Developer Plots High-End Hotel in South Yarra

Melbourne developer Oreana Group is banking on a strong recovery in the city’s hotel sector, lodging plans for a $250-million project on Toorak Road alongside South Yarra train station that it hopes will accommodate 50,000 domestic and international guests annually.

Oreana, led by brothers Tony and Steven Sass, swooped on the 2480sq m site between 169 and 177 Toorak Road in May last year, paying about $35 million.

The site is home to South Yarra Square, a five-level sandstone retail and office property with a European-style piazza fronting Toorak Road comprising shops on the ground floor and offices on the levels above. 

Once owned by the Hubay and Kornhauser families, South Yarra Square was strata-subdivided in 1996 and sold down to individual owners in 1998.

Oreana has now revealed plans that will incorporate the existing building into its project.

The mixed-use premium development, designed by architecture firm Fender Katsalidis, includes offices with end-of-trip facilities and a116-key hotel with balconies facing Toorak Road. 

The building will span more than 30,000sq m, including 9300sq m of lettable office space, 1400sq m of retail and 4200sq m for the luxury hotel, above four basement parking levels.

▲ Oreana plans to retain the Italianate and Tudor Revival building facades beneath a new 17-level building rising above. Image: Fender Katsalidis

It will incorporate a day spa and wellness centre with city views from the terrace pool on level eight.

The existing Italianate and Tudor Revival building facades, which are of heritage significance, will be preserved as part of the development. The building will also feature boutique retail stores, function and event spaces, and bars and restaurants. Oreana also plans to redevelop and revitalise the existing piazza.

“The hotel will be one of the only luxury hotels in South Yarra,” Oreana Group managing director Steven Sass said.

“We expect it to attract 50,000 local, interstate and international hotel guests per annum. It will inject millions into the local economy.” 

Sass said Oreana had carefully considered the design of the project to ensure it met and exceeded community expectations.

“The site has a rich heritage, which we intend to honour,” he said.

“We are confident the [South Yarra] community will respond positively to the plans and have worked hard to create a development that has something for everyone and will become an iconic South Yarra location.”

▲ The existing property’s European-style piazza fronting Toorak Road will be retained and revamped. Image: Fender Katsalidis

Oreana has a strong record over more than two decades of launching and delivering innovative projects across Melbourne as well as interstate in Western Australia.

Its diversified portfolio of projects includes masterplanned subdivisions, retail centres and childcare facilities.

Pending approvals, construction on its South Yarra development is anticipated to start in early 2024 with hotel guests and office tenants being welcomed by 2026.

Hotel occupancy has been gradually improving across Melbourne with nearly 60 per cent of rooms now occupied at an average daily rate of $207.00.

Oreana’s project will future supply to Melbourne’s swelling hotel pipeline, which exceeds more than 5000 rooms and is the largest in the country.

Other hotels in development in Melbourne include a 277-room 1 Hotel on the Northbank of the Yarra, which is due to open in 2024 and a 500-room Shangri-La due to open in the Melbourne CBD next year.

Also in the pipeline is a 210-key Four Seasons hotel that will form part of the city’s tallest project, Sth Bank by Beulah International, and Steadfast Capital’s 450-key dual hotel project, Melbourne Walk, in the Bourke Street mall shopping precinct.