Northbridge: Great Southern Hotel, a favourite among FIFOs, set for $6m facelift and six-storey extension

The Great Southern Hotel will undergo a $6 million facelift if State planners back the owner’s plans to redevelop the site and increase its number of guest rooms. Metro Inner-North Joint Development Assessment Panel members will vote on a recommendation on Monday to approve plans by landowner GPR Hotels Pty Ltd for a six-storey extension to the back of the existing hotel at 17-39 Robinson Avenue, Northbridge. Applicant Stewart Urban Planning will present the plans to panel members on behalf of the owner. The plans include a new building fronting Monger Street that will connect to the existing hotel and an additional 40 rooms, bringing the total number rooms to 167. A restaurant or cafe tenancy is proposed to be built facing Monger Street. The hotel is a short distance from the Perth Cultural Precinct, Perth Busport and train station, CBD. It’s currently spans seven lots, with the existing building facing Robinson Avenue reaching three storeys high in the north-western section towards William Street and two storeys in the south-east section. The hotel currently operates with up to 20 staff and has 40 car parking bays located within an internal carpark accessed from Robinson Avenue available for staff and guests. According to a Lateral Planning report, half of the hotel’s guests are FIFO workers who use it as a metropolitan base when their primary address is either interstate or overseas. Airline staff make up 20 per cent of all hotel guests and this proportion was higher before the pandemic. The remaining 30 per cent is primarily made up of interstate travellers, with only 5 per cent being regional guests. The city put the plans out for public comment and received 16 submissions with two in support and 13 objections to the redevelopment. One submission was neither in support or objection but expressed some concerns. The key concerns raised during the community consultation period include the height and scale of the proposed building, increased traffic and parking demand, and increased instances of anti-social behaviour, smoking and littering, which are existing issues associated with the hotel and its guests. The City of Vincent’s Design Review Panel wrote in a report the proposed development was at a scale and intensity that is “complimentary and compatible” with the existing and future context of the surrounding area. The landowner would not be drawn into commenting on the application ahead of the JDAP decision.