Australian developer, Perri Projects, has appointed international award-winning designer hotel owner/operator, Ovolo, as hotel manager for its AUD$50 million (approx. US$35.9 million) South Melbourne project, expected to open in 2020. This will be the first-ever hotel management agreement for Ovolo, which currently wholly owns and operates 10 hotels across Australia and Hong Kong.
Located at 183-199 Moray Street, the 100-room, six-story designer hotel will bring Ovolo’s signature ‘effortless living’ ethos to one of Melbourne’s most iconic inner-city suburbs. Ovolo’s appointment represents a significant milestone for the project, which has received planning approval, with construction anticipated to begin in the third quarter of 2019.
David Scalzo, Managing Director of Perri Projects, said that Ovolo’s innovative, design-led lifestyle hotels were a perfect match for Perri Projects’ vision for the site. “We are delighted to partner with Ovolo to realize our original vision for this site as a mixed-use lifestyle precinct featuring destination bars and restaurants, as well as leisure, event and function facilities,” Scalzo said. “Ovolo Hotels are internationally renowned for their high-end, high-energy designs that blend form and function to ensure each hotel delivers a unique experience for guests and visitors. Ovolo is well established and revered, yet agile and bold enough to challenge convention and break the mold on new sites, ensuring that each design complements and enhances the location of their hotels.”
Girish Jhunjhnuwala, Ovolo CEO and Founder, said Ovolo in South Melbourne represented a new phase of growth for the company, made possible through a shared vision with Perri Projects. “The Hotel Management Agreement with Perri Projects represents a natural evolution for our business as we continually look to expand our offering in new markets,” he said. “While we each bring our respective expertise in property development and hospitality management to this project, this partnership was forged through our mutual affinity for delivering truly unique projects and a shared vision for the South Melbourne site.”
Dave Baswal, COO & CFO of Ovolo Australia, said he was confident Ovolo’s offering in South Melbourne would be well received by the growing pool of established higher-end established housing and major commercial office buildings. “The underlying demographic of South Melbourne has been evolving steadily as creative industries in particular look to take advantage of the central location and raw industrial edge the suburb has to offer,” Baswal continued. “But while the suburb is on the rise with those in the know, local hospitality amenity has not kept pace with this change, and we believe Ovolo South Melbourne – with its bars, restaurants and even a rooftop function and events space – will be uniquely placed to provide a focal point for those local communities.”
