Two Yarra City planning applications have sparked opposition among local residents - a six-storey 100-room hotel in Bridge Rd and a 12-storey office development in Cremorne St, Cremorne.
The proposed $16.25 million hotel project, diagonally opposite Richmond Town Hall at 300-306 Bridge Rd, is less than three blocks from the new 80-room Peppers Hotel due to open later this year.
It would be built across the sites that currently house a Chemist Warehouse, the No.ThreeOFour bottle shop and Al Nawab restaurant.
A project of East Kew-registered company HLL Development, the plan is for a 1385sqm building with a rooftop garden, 244sqm of ground floor space for an "ancillary restaurant and café/bar", outdoor courtyards and a gym, and two basement levels incorporating 39 car parks.
The proposal has met with mixed responses from local residents, with some welcoming increased economic activity in Bridge Rd and others concerned over added pressure on Spencer Place at the rear of the building, which would provide access to drop-off areas and basement car parking for the hotel.
Yarra City councillor Herschel Landes says he believes the 15 objections required to see the project referred to the council's Planning and Development Committee had already been lodged.
In Cremorne, the application for commercially zoned 31-53 Cremorne St is for a 48.2m high, 3538sqm 12-storey office building.
The $81m development would have 17,900sqm of office space and 2100sqm of restricted retail space, private terraces on five levels and a rooftop terrace available to the public during business hours.
It would include 84 car parking spaces located in two basement levels 121 bicycle spaces for employees and 36 for visitors.
