Hotel-to-Home Conversion Planned for Darwin CBD

Plans have been filed to convert a Darwin CBD hotel into homes.

The Darwin Esplanade Central Apartment Hotel stands nine storeys at 88-90 Esplanade and comprises 58 one-bedroom and 85 two-bedroom units.

It offers a mix of hotel rooms and serviced apartments, the latter of which were privately owned. 

Under the application, all rooms would be converted to private homes. 

The site, formerly Mantra on the Esplanade, has restaurant and ground-floor commercial units, which would not be affected by the plan.

According to CBRE, Darwin has been among the “standout performers exceeding pre-pandemic occupancy” as it benefitted from domestic visitors, however, it is also lagging with lower recovery rates of international arrivals.

There has been no new hotel supply in Darwin for several years and none are under construction, although there are proposals for Quest Darwin and the 120-key Northern Hotel on Peary Street.

CBRE said it expected short-term heightened construction costs to act as a “major barrier” to entry in the Darwin market.