A heritage Hobart hotel is set for a major transformation, with the Hobart City Council approving a $30 million expansion that will see it almost quadruple in size.
The Moss Hotel, tucked behind Salamanca Place in Battery Point, will grow from 20 rooms to 89 under the redevelopment, which councillors backed on Wednesday.
The centrepiece of the project is a new four-storey wing rising up to 17 metres along Montpelier Retreat, clad in stone with decorative tiling inspired by the area’s Georgian sandstone warehouses.
Planners told councillors the expansion would help ease Hobart’s ongoing accommodation shortage.
“Additional accommodation, this is the right area for it,” a planner told the meeting.
“That’s definitely going to help accommodation supply in the Hobart area.”
Two vacant commercial buildings at 6 and 8 Montpelier Retreat will be demolished to make way for the upgrade, with number 8 having sat empty for five years.
The architect said adapting the existing structures wasn’t feasible due to significant structural issues and mismatched floor levels.
Heritage-listed buildings at 4 Montpelier Retreat and 41 Salamanca Place will be retained and incorporated into the new design.
A heritage wall will also be preserved at the request of a council committee, with the fire escape re-engineered to work around it.
Shadow modelling showed minimal impact on nearby apartments, with one extra hour of mid-winter shading affecting the lowest-level unit.
The redevelopment will add a ground-floor cafe, bar and function room to the precinct, along with 13 basement car parks accessed from Montpelier Retreat.
The approved design also includes setback upper levels and privacy screens for neighbouring apartments.
