An historic pub that has seen its darkest days since the onset of COVID is set to be revitalised – at least skin deep – with the massive development under fire as another tragic loss to ‘facadism’.
Kilkenny Inn was built in 1915, on the corner of King and Lonsdale streets, occupying a 1,700sqm site.
The three-storey brick structure was designed by Sydney Smith & Ogg in the Federation Free Style manner, with influences from both the Art Nouveau and ‘Arts and Crafts’ periods, and holds architectural significance.
For many years the King & Lonsdale streets intersection has been known for strip clubs and adult entertainment, and in 1997 the Kilkenny Inn became strip club Goldfingers. The business continued until being forced to permanently close under pressure of the pandemic lockdowns in late 2020. At some point the freehold owners sold the property for a reported $50 million.
Developer Hickory has been granted approval to undertake a new development, 580 Lonsdale St, which will see a 21-storey mixed-use tower built behind a restored original façade of the iconic pub.
The $350 million development plan with Cox Architecture will feature over 600sqm of retail space on street level and the first floor, 24k sqm of office space and three levels of parking in the basement, and will target top ratings with Green Star and NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System).
Hickory pledges to prioritise sustainability and flexible working, offering world-class facilities including landscaped outdoor terraces, social hubs and a health and wellness centre in the building.
The existing building is part of the City of Melbourne’s heritage overlay, meaning the façade must be retained, although much of the remaining structure will be demolished.
Hickory plans to work with a hospitality partner on a revised internal layout that will open into the building’s lobby, and suggests the space will “evoke the charm and atmosphere” of the classic pub “with a fresh, modern twist”.
The company’s CEO, Michael Argyrou, goes further to say the old pub will “set a new standard” in Melbourne office design.
The developer is in works around the city, notably at 570 Little Bourke St, 299 King St and 140 King St.
City of Melbourne gave the nod mid-2021 for the pub’s redevelopment, and plans progressed to the planning department for final consideration. But they came to the attention of lobby group Melbourne Heritage Action, whose president Tristan Davies viewed them as the plight of a heritage CBD hotel, suggesting it was yet another historic Melbourne CBD pub that would “permanently disappear”.
These sentiments were joined by vocal EastEnders residents’ group president Dr Stan Capp, who described the plans as another example of “façadism”, where a heritage-protected shell is retained, while most of what is behind it is demolished.
But soon after midnight on 24 May emergency services were called to a fire at the site, where over 50 firefighters fought for 90 minutes to bring under control a blaze thought to have started on the second floor. The second and third levels were destroyed.
The Arson and Explosive Squad later ruled the fire as being deemed not suspicious.
Work can now proceed on the development, with fewer objections, and Nicholas Reece, Deputy Lord Mayor and chair for council planning, remarks that it certainly “represents an improvement” on the burned-out strip club turned squatter residence it replaces.
Reece also noted the transformation being seen at the established blue-light corner of the city, pointing to new developments in progress, posing the question of what the future might have held for the 107-year-old pub.
