Oxford St development: $32 million plans for new hotel progress
Plans to turn the now decrepit site of a once-iconic Sydney club into a medical hotel complete with rooftop bar have taken a step forward.
Central Sydney
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A bold bid to reinvigorate a once-bustling club and theatre on Oxford St have taken a step closer as plans for a $32 million redevelopment are lodged with the City of Sydney.
St Vincent’s Hospital and its partner CE Boston Hotels revealed last year plans to transform the former site of the iconic Grand Pacific Blue Room into a medical hotel complete with rooftop bar.
Now a development application has been submitted in anticipation of the council approving a planning proposal, which would allow the heritage listed building’s height to be raised by three stories.
The plans detail changes to the original design for the 101-room hotel to sit on the border of Paddington and Darlinghurst at 1-11 Oxford St.
“Whilst also available to the public, the building will primarily be used as a hotel to support the operations of St Vincent’s Hospital by providing facilities suitable for the use of patients and their families,” planning documents state.
“All 101 hotel rooms will be provided with basic medical facilities to enable each room to be medical hotel ready.”
Under the plans the storied building’s heritage facades facing Oxford and South Dowling streets would be retained but much of the structure would be demolished.
That would allow a two-level basement to be carved out, which would be home to a state-of-the-art medical facility and an entertainment venue with a capacity of 250 people.
It remains to be seen whether popular nightclub Good Bar, currently located below the building, would survive the redevelopment.
A hotel lobby, medical facility entrance and cafe/restaurant for 300 people would adorn the ground floor.
The 101 hotel suites would then be spread over four floors, with the rooftop bar terrace on top that would hold up to 200 people and potentially operate until midnight.
Last year a spokesman for St Vincent’s told Central Sydney it was hoped the new venue would be open by 2021.
“The building itself has been in poor condition for well over a decade, the proposal will restore the building to its former glory,” he said.
Over the years the building dating back to 1912 was also home to the popular Academy Twin Cinema complex — which operated from 1974 to 2010 — but was left vacant between 2015 and 2019.
Foodie darlings Don Peppino's opened a pop-up restaurant in the Blue Room’s former digs in November 2018.
It has also recently been home to a private screening room for Foxtel.
Residents have been concerned about a lack of attention to parking problems that could arise from the site’s new life, which could create a flow-on effect for locals.