Melbourne’s iconic Palace Theatre has been sitting silent since the final gigs at the Bourke Street venue were hosted a month ago, its interior stripped of “everything not nailed down” as part of a $5 million sale.

While it sits at the top-end of Bourke Street as a reminder of the great loss to Melbourne’s live music scene, property developers’ plans to raze the Palace in order to construct a five-star luxury hotel complex have been rejected once more following a council meeting where developers made a bizarre peace offering; inviting resentful musicians to stay in the new hotel.

Jinshan Investments have been wanting on approval from City Of Melbourne council for a proposal to demolish the CBD venue in order to erect a luxury $180 million, multi-storey hotel and apartment complex, which has faced vehement opposition by live music supporters and musicians, spearheaded by the Save The Palace and Melbourne Heritage Action group, in a drawn-out battle over the survival of the Palace and its nearly 100 year long legacy.

Following a report to the Melbourne planning committee advising a rejection of the W Hotel proposal, last Tuesday, a Future Melbourne committee meeting at Melbourne’s Town Hall saw angry live music supporters squaring off against representatives of the luxury hotel project, as The Age reports, “hissing and snorting” as W Hotel spokespeople gave presentations about the residential development – who have previously said razing the theatre is a “natural evolution.” “We would invite the musicians from the Palace Theatre into the W happenings, ensuring that we retain the historic and social elements…”

The Starwood Hotel group’s Regional Director Sales & Marketing Danielle Tonetto made a bizarre peace offering to disgruntled protestors, inviting “the local community to be a part of the hotel,” saying the local music scene “fits perfectly with the ‘W’ DNA.”

“We would invite the musicians from the Palace Theatre into the W happenings, ensuring that we retain the historic and social elements that currently coexist on Bourke St,” she told attendees, according to The Music

Starwood Hotel’s Regional Victoria Vice President Sean Hunt also told the meeting, “the DNA of the W Hotel brand is routed in music, culture, fashion and high-end design, and that’s what this location presents.” He said the hotel would address the lack of five-star accommodation in the CBD and “will create 500 more jobs and will contribute over $375 million [to local economy] over the next 15 years of operation.

Love Pierce Brothers?

Get the latest Pierce Brothers news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more

By the conclusion of last week’s meeting, the Future Melbourne committee declared the application for a planning permit be deferred until Tuesday 1st July. (You can listen to audio and/or read minutes from the meeting in full here.“We are talking about a community that has roundly rejected this venue being lost to live music – that is a fact.”

Other representatives arguing for council to protect the Palace at the meeting and its live music reputation included Rebecca Lesley, of the Save The Palace campaign group, and Melbourne musician Ezekiel Ox.

“It is up to the council in this case to pick up where the people left off… We are talking about democracy in action here. We are talking about a community that has roundly rejected this venue being lost to live music – that is a fact,” he said.

Ox has been hosting a series of vigils outside the Palace for the past 11 weeks. Last Friday, busking-turned-indie music success The Pierce Brothers were the latest act to perform live in front of the venue, with protests set to continue weekly at Friday, 5pm outside The Palace.

[include_post id=”396488″]

The end of the Palace as a live music venue has not only outraged protestors, but also many figures of the Australian music industry. “It’s the only venue of its kind between 1,400 and 2,500 [capacity] in Melbourne,” Soundwave Touring’s Chris O’Brien pointed out to Tone Deaf in April, adding that its removal from Melbourne “will have a massive effect on the touring scene in Australia.”

Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum, who hosted the last ever Anyway club night at the Palace (nearly 30 years after he first helped launch the site as the Metro nightclub in 1987) also lamented the loss of “one of the best live music venues in the world,” back in May. His sentiments shared by Jon George of RÜFÜS, the last live act to play The Palace in a three-night run in May, who called it “a big loss for Melbourne’s live scene… It’s the musical equivalent of knocking down one of the most well loved sporting grounds in the country.”

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine