This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
TELEVISION network Channel Nine is set to gut the landmark St Kilda rooming house The Gatwick in the name of reality television.
It emerged yesterday afternoon that the network’s company MICJOY Pty Ltd had placed a caveat over the property, a week after Victorian Housing Minister Martin Foley announced its closure.
The site has long been rumoured to be a target for the coming season of Nine’s renovation show The Block, despite the network’s purchase of a vacant block of land at 46 Regent Street in Elsternwick late last year for $10 million.
The Gatwick is owned by sisters Yvette Kelly and Rose Banks and has been used by rough sleepers as a shelter for some time. Some residents have been allocated new homes, although the next move for others is unclear.
It has earned an infamous reputation as the reported scene of crimes including murder, rape, burglary, assaults, and unbecoming drug-fuelled behaviour.
“The Gatwick has long passed its time as a place that housed vulnerable people in safe and appropriate circumstances,” Minister Foley said last week.
Conjecture remains as to whether or not the alleged troubling behaviour has been a direct result of The Gatwick’s occupants or outsiders.
This is the second major hotel sold in Melbourne this week following the sale of the iconic The Espy hotel to hospitality group Sand Hill Road.
The Esplanade Hotel was acquired in 1995 by Carlton and United Breweries which onsold it to Becton, whose attempts to build a 35-storey tower behind the venue were shut down by residents. Since 2006 it has since been owned by former nightclub operators Vince Sofo and Paul Adamo.
Australian Property Journal
