DarkLab is planning a 150-room designer hotel in Hobart’s CBD, with an underground tunnel connecting it to the Hanging Garden precinct, Pulse can reveal.
Creative Director Leigh Carmichael said the hotel forms part of a planed overhaul of the precinct, including offices, a rooftop bar and a major Odeon Theatre upgrade.
“We are aiming to lodge a DA with council for the entire precinct by the end of this year, mid next year at the very latest,” he told Pulse.
The ‘Hanging Garden Hotel’ would be built on Watchorn Street on the site of the old Anglicare building, located on the opposite side of the road to the Hanging Garden.
Carmichael said the hotel would have a spa at its base and would be linked to the Hanging Garden precinct via an underground tunnel.
The “MONA inspired” tunnel would also lead to a new underground nightclub.
DarkLab, a creative subsidiary of Mona, is undertaking the precinct upgrade alongside Melbourne development firm Riverlee.
The broader masterplan also includes upgrades to the Odeon Theatre, new hospitality venues on Liverpool Street and improved dining facilities inside the Hanging Garden.
Carmichael described the changes as significant and said he is confident they will get through council.
“We think we’ll be fine getting them through council, it just takes time,” he said.
If all goes to plan, construction could start within 18 to 24 months.
Carmichael said the project has moved well beyond the vision stage.
“It’s kind of moved on from a vision to architecture drawings and development applications, so it’s actually moving pretty quickly now,” he said.
He said the hotel would be a major boost for the growing entertainment precinct.
“When you’re operating bars it’s just always good to have people in the area floating around,” he said.
“There’s not a lot of people that live in the CBD in Hobart unfortunately, so a hotel will be great for us to kind of even out the week.”
The cathedral space at the Hanging Garden looks locked in permanently, and the Odeon is also staying put after a $1 million electrical and air conditioning upgrade earlier this year.
Carmichael said the Altar building (formerly the Tattersalls Hotel) may be demolished, but DarkLab is working through whether to rebuild the band room on that site or elsewhere in the precinct.
The announcement comes as DarkLab prepares for Dark Mofo kicking off this week, which Carmichael said is busier for them than the Christmas and New Year period.
Ahead of the festival, the Hanging Garden is getting plumbed portable toilets to replace its portaloos in the cathedral.
Carmichael said a permanent toilet solution is around six to nine months away.
