A new Crown for Melbourne…

Crown Melbourne announced yesterday that it has sought planning and building approvals to construct the biggest hotel in Australia at the Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne.

At an estimated cost of $300 million, the proposed new hotel will be the third hotel in the Melbourne Yarra side Crown Entertainment Complex along with the award-winning, luxurious Crown Towers and Australia’s best business hotel – Crown Promenade Hotel.

The proposed new hotel’s 658 rooms will bring the total number of hotel rooms available at the Crown Entertainment Complex to more than 1600 rooms.

The proposed new hotel, which is still to be named, will target the international leisure market but will also focus heavily on the global conventions and conferences industries.

The CEO of Crown Melbourne, David Courtney, said today the proposed new hotel was a demonstration of the confidence Crown has in the future of Melbourne as one of the world’s leading tourist destinations.

“The proposed development of the new hotel will continue Crown’s commitment to excellence in design and style and will be an invaluable addition to Melbourne’s tourism infrastructure, “he said.

The new hotel site will front Clarendon Street and is close to Melbourne’s Exhibition Centre and will complement the new Plenary Hall and Convention Centre being built by the Victorian government at Docklands.

“The combination of the MECC with Crown’s entertainment offer and 1600 hotel rooms provides a compelling offer to the international conference and conventions market” he said.

Subject to receipt of all necessary approvals, construction on the proposed new hotel is due to start this month (October) and is projected to be opened for operation by May 2010.

The architecturally striking, modern, sleek design of the proposed new hotel has been created by Australia’s internationally recognised firm Bates Smart.

It is proposed that the new hotel will be supported by a substantial addition to Crown’s already impressive convention and conferencing facilities which will be positioned between the Crown Promenade Hotel and the new site in Clarendon Street.

Plans for Crown’s new conference facilities include 50 exhibition booths, seven state of the art conference meeting rooms and an 800-seat Plenary Hall.

The design for the new hotel has it positioned on top of a stunning “futuristic” podium entry and featuring a new retail shopping precinct.

It is intended that the new retail precinct will showcase international brands making their first appearance in Australia.

The additional conferencing and convention facilities and the new retail precinct are estimated to cost approximately $40 million over and above the cost of constructing the new hotel.

Crown Melbourne has also announced other substantial capital expenditure at the complex.

There will be a substantial upgrading of Crown Towers to reinforce its position as a major international tourist destination and one of Australia’s leading hotels.

The upgrading is estimated to cost $65 million.

Crown Melbourne will also spend an additional $140 million in a major refurbishment of the main gaming floor including new live entertainment venues, on-floor restaurants and new lighting and colour schemes.

Report by The Mole