Romanous Developments lodges plan for four-star hotel in Kent Street Sydney
Private property group Romanous Developments has lodged plans to redevelop five buildings into a 29-storey hotel in the Sydney CBD.
The properties at 301-305 Kent Street and 35-39 Erskine Street form an L-shaped site of 1028 square metres.
It wraps around a corner block at 41-45 Erskine Street, owned by TWT Property, which secured a development approval for a 16-storey three-star hotel with 93 rooms on its 250-square-metre site in early 2018.
The state-significant development plans submitted by Romanous Developments will cost about $117 million to build.
The site on Kent and Erskine streets will have 360 hotel rooms across the 29 levels and a proposed gross floor area of 11,301 square metres.
The developer will seek a potential four-star operator for the hotel.
It will include a two-storey podium with a forecourt plaza, hotel lobby, hotel amenities, function rooms and rear courtyard terrace.
A bar and terrace is planned for the rooftop to capture the harbour and city skyline views, and five levels of car parking will contain 81 spaces.
The existing buildings on the site – two multi-storey brick buildings and three two-level terraces – are being used for retail, eateries, a gym and a budget hotel, the Siesta Inn Sydney, operated by Romanous Developments.
The group of properties was acquired in one line for $12 million in 2004.
The developer said upgrading the existing buildings was not the best option as the current uses were “significantly below” its maximum development capacity under the planning controls, according to the application.
“The existing quantity of floorspace and quality of development on the site is not realising its potential under existing planning controls,” the planning application said.
“A redevelopment of the site presents the greatest opportunity to realise this potential, and refurbishment of the existing buildings is therefore not the most appropriate outcome for this site.”
The developer also claims in the application documents that low-grade commercial and accommodation buildings are less able to meet the needs of today’s visitors, residents and workers of central Sydney.
“This is particularly true for this site, being strategically located in close proximity to major tourist and commercial destinations such as King Street Wharf (250 metres) and Barangaroo (350 metres),” it wrote.
“The redevelopment of the site provides a unique opportunity to deliver a new hotel building in central Sydney that is commensurate with Sydney’s global status and responds to the significant need for additional tourist accommodation in central Sydney.”
An office development was not pursued as the site’s limited footprint of about 1000 square metres and irregular shape did not make it viable, according to the application.
“Current floor-plate demand for A-grade and premium-grade offices range in size from 1500 square metres GFA to 2000 square metres GFA.”
Romanous Developments have been contacted for comment.
Down the road, Crown Group’s Skye Suites, with 73 serviced apartments, opened in late 2018, while nearby at 26 Clarence Street, Canberra-based Doma Group has begun construction on its first Little National Hotel in Sydney, which will have 230 rooms.
