Melbourne’s Hotel Windsor

A fresh attempt to save Melbourne’s dowager hotel The Windsor from demolition will be made on December 1.

The hotel’s Indonesian owner, the Halim Group, has agreed to attend a mediation session with the Victorian government in a bid to break the impasse over the hotel’s future.

The group bought the hotel 10 years ago for $38 million and has spent $16m maintaining it.

It wants a planning permit extension for the redevelopment of the 19th-century hotel.

If the dispute is not settled on December 1, the case will move to a full Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing in February.

In July, Victorian Planning Minister Dick Wynne rejected the Halim Group’s plea for a permit extension, saying the Indonesians could have built a proposed tower behind the Windsor at any time since 2010.

Yesterday, Halim Group boss Adi Halim said this claim was “factually wrong” because the group did not have sufficient permissions from various government bodies in order to start the redevelopment.

“We have since advised him (Mr Wynne) that the 2010 planning permit was only the beginning of the permissions process and we needed multiple permits from Heritage Victoria, including a number of permits and sign off for the interior, before we could even develop the design and progress to draw up construction documentation,” Mr Halim said.

Mr Halim said his group was funding $100m of the $330m redevelopment.

He said the government was concerned his company was “warehousing” the project.

He has since offered milestones including signing a construction contract within four months of a permit extension, and said he would begin demolition of the north building within 12 months of a permit extension.

As part of the redevelopment deal, the Halim Group wants to build a 27-level tower designed by Denton Corker Marshall.

The Halim Group says Melbourne needs more luxury accommodation.

Source:  The Australian - 1st October 2015