Quest hotel to replace Collingwood ex-suit factory
The Ascott Limited has committed to a second Collingwood hotel in as many years.
In the latest deal, for its Quest division, the provider will lease the top eight floors of a mixed-use investment replacing the Travellers Apparel factory, once held by revered late businessman Tony Toumbourou, at 79 Wellington Street.
The venue will trade as Quest Collingwood Apartment Hotel, with 83 corporate suites – including some with up to three bedrooms – a conference facility, business lounge and gym.
The building will also include two office levels, ground floor retail and a double storey basement car park.
Centreland Group is the owner.
CHT Architects has penned the design.
Travellers, which relocated in the suburb, manufactured suits amongst other menswear at 79 Wellington St for decades until early 2019.
Quest at 79 Wellington Street
Quest Collingwood Apartment Hotel should open next November.
The conference room will accommodate 80 people (story continues below).
The address almost neighbours 42 Cambridge St, which Ascott last year chose for its first Australian Lyf inn, due to open early next year, targeted to the millennial market.
“Together, the two hotels will give the company a strong foothold in Melbourne’s north-east, collectively catering to a wide cross-section of guest segments across an accumulative 188 rooms,” Ascott Australia’s managing director, David Mansfield, said.
“The population in the Collingwood precinct skews younger, so the Lyf brand in all its vibrancy is perfectly geared to students, tourists and young professionals, while Quest has carved its name as one of the preferred brands among Australia’s corporate world and is ideally suited to extended stay, so each hotel will have its own character and guest experience to offer”.
The City of Yarra’s Community Infrastructure Plan (CIP) seeks to add more corporate accommodation product to the area.
“With over 16,000 businesses operating in Yarra primarily in the health care, professional scientific and tech industries, the new hotel will sustain existing demand as well as ongoing growth outlined in the CIP,” Quest general manager of growth and capital strategy, James Shields, said.
“Collingwood is one of Yarra’s key employment precincts supporting over 84,000 jobs and we believe there is a shortage of high-quality apartment-style hotel accommodation in the area to cater to current and future business travellers”, he added.
Elsewhere in the suburb, a former tie factory at 99-117 Islington St is earmarked for two offices while the ex-Club 80 at 8-10 Peel St, with a neighbouring terrace (#6), are mooted for an eight level commercial building.
Eleven months ago, UEM Sunrise paid Jowett Motor Group $43m for a collection of car yards at the south west corner of Hoddle and Langridge streets with plans for mixed-use but predominantly residential village with several towers.
In 2019 Gurner secured Sydney hotelier Veriu to a 95-key guesthouse – part of a bigger complex, Atelier Residences, also with 51 apartments and retail – at 23-33 Johnston St.
