A potential buyer for a prime Hobart hotel may have been found just weeks after the University of Tasmania put the property up for sale.
Tasmanian charity Colony 47 is exploring the possibility of acquiring Hobart’s Fountainside Hotel to establish much-needed youth housing.
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) purchased the property in 2019 for $18.76 million to alleviate the student accommodation shortage while constructing a new, purpose-built 422-bed accommodation facility on Melville Street.
Fountainside was leased to the State Government in 2020 for use as a COVID quarantine hotel, and the Department of Health continues to utilise it to accommodate health workers.
UTAS has now deemed the building surplus to their requirements and aims to generate funds through the sale to improve their IMAS educational facility in Taroona.
The announcement from Colony 47 CEO Dianne Underwood comes after a recent review revealed that no rental properties were affordable for young people on youth allowance in Tasmania.
Underwood says while her charity lacks the financial means to independently purchase the hotel, they are seeking support from philanthropic organisations for an investment proposal.
“We’re not putting all our eggs in one basket, but the idea would be, how do we put together a proposal and for philanthropists to be interested in contributing to this, they need to understand what are the impacts and outcomes we’re getting,” she told Local Radio.
“This could be the way we could solve regional youth housing crisis.”
Underwood said while they were “running” at the Fountainside opportunity before the expression of interest period closes in mid-May, other options are also available on the market.
The former Mary Grange site in Taroona was recently listed for sale, as well as the old St Helens Hospital on Davey Street and a hotel complex in Kingston.
