MONA, Hobart, unveils revamped plan for $400 million hotel 'Motown'

Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) has unveiled a revised plan for a $400 million, five-star hotel – including ditching its controversial name.

Jutting out seven storeys above the Derwent River, the "shopping trolley" hotel is set to include 176 luxury rooms alongside a 1075-seat theatre and conference centre. It will be located next to MONA in the Hobart suburb of Berriedale.

Submitted to Glenorchy City Council, the revamped development also comes with a tentative new name for the project, "Motown", after its former name ''HoMo" garnered controversy.

"Since I presented a preliminary proposal in 2017, a great deal, including the name, has changed," MONA founder David Walsh said.

The name was changed after consultation with the local community. Mr Walsh said the "HoMo" was meant to be celebratory, "but it turned out I didn't really have the right to call something 'homo' when I'm not gay".

Since then, two years and $100 million have been added to the project. The hotel is now expected to be completed in 2024 at the earliest.

Questions remain over the funding of the hotel. Mr Walsh said he doesn't know where the funding will come from, noting that MONA is currently cash negative.

He has approached the Tasmanian state government to guarantee the hotel but has not yet reached an agreement.

"When the hotel opens there will still be debt outstanding. But banks will come to the party at that point because they will have noticed it's an enterprise that is generating income," he said.