InterContinental Hotels Group has committed to operating a new South Melbourne hotel, lodged with City of Melbourne, in a deal with Melbourne-based developer BEKL.

IHG brand Voco will operate the new hotel, to be built at the northern end of St Kilda Road, at 10-16 Dorcas Street.

Property developer BEKL, previously Amazon Property Group, are behind the project after acquiring the property in an off-market transaction for $37 million in 2017.

The group lodged a development application for the Plus Architecture-designed 20-level tower on 23 March this year.

The site is currently occupied by a seven-level office building which sits on a 1,301sq m site and is located within a mixed-use zone under Melbourne’s planning scheme.

The hotel will comprise 171 rooms and forms part of a larger mixed-use project that will include 36 apartments and 2,293sq m of office space, if given the green light from the City of Melbourne.

South Melbourne is the third Victorian location for the Voco brand, launched in mid-2018, following Voco Yarra Valley and Voco Melbourne Central.

Forging ahead with its plans despite the downturn in the tourism sector, BEKL’s managing director Katherine Liu says the hotel is scheduled to open in 2023.

“Even after a challenging period over the past few months, we know Melbourne will bounce back better than ever,” Liu said.

“Melbourne is one of the world’s greatest cities, with an enviable events calendar, strong tourism and an increasing appetite for outstanding accommodation.”

The brand’s Surfers Paradise hotel, at the Gold Coast, has been a quarantine for international arrivals during the pandemic.

BEKL purchased the South Melbourne property from investment fund Crescent Wealth, which had acquired the property for $30.75 million in 2015.