Plans for a new 110-metre tall, six-star hotel at The Star Sydney will be able to be progressed after the NSW Government opened the door for the development application (DA) and approvals process for the project.
The advancement comes as a result of amendments to planning controls in the Sydney Local Environment Plan that enable DAs to be lodged for four major sites within the Pyrmont Peninsula. One of those being the Star Sydney site.
NSW Minister for Planning Anthony Roberts said amendments to planning controls in the Sydney Local Environment Plan (LEP) have been made to allow development applications to be lodged for new retail, dining, and tourist hot spots.
“We’re giving industry and the community the certainty they need to bring to life incredible new assets, including an Indigenous residential college at the University of Technology Sydney, and The Star’s planned six-star hotel which will be located next to a proposed new theatre, as well as new dining and retail spaces,” Roberts remarked.
In 2018, Ritz-Carlton had been flagged as the ultra-luxury hotelier to manage a previous design – more than double the height at 237 metres – for the next luxury hotel at The Star, but that was rejected in late 2019 primarily because of its height and bulk.
LATTE can however reveal that paperwork filed in March by Ethos Urban with the Department (on behalf of The Star Entertainment Group Limited), suggests Marriott’s ultra-luxury hotel brand, Ritz-Carlton, is still being eyed for the new hotel. Ethos’ submission included a “Ritz Carlton Operational Requirements”, which outlines key brand pillars such as room and suite sizes, restaurant requirements, and on-site facilities.
In addition to the hotel, Star has proposed a new theatre complex comprised of a 1,550 seat, two-level Broadway-style theatre, along with a 1,000 seat comedy and live entertainment theatre.
According to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s just finalised first implementation stage of the Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy (PPPS), the government “is satisfied that the proposed height for the hotel on the northern part of the on part of The Star’s site is not expected to result in significant overshadowing issues and is therefore acceptable.”
Scott Wharton, CEO at The Star Sydney, welcomed the NSW Government’s PPPS update, saying the state has “cleared a path that would allow The Star to enter a development application and approvals process to build a six-star hotel, new theatres and a new rooftop dining area.”
“It represents a huge step forward to eventually realising what have been long-held ambitions to increase our tourism and entertainment offerings while creating jobs and delivering other significant economic and community benefits,” Wharton remarked.“This means that The Star could in the future with the necessary approvals add a new luxury hotel…to its suite of award-wining accommodation offerings, expand its dining portfolio with rooftop dining experiences and additional theatres to complement the Sydney Lyric Theatre.”“Together, these developments would help pave the way for us to progress our ambition to make The Star Australia’s leading #tourism and #entertainment destination,” Wharton concluded.
