This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
DEVELOPER APH Holding has picked up multiple sites in the north of Melbourne’s CBD for over $70 million, where it will build a five-star hotel, office, dining and events space on the 2,200 sqm parcel.
APH Holding will team up with architects Fender Katsalidis, with Karl Fender as lead architect, to create office space, a luxury five-star hotel, as well as events spaces, a sky lounge, dining establishments and entertainment.
The site will also have laneway retail and public art exhibition space
“The project will generate more employment opportunities in a part of the CBD that has been dominated by apartment development more recently,” the group said.
Among the properties at 441-451 Elizabeth Street, 139-141 Franklin Street and 147 Franklin Street are the circa 1858 Royal Saxon Hotel and the Menzies International Building.
“We are optimistic about Melbourne’s ability to bounce back from the pandemic and we want to play a big role in returning the CBD to its rightful place as an economic powerhouse,” APH Holding CEO Johnson Zhang said.
APH Holding also owns the site across the road at 440 Elizabeth Street, where it plans to expand its healthcare brand, Wellington Health, at the site.
Recently, it secured government tenant Eastern Health to anchor stage one of its $320 million Wellington Health precinct in the eastern suburb of Box Hill, and early last year got the green light for the first stage of a $1 billion business park in close-by Forest Hill.
APH Holding is looking to complete the new Melbourne CBD project by 2025.
“The activation of the ground floor and laneway for retail will be an integral part of this project, and the design will have a strong emphasis on the heritage façade along Elizabeth Street, striking a balance between heritage history and the future of Melbourne CBD laneway retail,” it said.
