Exclusive tour of Albany’s reborn Premier Hotel as builders put finishing touches on $4 million redevelopment

From the ashes of an infamous arson scam that put five men behind bars, Albany’s historic Premier Hotel has been reborn. With the finishing touches being applied over the next few weeks, the Albany Advertiser was given an exclusive media tour of the 130-year-old pub. Joining us inside the venue last week was former publican Michael Ryan, who lived at the “Prem” for a decade. “I walked upstairs, where I used to live,” Mr Ryan said. “To see that bar and then walk out on the veranda and see those views again was just amazing. “They’ve done a fantastic job and I can see a great future for it. “They have combined history, modern functionally and character and put it all together without losing the pub’s charisma.” The $4 million redevelopment comes after an arson attack gutted the heritage-listed building in 2016, as part of a desperate insurance scam that involved a staged robbery. The former licensee, Graeme Cooper, cried for news cameras to sell the scam he organised, but he was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018. As part of an extensive refurbishment, a 6m upstairs bar flows out onto a wraparound balcony more than 30m in length overlooking York Street and Princess Royal Harbour. The traditional downstairs bar is about 15m long and situated alongside a dining area serviced by a new kitchen. There is a lift between the two levels and a self-contained manager’s residence with bedrooms, a kitchen and ensuite bathroom. “It’s pretty well finished,” Realforce project manager and hotel builder John Boccamazzo said. “There are a couple of little areas we are finishing off, a bit of painting and putting the odd fixture in, but in the next few weeks it will be completed. “It’s an old building. The work we’ve done is substantial and we’ve tried to give it a bit of soul, so I just hope we’ve done it justice. “I don’t think people realise the amount of work that has gone into it, just looking from the street, but they will once they go inside.” Co-owner Barry Panizza said the nine members of the ownership syndicate had no intention of running the pub themselves. Their aim was to find a buyer or a tenant. “We are really rapt in the way John has gone about it,” Mr Panizza said.