$10.7m plans lodged with Woollahra Council to redevelop Roma Arcade in Double Bay

A shopping arcade in the heart of Sydney’s east could soon be transformed into hotel rooms, high-end stores and office space, following a sporting and business power couple’s recent purchase.

An artist’s impression of the proposed development at New South Head Rd.

A shopping arcade in the heart of Sydney’s east could soon be transformed into hotel rooms, high-end stores and office space, following a sporting and business power couple’s recent purchase.

Education entrepreneur and GWS Giants deputy president Adrian Fonseca snapped up the Roma Arcade in Double Bay for $21m back in March, going halves with wife Nancy Reardon-Fonseca.

Mr Fonseca currently runs Oxanda Education, a childcare and early education operator, having founded the business following 17 years as an investment banker at Macquarie Bank and Deutsche Bank.

Adrian Fonseca and Nancy Reardon-Fonseca. Picture: Ryan Osland

The couple’s purchase marked the first time the arcade had changed hands in decades.

Plans for a $10.7m redevelopment of the arcade, which has 20 tenants and backs onto popular nightspot the Golden Sheaf, have now been lodged with Woollahra Council.

Under the proposal, the arcade would be bulldozed to make way for a five-storey mixed use centre hosting high-end retail and commercial space, plus accommodation.

An artist’s impression of the proposed development at New South Head Rd.

According to planning documents compiled by urban consultancy group GSA Planning, the end product would fit in with the “desired future character” of Double Bay.

Planning documents reveal levels three and four of the building would feature 15 studio-style hotel rooms with “ample natural light” and Juliet balconies, with a rooftop terrace above.

The remaining floors would offer three tenancies for high-end retail, and four dedicated to open plan offices.

The existing Roma Arcade.

According to a planner, the proposed hotel rooms would boost local tourism by offering “a desirable place to stay for visitors”.

The planner also said the combination of retail, office and hotel use would “generate more diverse employment opportunities when compared to the existing development.”

The head of development at Oxanda Education, Oliver Meehan, said the proposal was part of the area’s “tremendous revitalisation”, which would “redevelop the old Roma Arcade into a world-class premium A-grade building”.