A car park in the middle of Melbourne's CBD is set for a significant makeover, with a Sydney hospo giant revealing grand plans to transform it into a gigantic hospitality and entertainment complex.
In late February it was confirmed that the City of Melbourne sold the car park at 34-60 Little Collins Street to Merivale, the group behind a stack of popular Sydney restaurants like Totti's and MuMu. If you know the car park where Soi 38 used to be until recently, that's the spot.
The eight-storey building will be turned into a hospitality and entertainment hub, with plans for a boutique hotel, day spa, gallery, rooftop sky garden and more, as well as several local iterations of Merivale's existing venues. So yes, that means Melbourne could be getting a Totti's. Other venues slated for inclusion are MuMu, Jam Record Bar and a jazz bar.
Set to be called 'Parkade', the huge development will take over the northwest corner of Meyers Place in the Paris end of the CBD. Merivale also recently bought the property across the road (the former Kantay House), which currently houses San Telmo. But the hospo group's first foray into an actual Melbourne opening is set to be a restaurant inside Tomasetti House in Flinders Lane, which is apparently opening by the end of this year.
This project is only in nascent stages, with the current lease to the car park operator still in effect for another 12 years, unless Merivale manages to negotiate it to end earlier. We'll be keeping a close eye for updates on the development's timeline, so watch this space.
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