墨尔本一座耗资6亿澳元的双塔建筑项目陷入困境，其中香格里拉酒店塔楼自2023年8月由Multiplex建筑商完成建设以来，500间客房仍处于空壳状态，未进行任何装修工作[1]。该酒店原定于2024年开业，随后推迟至2026年，但至今已四年未取得进展[1]。开发商Setia (Melbourne) Development Company已申请将该酒店塔楼改建为393套公寓[1]。
项目搁浅的主要原因是酒店装修成本大幅上升[1]。开发商表示，施工成本从疫情前预算的约6000万澳元增至8000万澳元，与香格里拉集团无法就投资方式达成一致[1]。Setia公司的财务状况也受到影响，去年财务报告录得1440万澳元的亏损[1]。此前在2022年，这座空壳酒店曾以5亿澳元出售失败，相当于每个房间100万澳元[1]。
尽管过去六年墨尔本新增了6500间酒店客房，但业内人士仍指出对豪华酒店仍存在市场需求[1]。
A five-star Shangri-La hotel tower in Melbourne has remained an empty shell for four years, with its 500 guest rooms unfinished and the project now facing a fundamental change in direction.[1] The developer, Setia (Melbourne) Development Company, has applied to convert the structure into 393 residential apartments, citing significant cost escalation that has stalled progress on the hospitality component.[1]
The hotel was originally scheduled to open in 2024, a deadline that slipped to 2026, but construction of the interior has never commenced.[1] The tower forms part of a dual-tower precinct valued at A$600 million and was structurally completed by builder Multiplex in August 2023.[1] According to the developer, the cost of furnishing and equipping the hotel interior has nearly doubled from a pre-pandemic budget of approximately A$60 million to A$80 million, making it financially unviable in its current form.[1] The developer reported a loss of A$14.4 million in its most recent financial statement, reflecting the project's troubled status.[1]
The tower's commercial viability has proven elusive. In 2022, the incomplete hotel shell was offered for sale at A$500 million—equivalent to A$1 million per room—but found no buyer at that price.[1] Despite the addition of 6,500 hotel rooms across Melbourne over the past six years, industry observers maintain that demand persists for luxury hotel accommodation.[1]