourism.

"The hotel's proximity to Telstra Dome, which is becoming increasingly popular as a conference venue, will also enable Outrigger to aggressively market the hotel to this lucrative sector," Mr Lawrence said.

Outrigger manages more than 12,000 hotel rooms throughout Hawaii and the South Pacific, and will launch its 11th Australian resort on the Tweed Coast this week.http://www.theage.com.au/news/Busine...489558726.html



pictures of 2 outrigger hotels on the gold coast

[SuperJake2]

Hmm, sounds promising!

[OzAsian]

Yes these are the developments that Docklands should be agressively chasing.
Any word on the Shangri la project?

[JayT]

There is a nice rendering of it in the AFR today.

jt

[sakor1]

Any chance of a scan JayT? How does it look?

Stu

[Aussie Steve]

This is great news. I am very please that the southeast corner of the Stadium Precinct is about to be developed. It looks like Bourke St is more popular then Collins St! Now who would have thought that?

[finn]

It looks cool - it has a curved top, complementing the Victoria Point tower next door, and from the rendering looks taller than Victoria Point, but this may just be the perspective of the rendering. The podium has active frontages to Bourke St and the Bourke St pedestrian bridge from the looks of it.

here's the AFR article:

Originally Posted by AFR 7/04/2005

Outrigger hotel for Docklands

Global hotel and resort company Outrigger has picked a prime spot next to Melbourne's Telstra Dome for a new $250 million hotel.

Outrigger has signed up as the hotel operator within a new 36-storey building to be developed by the RIA Property Group, which is headed by Larry Bowtell and Steve Apperly.

The proposed building will be split between 19 levels of traditional hotel suites and 17 floors of private apartments on the top of the tower.

The proposed site in the $8 billion Docklands precinct is a 6600 square metre piece of land on the corner of Bourke Street and Wurundjeri Way.

There will also be some commercial office space in the tower.

RIA was the instigator of the Devine Group's Victoria Point tower, which is nearly finished. RIA sold substantial equity in that project to the Devine Group, successfully leased its office space to Bendigo Bank and sold off its shopping precinct.

While the operating deal between Outrigger and RIA is signed, RIA has not yet finalised negotiations with the Dockland precinct's planning authority, VicUrban.

But VicUrban chief executive John Tabart was enthusiastic about the Outrigger-RIA proposal. "It recognises Melbourne Docklands is a great location for hotel developments, taking advantage of the waterfront and closeness to the business centre of the city," Mr Tabart said.

All parties met in Melbourne yesterday, including Outrigger's American chairman Richard Kelly, who is on a whirlwind tour of Australia.

He is on the Tweed Coast today to open Salt, the new $750 million Outrigger on the Beach.

Telstra Dome chief Ian Collins also attended yesterday's meeting. Mr Collins is understood to be keen to get a new hotel next to the football stadium.

Such a hotel would help the Telstra Dome attract more custom from the increasingly lucrative conference trade.

Outrigger's Oceania managing director Dave Lawrence said: "Melbourne is viewed by Outrigger as a perfect location for our expansion into metropolitan centres. It is a gateway city."

Mr Lawrence said Outrigger would also be able to grow Melbourne's strong domestic and overseas tourist traffic through its world-wide marketing.

"I believe that the site's excellent waterfront location and the quality of the development its aesthetics and the proximity to lots of attractions will help us market the hotel to a range of leisure markets and the corporate sector," Mr Lawrence said.

Plans for the hotel are not finalised but Outrigger on Bourke is expected to contain 350 hotel suites with dining and recreation facilities.

Outrigger manages 51 properties with more than 12,000 rooms in Hawaii, Micronesia, Fiji, Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia. Three resorts boasting nearly 500 rooms are under development in Australia.

[Grollo]

This site was going to be the docklands Hilton (31 levels 109m) and Sportstech apartment tower (29 levels 100m) in the 2001 master plan for the southern stadium site which also included Victoria Point. They can build a 90 metre tower and a 120 metre tower (to roof of highest habitable floor) on the site so it will probably be around the same height as Victoria Point :-)

Telstra Dome is going to look so much better when all four corners are developed, the most urban stadium in the world with skyscrapers rising up only metres away and compeltely intergrated into the surrounding CBD.

[Grollo]

Awesome:

[Aussie Steve]

F A N T A S T I C !!!!

[Grollo]

3 levels below Telstra Dome Concourse level (below what you can see in the rendeing)
+ 19 levels of hotel
+ 1 plant floor
+ 17 levels of apartments
+ 1 more plant floor
= AT LEAST 41 levels!

Also the hotel lobby and the first plant level are double height and the top floor plant level looks to be at least triple height so it must be at a bare minimum the same height as Victoria Point and most likely higher.

[silvermb]

yep it goes very well, like the shape more than anything. and they're going to stick in something behind it (maybe 15L) above, better outcome than the original 109m Hilton proposal which was a fairly good design

[uewepuep]

Awesome, this is a bit out of the blue?
I wonder if they could get it up in time for commonwealth games......

[Aussie Steve]

Don't forget the other portion of the southeast corner of the Docklands Stadium Precinct:

[Muse]

Great!

This one should be a sure thing.

Docklands really needs other types of projects.

[The Collector]

[kota16]

Amazing.

[lozza]

Awesome ! And the best thing is, i will have a fantastic view of it from my watergate apartment !

Cheers

Lozza

[sakor1]

Fantastic! Lets hope it gets the green light.

Stu

[DrDan]

no chance it will be up by Comm Games - they're less than a year away and it still needs to be approved!