Coogee Bay Hotel owner addresses community fears

Coogee Bay Hotel owner Christopher Cheung has addressed residents’ fears over the revised $111 million plans to upgrade the hotel and surrounding area.

The popular eastern suburbs venue is set to include apartments, a hotel and eat street, with Cheung explaining that the development will “complement” the area’s seaside character.

The revised proposal was made public in April and features 58 apartments, a three-storey hotel wing and an ‘eat street’ laneway. It has been on public exhibition with Randwick Council since that time and was vastly amended from original plans which included 60 apartments, commercial premises, a supermarket, a 29-room hotel, three levels of basement parking, and “eat street”.

Backlash to the original plans was significant, with an 8000-signature petition complaining it would block ocean views.

Cheung, the managing director of privately-owned hospitality group C!NC said of the amended plans and how it addresses public concerns, “The site is in the heart of Coogee, [it] is the suburb’s gateway to the ocean front and is a highly accessible place with excellent access to services and public transport.

C!NC operates Coogee Bay Hotel and Circular Quay’s Cruise Bar.

“The proposal would enhance the heritage elements of the hotel building, upgrade its accommodation offering, create a wider range of entertainment, dining options and public meeting spaces, new street links and create a more family friendly environment,” he said.

Effectively, it was “an opportunity to better integrate and reinvigorate the entire site”.

Cheung also said it would improve social outcomes, boost the local economy and complement the character of the local area. He said as a local for 30 years, he understood the local environment and the upgrade would ‘recast the Coogee Bay Hotel as a more friendly place’.

Former Business Coogee president and author Lucy Bloom expressed fears that the proposed ‘eat street’ would compete with venues that have suffered through a recent downturn. She also opposed the demolition of three buildings which she said would result in the loss of 40 low-cost residential units with the occupants often local shoppers.

Extra traffic was also a concern, along with building height, which at 21.25 metres is much higher than the existing height limit of 12 metres.

Jonathan Jackson, 18^th July 2023