The Gatwick Hotel was once known as a ‘festering fleapit’ – a cheap St Kilda rooming house that was a refuge for Melbourne’s down and out.
But after its closure last year, the building has undergone a radical renovation for the upcoming season of The Block.
While the interiors still remain top secret, a first look at the spruced-up exterior of the building has been made available, with scaffolding finally removed from around the outside.
Before and after! The Gatwick Hotel has undergone a radical renovation for the upcoming season of The Block, with first pictures of the completed exterior now available (Pictured: before the transformation)
Before and after images posted on an Instagram fan page show the jaw-dropping changes made to the building.
Before the makeover, The Gatwick stood run down and derelict, covered in dirt and grime.
Graffiti was visible on parts of the exterior, as crumbling paint gave away the age of the 80-year-old building.
Run-down: Before the makeover, The Gatwick stood run down and derelict, covered in dirt and grime
Now, however, The Gatwick stands stunning in the gentrified suburb, complete with a fresh coating of white and blue paint.
It also seems trendy steel balconies have also been added to the back of the building.
The Blockinator Blog Instagram page proclaimed: ‘The transformation is spectacular!’
Wow! The Gatwick now stands stunning in the gentrified suburb, complete with a fresh coating of white and blue paint
Trendy! steel balconies have also been added to the back of the building as part of the renovation process
According to Nine, The Block’s executive producer Julian Cress has made sure that heritage features of the historic building have been maintained.
The Gatwick acted as a rooming house from the 1950s until its closure last year.
A news.com.au report from May 2017 described the hotel as ‘a place where you can be murdered in your room, robbed, bashed or offered a variety of drugs among the cockroaches, addicts and prison parolees’.
However, those days seem like distant memories, with newly-renovated apartments inside The Gatwack no doubt expected to sell for a pretty penny at The Block auction later in the year.
Back on screens! Scott Cam will host the upcoming season of The Block, where contestants will renovate inside The Gatwick Hotel