In May 2019, Normanby Hotel in Red Hill underwent a four-month, $3.5-million refurbishment from its new owners, the Pelathon Management Group headed by Jaz Mooney. After the transformation, the hotel has reopened to reclaim its original stature as a family-friendly establishment.
Gone are the boozy and wild car park parties that have bothered the locals for years. Instead, Mr Mooney and his team have rebuilt the heritage-listed site as a beautiful pub and sports lounge with poker machines and several function rooms for private parties on the second floor.
Pelathon Management Group sought the help of the Winchester Group under Shaun Dunleavy to revitalise the hotel. Apart from bringing back the structure to its old glory, the designers replanted a new, large fig tree to replace the plant missing from the site since 2016.
Like the hotel that was erected in 1890, the fig tree became an iconic landmark in Red Hill. Its replanting also symbolizes the hotel’s return to its old roots, where new memories could flourish.
The Normanby Hotel, which re-opened in the spring, also features an on-site craft brewery. The establishment even welcomes families with their dogs in some of its assigned spaces.
Pelathon Management Group won a two-year lease for the hotel after its purchase in May for $11 million. Their takeover comes as plans to build a 15-storey complex around to the hotel were rejected by the Council.
Mr Mooney also said that the car park area will be enhanced next year while considering how to redevelop its next-door sites.
The developer, who is credited for also revitalising the Grand Hotel at Central Station, said that he’s really a publican at heart with an extensive background and restoration. He believes in protecting Australia’s heritage sites.
The Normandby Hotel was built in 1890 by the Burtons, whose generations of family members ran the hotel until 1944. It was named after the Normanby Fiveways adjacent to the hotel.
