Hotel to be built on Pentridge Prison site

The Pentridge Prison site in Victoria is set to feature a hotel with developer Shayher Group announcing TFE Hotels will operate an Adina Apartment Hotel on the site.

The 120-apartment hotel in Coburg, will be designed by Cox Architecture, with guests offered the chance to stay in a historic converted prison cell.

A further nine levels of accommodation will be built adjacent to the prison, including six levels of residential apartments.

Shayher Group spokesperson Anthony Goh said some cells would be retained in their former condition.

TFE Hotels chief executive officer Rachel Argaman said the site speaks to a rich history and we believe locals and visitors from overseas will be intrigued to learn about Australia’s penal past, she said.

“Hotels provide a great way to preserve the history of heritage-listed buildings, allowing unique and memorable experiences for guests who learn and experience aspects of that rich past,” she said.

The hotel is expected to open in 2020, pending planning and heritage permits and construction approvals and will include an all-day dining restaurant, day spa, 400 square metres of conference and meeting facilities, an indoor pool and gym and parking.

Shayher will invest more than $1 million in restoration works this year.