Dymocks rooftop to turn into a bar after lockouts lifted

Melbourne may be famed for its laneways but Sydney’s bar scene will soon be reaching for the skies. The rolling back of the controversial lockout laws will see a boom in rooftop nightspots, with the first atop a historic building.

• Push to make elite private schools pay rates
• What Sydney will look like in 2040

A bar on top of a historic central Sydney building is being touted as the first of many rooftop nightspots which could bloom in the wake of the city’s controversial lockout laws being rolled back.

Entrepreneur Lyndon Gannon sees rooftop bars doing for Sydney what the famous laneway bars have done for Melbourne’s hospitality trade.

Mr Gannon, a former Liberal Party candidate for Balmain in the 2015 state election, this week secured a lease for the top of the 11-storey high Dymocks building on George St in the CBD.

Mr Gannon is hoping to turn the unused space on the roof of the “Interwar Commercial Palazzo Style” building, completed in 1932 for the book selling business and now also home to an eclectic mix of 120 speciality stores and businesses, into a bar and entertainment area.

Lyndon Gannon has secured a lease to the top of the Dymocks building on George St which he hopes to convert it to a bar/arts space. Picture: Tim Hunter.

The plan to activate rooftop spaces has attracted in-principal support from Lord Mayor Clover Moore and NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, who both say the city needs to regain its entertainment mojo.

The rooftop would only be protected from the elements by a marquee, but Mr Gannon said the city’s benign weather meant it wasn’t a problem.

MORE FROM BEN PIKE

Strip club owner banned from Kings Cross

Tree lopping laws relaxed to save lives

“When you have got about 300 days of Sydney sunshine every year, it makes sense to have roof top bars in this city,” Mr Gannon said.

“Melbourne might have a lot of laneways but Sydney has rooftops.

“This will be a rooftop oasis in the middle of the CBD. There is nothing like this currently. It will be an art space that is completely different.”

Mr Gannon will make a development application in the next eight weeks and apply for an on-premises liquor licence for entertainment spaces.

This would exempt it from the liquor licence freeze that applies in the Kings Cross and Sydney CBD entertainment precincts until June 2020.

Nick & Nora's sky bar in Parramatta. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Mr Gannon said other rooftops with potential to be transformed include The Trust Building (King St), The Royal Automobile Club (Macquarie St), the APA Building (Martin Place), City of Sydney buildings at 94 Oxford St and 8-24 Kippax Street, Surry Hills.

The rooftop of the Royal Automobile Club building in Macquarie St, Sydney.

Mr Gannon’s application comes as a Liberal-led parliamentary committee on Monday recommended repealing the lockout laws in the Sydney CBD.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian last month told The Sunday Telegraph “it’s time to enhance Sydney’s night-life”.

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

The state government is expected to roll back the lockout laws by the end of the year although Kings Cross will most likely keep the restrictions on bar opening hours.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said: “Rooftop activations have the potential to boost our night-time economy, attract more people into the city and provide additional space in our built-up areas”.

She said in May this year the council extended 24-hour trading across the entire city centre, allowing shops, businesses and low-impact food and drink venues on high streets to trade until 2am and allowing venues that hold performances and creative events in late-night trading areas to trade for an extra hour.

An unsuccessful proposal for a rooftop bar at 94 Oxford St, Darlinghurst. Picture: JDH Architects.

“This work to remove red tape and increase activity in our city centre will breathe extra life into our night time economy,” Ms Moore said.

Noise limits and complaints from neighbouring properties, or tenants in the building itself, is the biggest red tape hurdle to overcome.

A rooftop development must also not interfere with the heritage value of the building.

One of the most controversial rooftop projects has been a plan to put a bar on top of the heritage-listed NSW State Library building on Macquarie St.

The plan was first touted in 2016 but then put on the back burner after heritage and architecture experts complained earlier this year.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said we need to do better at opening spaces up for people to enjoy “not locking them away and forgetting about them”.

“We have a stunning city and a very kind climate yet we don’t make the best of it — Sydney is not Siberia,” he said.

An artists impression of the proposed redevelopment of the NSW State Library rooftop.

“Having been fortunate enough to visit the rooftop of the library and see the sweeping views across the Botanic Gardens to the Harbour it undoubtedly has the potential to provide a stunning facility.

“A preliminary investigation into the use of the rooftop area of the State Library has been conducted but there are no plans to proceed at this time.”

He said any future changes would need to protect the existing building and the cost would also need to stack up over the longer term.

One of the biggest rooftop success stories is The Glenmore Hotel in The Rocks.

It has been there since 1921 and has one of the most accessible yet beautiful rooftop bars in the city.

It is as famous with Sydneysiders as it is with tourists. Overseas visitors comprise half their clientele.

Jen Russell, group general manager at W. Short Hospitality, said “atmosphere is key” to making a quality rooftop bar work.

“We work hard to ensure our rooftop is inviting and comfortable all year round,” she said.

“The retractable roof protects against the elements and the heaters and misters help to manage the seasonal temperatures.”

Originally published as Dymocks rooftop to turn into a bar after lockouts lifted