A substantial new development is on the cards for the infamous former Hotel New York site in the Launceston CBD.
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Developer JAC Group bought the site in May last year for just over $1.3 million.
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That same month, the developer also purchased the neighbouring car parking for a further $2 million, though it remained unclear at the time what the plans were for the sites.
12 months later, new plans currently before the City of Launceston council and open for public submission have revealed what JAC Group have envisioned to replace the now derelict hotel.
The plans outline a significant contemporary redevelopment to intermingle the two lots by partially demolishing the existing building and constructing a new structure that overhangs into the adjoining car park.
The 148-square-metre overhang is depicted with a combined glass, concrete and aluminium cladding faade, under which parking will still be available.
The retail floor plan outlined for the building is multi-level and expansive - with the first floor extending across more than 1000-square-metres.
That said, it remains unclear if the building will house one tenant or several and the plans did not elaborate as to whether a retailer has already signed on for the project.
The car park is also currently home to much-loved CBD Food truck Jaffar Kebab, but it is also unclear at this point if the eatery will continue to operate from the site once the redevelopment is complete.
The current building was originally constructed by the Boags company in the 1960s and was at that time known as the James Hotel.
In more recent years, the building operated as the Hotel New York and Mode nightclubs before being taken over and rebranded as The Empire 44 Bar & Nightclub.
That rebranding was short-lived, however, after the building was raided by Tasmania Police in 2019 in a large drug trafficking's sting.
That raid led to the arrest of 12 people and the seizure of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and illicit drugs. The lot has remained vacant ever since.
Accompanying the new designs was a heritage impact report compiled by Launceston architecture firm David Denman & Associates, which examined whether the plans constituted an imposition on the cultural heritage of the city or the streetscape itself.
While conceding that the James Hotel is listed on the local Heritage Register, the report also cautioned that it is not listed by the Tasmanian Heritage Council, adding that its local listing is likely the result of a previous streetscape listing and wasn't indicative of the building's cultural value.
With that in mind, the author of the report went on to conclude that "the loss of the James Hotel is of little if any concern".
"The proposed redevelopment [...] presents an opportunity to remove a tired looking faade of no intrinsic value to the streetscape and to replace this with a more contemporary and relevant frontage," the report's author also noted.
Further, the report argued that the new designs would help address the "missing tooth" look the vacant car park imposes on the streetscape. The plans will remain open for public submission until May 25.
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