Henty House, built in the early 1980s and considered an example of brutalist architecture, was heritage listed last October.

It has been a polarising icon in the city, with one alderman provoking debate three years ago when he described it as the city's ugliest building.

The Strada Group paid $11 million for Henty House in 2009 but said the listing would impose limits on any redevelopment and may even reduce its value.

Strada said it was told about six months after it bought Henty House that the Tasmanian Heritage Council planned to have it listed. Strada chief executive Scott Barlow questioned the timing.

``It's very unlikely that it would have fetched the sale price that it did if it was heritage listed or if it was flagged for listing,'' he said.

Strada's appeal is likely to be heard before the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal next month.

In its appeal Strada will argue that Henty House was built 10 years after the height of brutalism and was a poor example of the style.

``It's a bad decision for the Launceston community and an example of planning gone mad,'' Mr Barlow said.

Hobart-born Mr Barlow said Tasmanians deserved greater input into heritage listings and those he spoke to were ``shocked'' to learn that Henty House had been listed.

``I think it's important that the building and its heritage listing is discussed in the community,'' he said.

The Heritage Council, which nominated the building after conducting a heritage study of Launceston, defended the process behind registering Henty House.

``The public had the opportunity to comment formally after public advertisements were placed in The Examiner newspaper,'' council chairman Dianne Snowden said.

``While people tend to assume older places should be listed in this way, more contemporary places are also an important feature of Tasmania's heritage.''

Mediation between the parties failed when an offer to limit the listing to Henty House's facade and ground floor was rejected by Strada.

Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten, who is keen to develop a masterplan for Civic Square, said he struggled to understand the listing.

``I find it difficult to understand how Henty House adds to the heritage of our beautiful city . . . I struggle to see the beauty of Henty House,'' he said.

The listing also failed to win support from admirers of Henty House, such as former MLC Don Wing, who once had an office in the building.

``I'm surprised it's being listed for heritage purposes . . . I do see it having some architectural merit, albeit a controversial one,'' Mr Wing said.

Henty tenant and Bass Liberal MHA Peter Gutwein said he was appalled by the decision.

``This listing sends very much the wrong message to developers because of the fear that if they build something striking or architecturally significant they run the risk of a heritage listing being slapped on it,'' he said.

Strada owns several commercial office buildings in Hobart and in Canberra.