Melbourne Band Venue The Forum Set For Overhaul

The Sunday Age today reports that the Forum in Flinders St, in the heart of Melbourne's CBD, is to undergo a complete refurbishment as a part of a $70 million development bid.

The newspaper reveals that the owners of the Forum, the Marriner family who also own the Regent, Comedy and Princess theatres, have sought permission from the state government to overhaul the National Trust-listed venue.

According to the report, the plan is set to "secure the future of the Forum", now one of the city's few surviving large-scale live music venues. Popular with both touring international artists and local bands out-growing pub gigs, the Forum's band room can house up to 1,500 punters. When it hosts events such as the boutique Sugar Mountain festival, combining usage of its upstairs cinema and mezzanine foyer, it has a 2,200+ capacity.

The new proposal is believed to involve a full renovation of the building's exterior as well as restoring original features to the interior. The Marriners hope to invoke the almost-century old gothic building's "picture palace" majesty of the 1920s.

Among the works mooted are plans to fix the Forum's clock tower and copper domes as well as re-creating its entrances.

The application for the renovation was filed with the Victorian Department of Planning on Friday. The Forum restoration is just one-part of a larger development in the venue's area. The development also includes a 32-storey tower behind the theatre and a thoroughfare connecting Russell Street to Hosiers Lane, which runs alongside the Forum.

No gigs have been affected by the proposal yet. Coming up there in the new year are gigs by Chvrches, Pete Murray, Sunnyboys, Iron & Wine and Steve Earle.