Hotel Developer Files Tower Plans in Abbotsford

Amber Property Group has lodged plans for an eight-storey mixed-use tower in one of Melbourne’s office fringe suburbs. 

The 2428sq m site at 422-430 Johnston Street, Abbotsford was bought by the developer in May 2022 for $22.023 million.

“We always select good quality sites where people want to actually work and live,”  Amber chief operations officer Jevan Clay said.

“If you can stand on the location and get a sense of community and the vibrancy of a suburb this will always translate into strong demand.

“Suburbs like Abbotsford, Fitzroy and Richmond have all of this in spades and these are the areas we look in for projects.” 

Former Holden dealer Geoff Brady financially backs the developer, who signed a deal with Accor Hotels in 2019 when first planning its other projects, The Sebel Hotel in Ringwood and the Motley Hotel in Richmond. 

A group of five owners sold the five low-rise showrooms on the Johnston Street site as a joint block each earning around $4.4 million, about three times more than the estimated $1.5 million that they each may have received selling individually. 

The site has frontages onto Trenerry Crescent and Little Turner Street as well as Johnston Street. 

The plans for the site include two basement levels for car parking, 64 apartments, offices and retail spaces, with a final value estimated at $100 million. 

The application is requesting a reduction in the car parking requirements as well as a permit to add the apartments as the site is in a commercial zone.

Some of the apartments will be affordable housing. 

“We want to offer some affordable housing options through to large luxury apartments to really cater for the full gamut of owners,” Clay said. 

“In our experience if you deliver a high quality mixed use project your purchasers take real pride in being part of an amazing community that these buildings create.

“We have successfully delivered projects like the Newbury in Preston and The Record in South Melbourne where owners really love the building and take pride in living in such high quality projects.” 

▲ Amber Property Group is also developing the Peppers Hotel in Richmond at 203-207 Bridge Road.

Amber’s white-label Motley Hotel at 203-207 Bridge Road in Richmond will open in January 2023 and be operated by La'Ve. 

Two original heritage facades are expected to be retained as part of the development with a final 80 luxury hotel rooms, rooftop cocktail bar and a street level Modern Australian restaurant. 

“We have really pushed the limits of ultra-cool luxury with this hotel project,” Clay said.

“There is nothing like the Motely hotel anywhere in Richmond and we expect that this hotel will really underpin the accommodation demand generated by the Epworth hospital and the MCG sporting precinct.”

Motley has cost $40 million to develop. 

Amber also recently completed the Mclaren and Co project in Fitzroy.

“The McClaren and Co project was a stunning example of a mixed use project and included offices and luxury apartments which were really well received by all of the lucky owners and office workers,” Clay said.

It was designed by Jackson Clement Burrows Architects and included “skyhome-sized” apartments with views of the city. 

Amber has also partnered with Acts Global Churches to build a $250-million, 18-storey project at 35 Corio Street, right opposite Deakin University and a block away from Geelong Waterfront, Cunningham Pier and Steampacket Pier.

▲ Amber Property Group's Cunningham Place project at Geelong opposite Cunningham Pier.

The project is called Cunningham Place and will feature a 168-suite hotel, a 650-seat auditorium and conference facility with 5000 square metres of space.  

It is also slated to have a restaurant precinct, co-working offices and residential apartments.

It is a 4668sq m island site with four frontages on Corio, Transit, Clare and Gheringap streets, and the plans have been designed by WMK Architecture.

Amber worked closely with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning for two years on the project with the state planning department issuing a draft permit six weeks ago but the minister’s office yet to officially sign off on it. 

“We are now waiting for the Planning Minister to issue delegated authority to DELWP to issue the final permit,” Clay said.

“We are fully funded, shovel ready and really excited to commence works at the earliest possible opportunity.

“After Amber receives the final permit for which we have worked collaboratively with DELWP for the last two years we will get started with the intention of opening the hotel in time for the Commonwealth Games.”   

The project is estimated to create more than 1500 full time equivalent construction jobs per year for two years and then an estimated more than 300 full time equivalent jobs once operational.

Geelong is currently experiencing an interest in tourism investment as the city rebounds after the pandemic.