Construction of a brand new 10-storey hotel within a new precinct known as ‘The Hive’ at Melbourne Airport has commenced. Located just steps from Terminal 4, the 464-room hotel is intended to support growing traveller numbers and address constraints in the supply of hotel accommodation at the airport.
Melbourne Airport worked closely with renowned architectural firm Fender Katsilidis and interior designer Woods Bagot, to create a hotel that ‘looks and feels like Melbourne’.
The hotel will be dual-branded, operating under the Novotel and ibis Styles’ brands, and will offer guests gym and pool facilities, a café, bar and restaurant plus conference room facilities.
In 2018, Fender Katsilidis Director, James Pearce, said the hotel aims to be much more than just a place for travellers to stay.
“The hotel is going to act like a village centre and a gathering place to support the airport community in addition to travellers,” said Mr Pearce.
The 10-storey hotel features ‘wings’ that were designed to not only catch the eye but also provide product efficiency.
“The façade also has sunshades that create an interesting abstract landscape in pop-art colours,” he commented.
Melbourne Airport’s Chief of Property, Linc Horton, said the project represents the airport’s latest milestone in supporting the state as it moves toward becoming Australia’s biggest city.
“It is really exciting to bring such a great new hotel concept to one of the great travel destinations in Australia – Melbourne, giving travellers more choice and amenity,” he said.
“We believe this new development will bring a much-needed social hub to our space bringing visitors and business colleagues together on the doorstep of the airport with access to more than 650 flights per day.”
“Importantly, it will also open up around 120 job opportunities for hospitality and tourism staff – a huge boost for the City of Hume,” Mr Horton commented.
One of Australia’s most dynamic construction companies, Built, was selected by Melbourne Airport to construct the project. 450 jobs are forecast to be created during the hotel’s construction phase.
To ensure a seamless project delivery, Built plans to deploy advanced virtual design and construction technology that will allow them to identify and avoid issues early in the construction process through virtual modelling.
The hotel is the first major development to kick-start the airport’s Hive precinct, which will also feature a childcare facility to cater to the airport’s 20,000 strong workforce as well as office space ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 square metres.
The dual-branded hotel will open in 2021.