Swisherr’s former basketball courts in central Hobart could become a car park for city workers, months after the Melville Street venue closed.
Sultan Holdings has asked the Hobart City Council to approve 236 permit-only parking spaces at the former K&D Warehouse site for about 18 months while longer-term plans for the site are drawn up.
Almost half the spaces would be inside the warehouse, where 114 bays would be marked out.
The plans would keep 110 spaces in the Murray Street forecourt and add 12 behind the warehouse. The existing cafe on the site would remain open.
Swisherr closed the venue in April after five years.
The Tony White Group, which describes itself as Australia’s largest privately owned automotive group, bought the site from the University of Tasmania for $31 million in 2025.
The application seeks approval to open around the clock, although most drivers are expected to use the car park between 8am and 6pm on weekdays.
A traffic report forecasts 600 to 710 vehicle movements a weekday, less than half the number previously estimated for the basketball centre and its parking.
The report expects traffic to increase at the site’s southern driveways.
An entry boom gate would be set back far enough to allow three cars to queue off the street.
Part of a brick wall beside a Melville Street driveway would be removed to improve visibility of pedestrians on the footpath for drivers leaving the site.
The traffic consultant recommends a 10km/h speed limit in the shared parking aisles and signs telling drivers to give way to pedestrians.
The application puts the cost of the works at $15,000. It also proposes three illuminated banners on existing flagpoles at the corner of Murray and Melville streets.
Public comments on the application can be made to the Hobart City Council until November 20.
