The Tasmanian Government has purchased Hobart’s Fountainside Hotel from the University of Tasmania for $16.25 millon, with plans to use the 50-room hotel as accommodation for essential healthcare workers.
Housing and Planning Minister Felix Ellis said the move is part of the government’s push to attract and retain more healthcare workers in the state.
“Providing our health workers accommodation is crucial to supporting our frontline services, but also allows previously used rentals to be released back into the private market for Tasmanian families,” he said.
“This will mean doctors, nurses and other health staff that work at the RHH have one less thing to worry about and can focus on their amazing work caring for patients.”
The University of Tasmania have confirmed the sale, saying that both Fountainside and the Mid City Hotel were surplus to their needs following the opening of a new student accommodation facility.
Fountainside had previously been leased by the state government since early 2020, with the lease costing between $420,000 and $580,000 a year.
The hotel was used as a COVID case management facility and currently houses new recruits from interstate and overseas, along with agency nurses, rotating medical registrars, locums, paramedics, senior clinical staff and other short-term contracted staff.
The Mid City Hotel, bought in 2018 for $23.5 million, was leased to Vision Hotels in 2021 and operates as a commercial hotel.
Fountainside was bought in 2019 for $18.76 million.
Both hotels provided accommodation for 174 students at their peak.
