Parramatta hotel boom: InterContinental, Hilton, QT, Travelodge, Sheraton planned

It has been the site of Peter Wynn’s Score for more than 30 years but a plush five-star hotel with 200 rooms, rooftop swimming pool and bar is set to take over the site.

A five-star InterContinental has been revealed as the hotel which will open in Parramatta in 2025 when it will boast 200 rooms, a restaurant and rooftop bar, swimming pool and gym at the corner of Church and Macquarie streets.

Holdmark has signed an agreement with IHG to bring a dose of luxury to Parramatta in a project that will deliver more than 360 direct and 1000 indirect jobs for western Sydney.

The 32-storey hotel and 23-level commercail tower will generate 800 construction jobs and 200 subcontractor roles. The hotel will also house a club lounge and 900sq m of meeting space.

Holdmark’s chief operating officer Kevin Nassif said the company believed in investing in the booming Parramatta CBD and the hotel would play a critical role in revitalising western Sydney after COVID-19.

The swanky InterContinental Hotel, at the corner of Church and Macquarie streets, will open in 2025.

“The planned development will also look to attract high end restaurants and more entertainment options for guests and the community,” Mr Nassif said.

IHG’s development vice president for the Australasia region, Abhijay Sandilya, said: the project contributed to Parramatta’s “extraordinary’’ growth.

“Parramatta is without doubt a super city of the future,’’ he said.

“The transformation of Parramatta over the years has been extraordinary and the city is truly deserving of a luxury hotel; it has been crying out for one for a long time.

The hotel will also occupy part of George St.

Having our world-renowned InterContinental brand in western Sydney will certainly bring a sense of glam to the locale and, together with the Holdmark Group, we’re excited to be reshaping the landscape and thrilled to be giving the local community a luxury hotel that they can be very proud of.”

The building will be one of the most exciting high-rises to grace the city’s skyline, with Holdmark in the process of running an architectural competition to find a winning design.

The hotel also spells the end of an era for Peter Wynn’s Score, which has operated at the site since 1988.

The Eels legend is unsure what his next strategy will be after the light rail construction smashed traders and caused many Church St businesses to collapse, but his old club is providing some light.

“It’s been tough with light rail but with Parramatta doing well this year, its been the best positive,’’ he said.

HOTEL BOOM

There’s budget beds and luxury stays planned for Parramatta, from the Hilton to the recently-lodged plans for the Sebel, as Sydney’s “second city’’ undergoes a hotel boom. Here are some developments that have been given the green light and others waiting approval:

AIRD ST

Right next to Westfield and a block from Parramatta train station, the State Government has selected this 155-room, 18-storey hotel as one of the projects that will turbocharge the economy post COVID-19.

But the Mako Architecture-designed hotel has proved a polarising development and attracted a deluge of criticism from several Parramatta councillors in July, when the eyesore was likened to a stack of coffins.

Its small 650sq m size also attracted criticism over safety concerns.

A hospitality school will be a drawcard of the Hilton Hotel.

HILTON

Despite the construction delay, Ledrae Hotels insists the project is proceeding and will open in the middle of 2024.

A spokesman for Ledrae, which owns the building at 20 Macquarie St, said once completed the 29-storey hotel would boast a ballroom, restaurants, bar, health and fitness centre, commercial offices, a hospitality school and create 90 full time positions and 120 casual or part time workers.

One of its best features will be function rooms to host chamber music, jazz and events.

“It’s also a major employer, with career path jobs in an international organisation rated among the best employers globally,’’ the spokesman said.

“The hotel school will attract and train the next generation of leaders in the sector in Australia and overseas.’’

After being delayed several times because of the pandemic, he said a design competition was expected to start in March.

“The investment in this project is the biggest for any hospitality asset by far in Sydney’s west,’’ he said.

“The commitment is five years in the making. It will turn Parramatta from a regional centre to a global city. Perhaps the only such project that has this potential.’’

NSW Planning Department will ultimately determine the Hilton planning proposal.

OCTAGON

Parramatta’s recognisable Octagon office block could be demolished to make way for a hotel as part of a $338 million two-tower development in the CBD.

Under the proposal, there would be a 200-room, 19-storey hotel and a 36-storey office tower occupying the block, where the six-storey Octagon now stands at George St.

Shops would occupy the ground floors of each tower, and a three-deck basement carpark is planned.

Sydney Central City Planning Panel will make a decision on the development application for the 7097sq m site.

PHOENIX HOTEL

El-Phoenician Group, which is behind the fine dining establishment at Church St Parramatta, is proposing a $17 million hotel to rise above the venue’s Church St site.

Company 8 hotels is also backing the project. El-Phoenician Group, founded by John El-Bayeh, who has designed the project to help the CBD bounce back from the Parramatta light rail construction project and COVID-19, as well as to accommodate an influx of visitors to the Powerhouse Museum.

An artist impressions for the proposed, slim new restaurant.

Under Mr Bayeh’s plan, the 32-storey, 104-room Phoenix Hotel would include four levels dedicated to the El-Phoenician’s restaurant, bar and function rooms and the remaining 28 floors for accommodation.

The skinny hotel would be just 6.6m wide, would fill a gap in the precinct for a mid-range hotel and could host guests as soon as 2023.

QT

Construction is well under way at 8 Phillip St, where the five-star, 55-storey tower will house 250 hotel rooms below 35 levels of apartments.

Ground broke on the Coronation Property tower, which looms over the former St Andrew’s Uniting Church, in August.

The 18-storey hotel is bound to attract guests visiting Parramatta for business but could also be a foodie magnet. As well as a grand ballroom, multiple meeting and event spaces and a grand ballroom, Rockpool Dining Group’s signature restaurant will be included in the precinct’s food and beverage offering.

SEBEL

Sebel has plans for a six-storey hotel with 51 units at 5 Victoria Rd, the gateway to North Parramatta. There will be a cafe and guest laundry in the lobby and two carparking spaces for the site, which was formerly used as office spaces. Plans were lodged with Parramatta Council in February and are being reviewed.

But it could spell the end of The Manse.

SHERATON ON THE SQUARE

A $1.1 billion five-star Sheraton on the Square hotel is not just planned for the 41-43 Hunter St Parramatta site but a 150-bed private hospital would operate below if the ICC Development Group’s bold plans come to fruition.

The ambitious “medi-hotel’’would include a helipad and Michelin-star restaurant, swimming pool, gym and ballroom and generate 2000 construction jobs and 3000 permanent hospitality, medical and professional service jobs on completion — which could be ready by 2023 under a government fast-track project.

But it could also spell the end of another heritage building, the two-storey federation house, The Manse. The property was built between 1895 and 1897 for Scottish Reverend John Paterson, who was ordained into St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church at Parramatta.

TRAVELODGE, WESTMEAD

Parramatta’s next door neighbour Westmead is at the centre of colossal changes thanks to major transport projects such as the Parramatta Light Rail and Metro West networks slated to begin their journeys in the suburb.

Other key investments include the $1 billion Westmead Hospital redevelopment and plans for Sydney University to open a campus at the Cumberland Hospital site that borders North Parramatta.

Such an influx of people will drive the demand for shops and services, and hotels.

Last week, the $100 million West Grove commercial and retail complex, slated for the existing Westmead Shopping Village, got the green light.

The site opposite the train station will feature a 100-room Travelodge to be managed by TFE Hotels and developed by Drill.

Guests will have health business suites, a public garden courtyard, restaurants, cafes, a tavern, Woolworths Metro supermarket, specialist shops and 126 cars spaces at their fingertips.

Drill chief executive officer Mark Hovey said the hotel filled an important gap for guests visiting or working in the Westmead Health and Innovation Precinct.

“At the moment, if you are family living outside of greater Sydney, say in Dubbo or Bathurst, and your child or other family member is transferred to Westmead, your only options for mid-scale hotel accommodation are 15 minutes away,’’ he said.

“At West Grove you will be just metres away.

“For these people, as well as those whose family members need extended hospital stays, West Grove will be an oasis’, a thoughtfully designed space where they can retreat, relax and find a good range of fresh food and be revitalised.”

Construction will start in the middle of this year and wrap up in early 2023.

Rejected: The Holiday Inn Express.

HOLIDAY INN

Not all hotels have been granted the green light.

In August, a planning panel rejected the Holiday Inn Express at 37 Smith St Parramatta where there were plans to build a 15-storey, 239-room hotel.

But the famous hotel chain still has a major footprint in Parramatta, with its Anderson St hotel continuing to operate and in November, the boutique Marsden Hotel was rebranded as the Holiday Inn and Suites.

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