Geelong’s Ryrie St Markets to make way for five-star hotel
A five-star hotel has been slated for Geelong’s Ryrie St Markets after the city landmark had sold.
A consortium of Melbourne buyers have secured the former market in a confidential multi-million dollar deal, L & D Real Estate director Varun Sharma says.
Sharma says the value of the sale will not be disclosed.
The property was listed with $4.5 million price hopes when it previously hit the market in 2017.
The consortium wants to build a five-star hotel on the site, retaining the heritage-protected facade, Sharma told the Advertiser.
He says it is hoped planning approval for the large-scale development will occur soon, once plans have been finalised and submitted to the council.
The market stands between Moorabool and Gheringhap streets in the CBD.
“They want to bring a five-star hotel there,” Sharma says.
“They want to work with the council now, start working with the council from next week and hopefully they will get approval and a permit from the council in three to six months and then they are ready to go,” he says.
Sharma says his agency was engaged to sell the property last month.
“The vendor who owned the property came to us last month and we got an opportunity to sell it as soon as possible and we sold it within 28 days,” he says.
“It’s a beautiful looking building, rich in heritage and there’s opportunity for the new development to keep the facade and do a multi-level development due to its large 1200sqm size.”
The market stands between Moorabool and Gheringhap streets in the CBD.
The market building’s facade is protected by a heritage overlay, while the Activity Centre zoning require a permit to build a hotel on that site.
Permission is also needed to construct a building more than 25m high as the site lies within a flight path to the emergency helipad at Geelong’s University Hospital.
A Heritage Victoria report shows the building is included on the Victorian Heritage Inventory. The site was a saleyard 1852 but was transformed in 1905 from a single-storey shop with some brick offices, sheds and covered yards to the brick shops, saleyards and upper-level offices.
A book retailer was the last business to occupy the main market building beneath an arched roof stretching from Ryrie to Little Ryrie streets.
This article from The Geelong Advertiser originally appeared as “Big plans revealed as consortium buys Geelong’s Ryrie St Market site”.
