Minister Waves Through 89-Room ‘Silicon Yarra’ Hotel

Cremorne’s transformation from industrial hub to Melbourne’s “Silicon Yarra” has delivered office towers and co-working spaces in abundance but visitor accommodation has remained conspicuously absent.

That gap will now be addressed with planning approval for Zig Inge Group’s 89-room hotel at 49-51 Balmain Street.

The residential hotel would sit on a 642sq m site combining two parcels at the intersection of Balmain Street and Stephenson Street, 3km from the Melbourne CBD.

The Rothelowman-designed nine-storey building would reach 32m in height above a single basement level.

Ground-floor facilities would include a lobby and restaurant with capacity for 180 patrons and 20 staff.

Room sizes range from 23sq m to 40sq m across the upper levels, with three levels dedicated to retail and food-and-beverage space.

“Cremorne was once full of warehouses and factories. Today, Cremorne is changing, yet its growth is still aligned with ‘working’,” according to the architectural design statement.

“Factories are being replaced by office buildings, the industrial suburb is becoming an administrative and tech hub. But are we forgetting something?”

The development intends to answer that question by introducing visitor accommodation to the precinct.

Rothelowman’s design would front Balmain Plaza, adjoining the Cherry Tree Hotel and next to the Rosella building at 57 Balmain Street, on which Zig Inge Group and Rothelowman collaborated and completed in 2020.

That project is a seven-storey office above the heritage-protected Rosella factory, which now serves as Reece Group’s headquarters. 

The design references Cremorne’s industrial heritage through precast facade panels creating ornamental detailing that, through “modularity and repetition”, is “simultaneously both simple and complex”.

▲ Precast panels with ornamental detailing create a layered facade that references local factory architecture.

Landscaping includes a street-level green wall and accessible green roof. The building would be entirely electric with no gas connection, targeting a 72 per cent BESS energy score.

Water management incorporates a 10,000L rainwater tank achieving a projected 27 per cent reduction in potable water demand. Transport provisions include 23 bicycle spaces and end-of-trip facilities, with no carparking provided.

Cremorne is one of Melbourne’s tightest office markets, with sustained tenant demand from tech and creative industries.

The precinct has attracted substantial commercial investment but offers limited short-stay accommodation or leisure infrastructure.

Zig Inge’s hotel will provide hospitality amenity within walking distance of the CBD, sporting precincts and the Botanic Gardens.

“The hotel typology offers a unique chance to weave a new layer into the urban fabric of Balmain Plaza,” the Rothelowman report said.

Recent approvals in the area include a 12-storey office tower at 101 Cremorne Street and an 11-storey mixed-use building at 24-28 Cremorne Street.

Alfasi Property’s $600 million Matchworks redevelopment at 560 Church Street, which features a 198-room Hoxton hotel on the historic Bryant and May site, is expected to begin soon.