Justin Hemmes’ Merivale to transform Melbourne car park into hospitality zone

An artist’s impression of the proposed development at 34-60 Little Collins Street, Melbourne.

Billionaire has pledged to transform a major site he has just bought in Melbourne’s CBD into a national drawcard, with a high-end precinct with bars, accommodation, a skygarden and even an art gallery.

His Merivale operation was named as the successful bidder for a City of Melbourne-owned car park at 34-60 Little Collins Street, with industry players suggesting it had paid about $60m.

Mr Hemmes said he had been looking for a site like the car park for a decade and was keen to get started on the adaptive re-use project on the complex.

The sale was handled by JLL agent Josh Rutman, who declined to comment.

Merivale will now undertake “commercial negotiations” with Dexus, which has the right to operate the eight-storey car park, basement and retail premises on the site until June 2037. The land sale did not terminate the lease and Mr Hemmes expects to be able to strike a deal with Dexus.

Mr Hemmes said the purchase was “a sign of confidence in the Melbourne market and what the future holds for the city”. He dubbed the site a “passion project” that he had been working on for almost a decade. “We want to create the most exciting and iconic destination, not only for the city of Melbourne and the people of Melbourne, but an iconic destination within Australia,” he said.

An artist’s impression of the proposed development in Melbourne’s CBD.

Mr Hemmes indicated there would be a mix of retail components, with restaurants and bars, including a jazz bar. The complex will also have a boutique hotel and restaurants from his stable, including Italian themed Totti’s and Asian restaurant Mumu.

“I’ve been looking for the right sites around mostly Sydney and Melbourne,” he said, adding that the Melbourne site was a unique opportunity partly due to the restrictions in place around the car park, but he would make good use of the concrete structure.

“It’s not an unlimited development site, and the restrictions play into what we want to do with it,” he said. “I love the structure; it’s a beautiful concrete car park, but it has a lot of wonderful elements to it which we can use.”

Merivale has been active in Melbourne, in 2021 buying Tomasetti House in Flinders Lane that it is now rebuilding and hopes to open by early next year. Mr Hemmes also owns Kantay House in Meyers Place that he bought for about $15m in 2023, and believes that his model will appeal nationally.

“Our philosophy is not Sydney-based, our philosophy is not Byron-based,” Mr Hemmes said.

“Our philosophy is delivering a great product and great service in a wonderful environment and ­affordable prices, and we create offerings that suit all different demographics.

“I think if you deliver an excellent product with excellent service, you’re going to do well. It’s the same philosophy, whatever city we go to.”