An all-new Crown Casino “Tower of Light” is soon to light up Southbank on Melbourne’s Yarra River, pending approval.
If granted approval, the skyscraper will be an impressive 90-storey tower with 388 six-star hotel rooms and a whopping 680 luxury units.
It will be as tall as the Eureka Tower in Melbourne, falling only seven metres behind the Q1 tower in the Gold Coast. A glass and metal walkway will connect the high-rise structure to the existing Crown complex across Queens Bridge Street.
British architects and global competition winners Wilkinson Eyre created the proposal and if approved, the tower will be the fourth hotel in Melbourne owned by Crown.
It has been reported that the complex will not have gaming facilities.
Proposal approval
The proposal will need to pass the new height regulations originating from the Andrews government and be deemed of state significance in order for it to get approved.
No specific cost of construction has been quoted, but a Herald Sun report estimates it to be around $1.5 billion.
Michael Buxton, RMIT planning expert said all prior attempts to build a tower of this magnitude in Melbourne have thus far failed to get approval as the recent height controls are designed to prevent such huge construction.
But Crown owner James Packer emphasised the need for such a tower, saying Melbourne is the most liveable city and as such, it is important to keep tourists rolling in through investments and upgrades.
He also defended the glass bridge (a possible source of controversy) which would connect the building with Crown Towers. According to him, this age of competitive global luxury is one where hotel guests cannot be asked to dodge traffic and face wet weather in order to visit another facility within the resort, which is why the attractive but discreet link is a necessity to the success of a six-star hotel.
Other features of the tower include a shopping precinct, an all-day dining area, a 300-metre high bar, and a garden terrace level that is open to the public.
Should it receive approval, the Queenbridge Hotel Tower will open its doors in either late 2019 or early 2020, opening up 1600 initial construction jobs.
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Image courtesy of Heraldsun.com.au
