A three-storey chocolate attraction designed to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors a year to Hobart’s northern suburbs has moved closer to reality, with full plans now on public display.
The Chocolate Experience at Cadbury would be built next to the working factory at Claremont, on the banks of the River Derwent.
At more than 7,300 square metres, it would house immersive exhibits, a chocolate lab, artisan production spaces and a rooftop lounge with views across Windermere Bay.
Tourism entrepreneur Simon Currant has spent 15 years developing the concept. Plans for the attraction were lodged in September last year.
His company has partnered with Cadbury owner Mondelez International, which is providing a brand licence and land lease but no funding.
The project first surfaced publicly during the 2024 Tasmanian election, when the Liberals pledged up to $12 million in taxpayer money for early site works.
Developers have said the project is 95% privately funded.
It was initially billed as a $100 million development. That figure has since been reported at $150 million, though no cost appears in the plans lodged with the Glenorchy City Council.
The application estimates the centre would draw more than 400,000 visitors a year.
The developers’ own material puts the figure at 550,000, with a projected $120 million annual economic boost.
One early centrepiece has not survived. The “world’s largest chocolate fountain”, trumpeted at the 2024 announcement, has been dropped from the final designs.
Architect Cumulus Studio has instead organised the building around a triple-height atrium called “Chocolate Central”.
Visitors would move through a simulated cacao forest, chocolate laboratory, taste kitchen and artisan chocolate studio across three levels.
The exterior echoes the adjacent factory. Upper levels are clad in folded aluminium panels inspired by chocolate foil wrappers.
A ground-floor cafe and emporium would be open to the public. The upper floors would be ticketed.
Most visitors would arrive by ferry from Hobart, docking at a new 54-metre jetty.
For those arriving by road, 129 car parks, bus zones and bicycle parking are proposed.
Landscape architect REALM Studios has designed the grounds with endemic Tasmanian planting.
Habitat trees that may support threatened species, including the swift parrot and eastern barred bandicoot, would be retained.
The projected opening has shifted from 2026 to 2027 and, according to the project’s website, to late 2028.
Public submissions to Glenorchy City Council close on April 15, 2026.
