Plans revealed for a 55-room Abode Hotel in old Kingston

Kingston’s regeneration will continue with a 55-room hotel if a development application is given the green light by the ACT government.

Geocon’s Abode Hotels lodged an application to redevelop the site on the corner of Kennedy and Eyre streets this week.

The site is about 900 square metres and currently occupied by two old houses operating as a childcare centre.

Abode Hotels general manager Rien Donkin said the four-storey hotel would deliver the brand’s signature self-contained, apartment-style rooms, however it was designed to complement Kingston’s streetscape.

“This one will have its own character designed to fit in with the area,” Mr Donkin said.

He said it was a small-scale hotel, which will have a boutique feel. 

Mr Donkin said the company chose not to include a restaurant in the hotel as guests have easy access to an array of cafes and restaurants along Kennedy Street.

“There are so many options in Kingston,” Mr Donkin said.

“[The hotel] will be a good partner for the eateries in Kennedy Street.”

A community consultation meeting was held in December. Mr Donkin said feedback was positive and local retailers were particularly supportive of the proposal.

Stewart Architecture’s Marcus Graham said the design “fulfills the key objective of the Kingston master plan to create a vibrant, diverse village”.

Mr Graham said the four-storey hotel responded to its corner position, while its brick construction complements the existing streetscape.

“Architecturally it’s a very articulated building that wraps around the corner,” Mr Graham said.

“We think it’s a building that will help reinvigorate this older part of Kingston.”

A number of projects are in the works in old Kingston, including a mixed-use development with a Supabarn and 166 units.

The Abode Hotel groups has about 400 rooms across four Canberra hotels and the Kingston hotel is just one of four in the pipeline.

A 130-room hotel in Belconnen, a 52-room hotel in Murrumbateman and a 160-room hotel on Northbourne Avenue will double the company’s offerings over the next few years.

“All of our hotels are running strong occupancies, so from that point of view we’re keen to put something else in the inner south,” Mr Donkin said.

Mr Donkin said the hotel’s target opening date was late 2018.