Crown, NSW settle Barangaroo casino views dispute

Crown’s settlement with NSW preserves views from its Barangaroo resort but may force changes to nearby towers.

The Barangaroo casino and resort under construction in Sydney. Picture: John Grainger

James Packer’s Crown Resorts has put a bitter dispute about sightlines from its $2.2 billion tower at Barangaroo on Sydney Harbour to rest as it faces a series of regulatory inquiries about its Asian high-roller gaming operations.

It comes as Crown denies allegations of links to Asian crime gangs and seeks clarity about its key Sydney project after Melbourne expansion plans were thwarted.

Crown said on Monday it had settled a dispute with the New South Wales government over views from the Barangaroo casino and resort, which is under construction. Crown said the terms of the settlement are confidential.

The dispute about the iconic Sydney views crucial to the Barangaroo hotel came to a head in a court case against the NSW government, which Crown launched and won last year. Its win guaranteed sightlines from the project that run from Sydney Harbour Bridge to the Opera House.

Crown’s win was subject to appeal until the NSW government today revealed it had reached a settlement with Crown and Lendlease regarding the dispute.

Infrastructure NSW, that had been leading negotiations on behalf of the NSW government since the former Barangaroo Delivery Authority was abolished on July 1, will now focus on delivering the adjacent Central Barangaroo precinct.

Towers proposed in that $5bn precinct by a Grocon-led consortium, which includes Chinese-backed Aqualand and shopping centre giant Scentre, and which could have impinged on Crown’s views, will likely change their form.

Infrastructure NSW said the parties had agreed not to pursue any further legal action in relation to the matter, and its appeal of the NSW Supreme Court decision had been withdrawn.

The NSW infrastructure body said the resolution cleared the path for the government to work with all parties to complete the final buildings in Barangaroo South and deliver Central Barangaroo, the final stage in the overall Barangaroo development.

Crown said it was “pleased” the dispute over the views from the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort had been resolved.

It noted the December judgment had been delivered in its favour with costs, but in February the Barangaroo Development Authority had filed seeking leave to appeal.

While terms of the settlement are confidential, Crown said it was satisfied with the settlement and the retention of sightlines across Central Barangaroo from the Harbour Bridge to the Sydney Opera House.

Crown said it remained focused on opening the gambling complex in early 2021.

Crown has been beset by scrutiny from state and federal bodies this month as it seeks to defend its business, which has been accused of links to Asian crime gangs via their ties to junket operators.

A series of reports by Nine Entertainment Co’s newspapers and 60 Minutes raised questions about Crown’s use of junket operators.

The allegations made against Crown - which it has contested - include reports that it laundered large sums of money through its Melbourne gaming venue and had connections to criminal organisations.

On August 8, the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority announced it would conduct an inquiry into the proposed sale of shares in Crown from Mr Packer’s CPH Crown Holdings to Lawrence Ho’s Hong Kong-based casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment.

The casino is also subject to an Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission investigation and the federal government also referred the issues raised to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.

Crown rejected the allegations of misconduct by publishing an open letter last month in a full-page newspaper advertisement to argue that much of the reporting was “unbalanced and sensationalised”, and based on “unsubstantiated allegations” and “outright falsehoods”.

The settlement of the legal case follows the December court win that gave Crown and developer Lendlease the upper hand as they sought to preserve views from their projects — in Mr Packer’s case the $2.2bn entertainment complex and in Lendlease’s case a $1bn-plus apartment project — from any encroachment by towers at a nearby precinct to be developed by Grocon.

The initial court decision placed the Grocon scheme under a cloud as the company and its partners faced being forced to rework their property schemes and financial structures to meet any demands from Crown and Lendlease.

Grocon refused to comment but is likely to exit the project in any case, with its Chinese-backed partner Aqualand to take on the bulk of the residential component of the development after committing more than $400m to the bid.

The latest deal could see the planned precinct further reworked further, as it still must accommodate office investor, Oxford Properties Group, that has pre-bought a planned $1.5bn complex.

The settlement could spur further sales of luxury units in the Crown tower. Four whole-floor off-the-plan apartments valued at more than $40m apiece have sold at Crown’s One Barangaroo tower to a clutch of predominantly local Sydney buyers.

The four sales are in addition to Mr Packer’s $60m, two-level apartment purchase in the 71-level hotel and apartment tower in 2017. But One Barangaroo’s penthouse remains on the market with a price tag rumoured to be about $100m.