"Instagramable" hotels set to open in Chippendale and Redfern
Developers are converting aging, underused buildings in fringe city suburbs into boutique hotels, as demand for tourist accommodation with an edge remains unsatiated.
Wang Management, a family-owned consortium of mainly property related companies, lodged plans in mid July to convert three adjoining commercial buildings into a seven-storey hotel in Sydney’s Chippendale.
The development plans generally involve internal changes that are estimated to cost more than $8 million.
The Chippendale hotel backs onto Kensington Street, where food precinct Spice Alley is. Image: Place Studio
Replacing the leases for several educational institutes, it will bring 119 hotel rooms to the area, which is close to Kensington Street and Central Park.
The owners of 55-59 Regent Street are proposing an additional three levels on top of two buildings – one five-storey and one three-story – and an additional single level above the second five-storey building.
Wang Management director Young Wang, whose company also owns and operates another two hotels in Sydney’s Chippendale and Darlinghurst, said while the group had owned the Regent Street properties since 1994, he felt a hotel conversion was the “most appropriate use of the building(s)” at this point in time.
The Chippendale hotel will appeal to younger travellers. Image: Place Studio
“It’s been a trend for my business anyway. In our portfolio, (the hotel sector has been) a strong performing industry I would say,” Mr Wang said, adding that he had an upcoming hotel project on the lower north shore.
“It’s going to be a marvellous site and project just behind Central Station and Central Park. And the vibe of Chippendale is amazing right now.”
He said the hotel would be more on the boutique side and would be aimed at millennials and business travellers.
Architect James Alexander-Hatziplis, managing director of Place Studio, said they had used “smart space planning” to minimise room sizes and save costs for the young traveller.
“The days of spending your trip locked up in your hotel room are dwindling for some guests and so in an amazing city like Sydney people want the room to supplement their stay,” he said.
“We are really focusing on the bathroom, the luggage and wardrobe space as well as the bed and entertainment centre. Rooms will be smaller but the experience will be much grander.”
Another boutique hotel has been proposed for Redfern. Image: Turner Studio
Mr Alexander-Hatziplis said he designed the hotel with millennial social media users in mind.
“The design tries to create a series of Instagramable moments for the guest, may that be specifically the design and arrangement of the interior design elements, or the ways the internal architecture frames the surrounding laneways with dramatic voids and glass curtains.”
There will also be a rooftop bar as well as a lobby, gym and six retail tenancies on the ground floor. No car parking is included in the proposal.
The Redfern motor repairer’s site is no longer in use and could soon be transformed into a four-star hotel. Photo: Domain
Not far away in Redfern, Zhengde Unit Trust has submitted plans to demolish a disused motor repairer’s workshop for a four-storey boutique hotel.
The $10 million development would yield 63 rooms and 15 car parking spaces on the 831-square-metre site at 589-591 Elizabeth Street.
Designed by Turner Studio, a hotel was proposed there “due to its city fringe location and how well it is connected to Sydney’s transport network”, according to planning documents.
The four-star hotel will be a distinct addition to that part of Elizabeth Street, which is lined with old warehouses, shop-top housing and social housing.
