New Era For Historic St Kilda Building

The four-star Novotel St Kilda located at 14-16 The Esplanade is about to have a make-over with a development application being submitted to the City of Port Phillip to replace the hotel with an apartment building.

The building will also see a new look for Alfred Square, located opposite the proposed apartment which will bring The Esplanade into the 21^st century with state-of-the-art design.

The project on The Esplanade is currently valued at $55 million which will cover the cost of expanding the current structure and re-purposing it into an apartment building. The 300 apartment building will house 166 one bedroom, 71 two bedroom, 31 three bedroom apartments and 32 townhouses within a two building structure, measuring 27.2 metres in height.

Local design firm Metier3 will handle the design of the seven storey building. This newly anticipated development will see Sydney based developer Barana Group’s first look into the Melbourne residential market. The development of the new apartment building is a long-term prospect supported by Accor’s current management agreement with Novotel, according to a 2014 AFR article.

The 5,800 square metres of land would remove the predominately precast structure in favour of dwellings.

The building will contain a swimming pool, gym, spa and various other facilities at basement level. Beneath the new fortress will lay a three level basement parking area, holding 352 car spaces for the residents, as well as 30 motorbike spaces and 145 bicycle spaces.

The reasoning behind the new development comes from proposals to improve the public realm of St Kilda – a part of the

St Kilda Foreshore Urban Design Framework. The proposed development will see contact made with The Esplanade by ‘improving the Alfred Square edge to Upper Esplanade to make the square more accessible and inviting to enter from the street.’ It will also ensure the Square’s ceremonial and commemorative aspects are not lost with a new landscape plan, allowing visitors to use the square as a ‘contemplative space’.

The proposal will also ensure the conservation of various heritage pieces will be a valued part of the new design with a proposed seating and shelter area to be used in replacement of the current aging surfaces.