Piccadilly Hotel: Rezoning proposal to allow redevelopment of hotel to be determined by City of Sydney

The site of a former Kings Cross nightclub could soon transform into a 17-room luxury hotel and dining precinct, with a proposed rezoning now open for feedback. Find out what is planned.

Piccadilly Hotel DA plans picture City of Sydney

A planning proposal set to be determined by the City of Sydney could pave the way for a hotel redevelopment at Sydney’s former night-life capital, amid a hotel revival at Kings Cross.

A request to rezone a site at Brougham St, Potts Point from residential-only use to allow a hotel use at the site has been placed on public exhibition by the City of Sydney, following a request from developer Harphill Pty Ltd.

The Department of Planning and Environment determined the council would be the local plan-making authority for this proposal, which if approved will enable the development application to be determined.

Plans to redevelop the Piccadilly Hotel at 171-173 Victoria Street, Potts Point, were lodged with the council in 2021, with a vision to reimagine the hotel and terrace buildings fronting Victoria St and Brougham St as multi-use accommodation with food and drink premises.

The now defunct Nightclub Yu, part of Piccadilly Hotel. Picture: Brett Costello.

The $22.3m plans have received deferred commencement approval, subject to the zoning changes that the council’s website states will support a high-quality hotel at the site as well as provide a natural buffer between the hotel and nearby residential properties.

The development application outlines plans for an 17-room hotel with upper level dining and function facilities and ground floor retail across six amalgamated buildings on the block, along with an internal enclosed courtyard.

The Piccadilly Hotel currently stand dormant, but that could change if the City of Sydney rezones the site to allow for a 17-room hotel, dining and retail precinct.

The Piccadilly Hotel’s facade and interior are heritage listed, however while the site sits within the Potts Point conservation area the lots at 165-167 Victoria St and 92-98 Brougham St are not.

The proposed change will not affect the height of building or amount of development allowed on the land, council documents state, and is in line with the council’s plans to support economic growth in the area through “encouraging hotel use in suitable locations”.

The rezoning proposal submitted to the City of Sydney for the Piccadilly Hotel redevelopment.

Documents submitted to the council state the revitalisation of Kings Cross following the Covid-19 pandemic has been a focus of the Potts Point Partnership and Committee for Sydney.

The former Soho bar has a long history as a hospitality hot spot, having originally operated as early as 1888 as the Austral Club, according to council records. The venue was sold to Sydney brewery Tooth and Co in 1939, when it was redeveloped as the Piccadilly Hotel, and later operated as Soho bar and YU nightclub until it closed in 2015.

One of the Victorian terraces at Brougham St formerly operated as Golden Apple brothel.

The developer was approached for comment.

Consultation closes August 9.