A revised application has been made for a planning permit for the proposed Mantra hotel in Bendigo's Hargreaves Mall.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The applicants, Bendigo Hotel Investments, are proposing to build a six-storey, 4.5-star hotel at the site of the former Thomas Jewellers store.
The construction cost of the build is estimated at $14.4 million, according to a document submitted as part of the planning application.
The application proposes the hotel will feature 110 rooms, a function room, a restaurant with capacity for 100 guests, a lounge/bar/cafe and meeting rooms.
Bendigo Hotel Investments representative Ben Tzirkas says the project's stakeholders are keen for the project to proceed, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A traffic engineering assessment, completed by Traffix Group in March, estimates the hotel would create demand for 101 car parks during the evening and 34 car parks during the day.
In a letter attached to the planning application, council's parking strategy coordinator Jock Schofield wrote to Mr Tzirkas on March 3.
Mr Schofield said his response "indicates the City's ability to accommodate your proposed development's parking needs, particularly secure off-street overnight parking in our existing facilities."
The proposed hotel's application includes no provisions for its own car park.
It is understood hotel guests would park their vehicles in one of the CBD's existing multi-storey car parks, including the Edwards Street car park.
Mr Schofield said it would reasonable to expect an adequate number of casual spaces would be available during the day.
"Overnight, there is significant capacity to accommodate the hotel's parking needs," Mr Schofield said.
The Edwards Street car park is currently closed overnight.
In his correspondence, Mr Schofield suggests council would work with the hotel to ensure a car parking arrangement that met the needs of its users.
"A possible solution may be council providing several access cards to the hotel to be utilised by patrons," Mr Schofield said.
"Council would then charge the hotel a commercial rate for each transaction."
The hotel's proposal says it expects to employ 53 staff.
The new hotel expects to open in mid 2022, subject to planning approvals.
