THE Fragrance Group has lodged a development application (DA) with the Hobart City Council for a four-star hotel and apartment complex in Elizabeth Street.

At the same time, in response to the public feedback, Fragrance has also made amendments to significantly reduce the height of its proposed hotel and convention centre development in Collins Street.

Both projects are still being processed by the Hobart City Council and will be advertised to for public comment in due course.

As well, Fragrance Group has temporarily put its proposed Davey Street development on hold.

Elizabeth Street
Located at 234-250 Elizabeth Street, the new development will comprise 214 hotel suites over 13 storeys and 91 one, two and three-bedroom apartments in a 12-storey residential building. It has three levels of basement car parking with two-storeys of retail, food and beverage offerings fronting Elizabeth Street. With a total building height of only 45 meters, both the residential and hotel buildings are significantly setback from Elizabeth Street and will not be imposing to pedestrians at the street level along Elizabeth Street.

The estimated construction cost is approximately AUD$80 million, plus fitout.

Collins Street
In response to feedback from local residents, the Fragrance Group has redesigned its Development Application for the proposed Collins Street project, with the building height being substantially reduced to around 50 metres to be more in keeping with the neighbourhood.

The revised height is similar to a number of other existing and approved buildings within the vicinity of the city and for example will be notably lower than the nearby Royal Hobart Hospital towers currently under construction, which will be about 69 metres when completed.

The hotel will now comprise 256 rooms and the 800 seat conference room and associated facilities outlined in the original design. The façade has also been redesigned to be more sensitive to the architecture and landscape of Hobart. The estimated construction budget is AUD$60 million, plus fitout costs.

Commitment to Hobart
Fragrance Principal James Koh said the Group had listened to the responses from the residents of Hobart and as a result amended its designs to meet the expressed aspirations and desires of the local community. He is hopeful the new Elizabeth Street development and the revised Collins Street project would be supported and the DAs approved, so that construction could commence as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Fragrance will defer its Development Application for the proposed Davey Street five-star hotel development. It is also prepared to lower the height of this building in a manner similar to the Elizabeth Street and Collins Street projects, if those revised proposals are well received by Hobart City Council and the public.

Mr Koh said the Fragrance Group remained strongly committed to Tasmania and had additional property interests in Hobart and Launceston. However, plans were still being developed for those sites so it would be premature to make any further announcement at this time.

The proposed hotel developments will create important construction activity and new employment in Tasmania and when completed, would help meet the growing need for visitor accommodation, particularly in Hobart. This can be seen from the Fragrance Group’s recently completed 296 room IBIS Styles hotel on Macquarie Street.

These projects will bring significant new investment to Tasmania and it is important to note that the Fragrance Group is not seeking any government grants or subsidies, taxation or rates relief, or any other form of assistance. As the investment funds are coming from outside Australia, the projects will not impact on funding for other development activity in Tasmania.

About Fragrance Group

Fragrance Group headed by Mr James Koh (Koh Wee Meng) is an established developer in Singapore, to date having successfully completed more than 100 developments comprising hotel, residential and commercial / industrial buildings. The Group has been active in Australia since 2014 and has major developments in Melbourne and Perth, as well as Hobart.
Fragrance Group