Project Sydney: Ritz Carlton hotel coming to The Star in Pyrmont
EXCLUSIVE: Sydney Harbour is set to be transformed by a $500 million Ritz Carlton hotel at The Star to lure wealthy tourists and big-time gamblers from China.
SYDNEY Harbour is set to be dazzled by a sparkling new $500 million Ritz Carlton hotel and residential tower at The Star.
The 215m tower is the Pyrmont casino’s latest roll of the dice to attract wealthy tourists and big-time gamblers from China.
It will adjoin the existing complex and is set to rival James Packer’s planned Crown casino and six-star hotel a short distance away at Barangaroo.
The Daily Telegraph has obtained exclusive images of the designs for The Star’s luxury hotel, which have been drafted by a trio of top global architectural firms — Grimshaw Architects, BVN and FJMT. All three have won numerous awards for their innovative designs around the world.
The winning design will be chosen by a five-person design review panel at the end of this month, with the winner then seeking feedback from the community before final plans are lodged with the Department of Planning and Environment in the first half of next year.
Each of the architects was asked to design a hotel with 220 premium rooms and 150 residences, along with events spaces, conference facilities and a ballroom. If approved, it will be open for business around 2020-21.
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The architects have also designed two additional storeys on top of the casino itself, increasing the number of bars and restaurants from 24 to 50.
Star chief executive Matt Bekier said last month that the new $500 million hotel was being built to attract even more foreign tourists to Sydney, in particular the Chinese.
“Tourism, especially from Asia, is a huge, long-term growth driver for Australia … (and the hotel) will allow us to really enhance and increase our contribution to Sydney’s tourism offering,” Mr Bekier said.
The number of Chinese tourists increased by 23 per cent to 1.16 million for the year to August 1 and their spending in the year to July 1 was up 27 per cent to an astounding $8.9 billion, almost 25 per cent of the total spent by all foreign visitors to Australia.
BOOM TIME ON THE HARBOUR
The new development is just one of the many proposals in the Western Harbour Precinct, which is becoming one of the most significant economic regions in Sydney.
There are currently five proposed developments in the area — two office towers at Barangaroo, a Mirvac apartment building at Darling Harbour, three luxury hotels scattered throughout and the Crown casino.
It comes at the start of The Daily Telegraph’s Project Sydney campaign, aimed at encouraging long-term thinking in planning a better city.
Patricia Forsythe, executive director of the Sydney Business Chamber, said the Western Harbour Precinct was quickly emerging as a must-visit area.
“Taken as a whole, this is a significant business, tourist and arts hub for Sydney. People are putting their faith in the future of Sydney and this is being demonstrated by the quality of the developments and the extent of the investment,” she said.
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Originally published as Project Sydney: Ritz Carlton hotel coming to The Star in Pyrmont
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