Bligh Street redevelopment
A new $311.8-million 55-storey hotel and commercial skyscraper could be standing on the site now occupied by Bligh House in Sydney’s CBD.
Singapore-based investment group SC Capital Partners have lodged a planning proposal to the Department of Planning and Environment seeking to redevelop the 1216-square-metre site at 4-6 Bligh Street which, according to the planning documents, would create one of the tallest towers of its kind in Sydney.
It would be a fitting replacement for Bligh House which was constructed in the building boom in central Sydney after World War II and was the eighth tallest tower in Sydney.
When completed, the 205-metre building would have 24,825 square metres of gross floor area.
In terms of CBD office space, it would have 6137 square metres of A-grade commercial floor space.
And the hotel itself would be four or five stars with 407 rooms across 37 storeys.
Added to that would be four rooftop levels featuring a publicly accessible landscaped terrace, restaurant, bar and function space with underground levels providing 17 parking spaces.
All up, the site will have a 10-storey podium for mostly commercial offices.
There will be entrance lobbies for the hotel and offices, a two-storey gym and a 25-metre semi-outdoor swimming pool.
The development comes at a time of strong demand for upscale hotels in Sydney. More than 3000 rooms were in construction or built in the past six months. At the same time, 4633 rooms have obtained planning approvals while a further 4392 are still in the planning stage.
JLL Hotels and Hospitality says occupancy rates in the city at the moment are 90 per cent and according to the agency’s vice president Andrew Langford, the new development would be “pretty much maxxed out for a hotel”.
“From an operations point of view, you don’t want to be any higher than that,” Langford told Commercial Real Estate.
Carol Giuseppi, Tourism Accommodation Australia’s chief executive officer said the new hotel in Bligh Street would help address the demand.
by Leon Gettler, February 1st 2017
