Crown and Accor's mixed-use hotel and retail developments attracting Sydney investors
Ground-floor benefits: Crown's 10-storey Viking development has six commercial suites.
Crown Group and Accor are among the latest developers and operators to focus on mixed-use projects to offer investors and occupiers a wide choice of onsite supermarkets, cafes and other amenities for a hotel.
In separate deals, the groups are now taking the next steps towards having fully integrated hotel, clubs and residences under the one roof. In time, developers believe this will broaden out to include shopping centres, with a new term Centel, being coined.
While the franchise concept is not new, with Mantra Group giving investors the ability to buy apartments in their hotels, the swiftness of the industry embracing the concept has taken the market by surprise.
Architecturally impressive: V by Crown in Parramatta is designed by architect Koichi Takada, and will have apartments on 29 floors and a retail podium on the ground level.
According to developers, the inflow of new tenants into high-rise inner city apartments, from Sydney central business district to North Sydney and Parramatta CBDs, has led to a change of offerings witin the building.
These include smaller supermarkets - with Coles and Woolworths now in the market for small areas - to cafe, restaurants and some general retail.
The buildings are effectively becoming vertical suburban strips.
Crown Group is set to launch a series of new retail offerings under its new development at Waterloo, Parramatta, North Sydney and Clarence Street, Sydney.
Anthony Falas, project & commercial sales manager for Crown, said there will be six commercial suites designed by Japanese-Australian architect Koichi Takada offered for sale in 10-storey Viking by Crown development at 30-36 O'Dea Avenue, Waterloo, in the next four weeks.
Mr Falas said Crown will lease the site as part of its showroom for the Green Square development but, once completed, the owners can lease them to occupiers, which are likely to be food-related bsuiness.
"Demand for mixed-use developments with solid retail at ground level, meaning high-quality restaurants and convenience-style supermarkets, is very strong judging by the feedback we receive from interested buyers," Mr Falas said.
"With the expansion of Parramatta, we expect a range of buyers for the sites from well-known restaurants to new international entrants."
Crown Group director of sales and marketing, Adam Sparkes, said the commercial suites at Waterloo would be highly sought after in the tightly held City of Sydney market.
"It's premium office space available now amid strong competition for commercial assets," he said.
The Sydney by Crown at 161 Clarence Street will also be home to nine ground-floor retail spaces, and are expected to be in demand.
For the hotel chain, Accor, the announcement of an 84-room extension to the Mercure Sydney Liverpool hotel adjoining the Liverpool Catholic Club also signals the increasing popularity of mixed-use hotel developments incorporating a range of complementary facilities.
In the past four years, Accor has been involved in four hotel developments linked to major clubs, starting with the original $20 million 4-star Mercure Sydney Liverpool hotel in 2010.
Accor operates four club hotels in Australia - the Mercure Sydney Liverpool, Novotel Rooty Hill (part of Rooty Hill RSL), Mercure Caroline Springs (part of WestWaters Club), and Mercure Gladstone (part of Yaralla Sports Club).
Earlier this year, Accor signed a franchise agreement with diggers @ the entrance, whose owners are developing a new 52-room ibis Styles economy hotel. The project is part of the diggers master plan to take full advantage of a growing tourism industry on the NSW Central Coast and fully cater to the corporate and events markets.
Accor Pacific Chief Operating Officer, Simon McGrath, said mixed-use developments were becoming an increasingly important driver of new hotel developments, with clubs providing fertile opportunities for complementary accommodation.
"Our franchise model provides clubs with the support they need without the full management toolbox, while leaving them to concentrate on the hotel's operations and service which is intrinsically linked to that of the club," Mr McGrath said.
