The Pentridge Prison Site Will Soon Be Home to a 120-Suite Hotel
You'll soon be able to spend the night in a luxurious prison cell
It might be the site of the country's last execution and resting place of the infamous Ned Kelly, but Pentridge Prison is destined to become to a much more enviable address, now that updated plans for the precinct's proposed Adina Apartment Hotel have been given the go-ahead.
The Taiwan-based Shayer Group was forced to change their original design for the 19-storey hotel and residential tower after The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) voiced concerns about the building's height.
The new plans have now been given the thumbs up, and construction has kicked off, with Shayer expected to drop a cool $1 million on restoration works this year. The 120-apartment hotel design will carefully blend old with new, brought to life by heritage-building experts Cox Architecture while retaining as much as possible of the building's former glory. And yes, that means guests will have the chance to spend the night in a converted prison cell, albeit a pretty luxurious one.
The site next door will offer even more options, set to house nine more levels of accommodation, six residential storeys and one level of communal facilities.
The hotel part of the prison conversion will also see the building's former chapel restored as a function space, along with the addition of an all-day dining restaurant, indoor pool, gym, conferences facilities and parking, all slated to open by 2020.
The hotel will be part of a new precinct in the area, which will also incorporate a 15-screen Palace cinema, a supermarket and an assortment of cafes, restaurant, bars and a pub and microbrewery. None of these are yet open, with construction on the precinct delayed until earlier this year.
Adina Apartment Hotel Pentridge is slated to open in 2020.
