Pontiac outlines luxury hotel plan for historic Sydney buildings

Pontiac Land Group has unveiled ambitious plans for the $300m makeover of Sydney’s Lands and Education buildings.

Pontiac Land Group lead architect Ian Lomas at the Lands building in Sydney. Picture: James Croucher

Singapore’s Pontiac Land Group has unveiled ambitious plans for the $300 million makeover of Sydney’s sandstone-clad Lands and Education buildings, aiming to convert the historic properties into the world’s finest hotel.

Pontiac, which last year bought a 103-year lease over the buildings from the NSW government for $35 million, plans a six-star hotel to be completed by the end of 2020.

The company, through its dev­el­opment director Greg Incoll of Sandstone, yesterday lodged plans for the major ­redev­elopment with the Department of Planning, but is yet to announce which operator will run the ­hotels.

British architect Ian Lomas, of Make Architects, who cut his teeth refurbishing the fashion departments and public areas of Harrods in London, has moved to Australia to oversee the redevelopment, saying it was a world-class opportunity.

Lomas, who has also been designing the nearby Wynyard ­Station Precinct, was appointed to Pontiac as lead architect to ­develop the buildings into a 254-room hotel, spending more than $1 million per room.

“This building is of global significance,” Mr Lomas said, adding that the two sandstone buildings will be preserved in the manner of the great hotels of the world such as Claridge’s Hotel in London.

Hotel suites in the Lands building will average 80sq m in size, while those in the Education building will be around 40sq m.

Under the plans, the ground floor of the Lands building, which was built from 1880, will be opened to the public with high- end restaurants and retail shops as well as potentially a best in class market running along Gresham Street serving the likes of oysters, wines and cheeses.

The strong room atop the Lands building, which was used to store the plans, titles and documents of the fledgling NSW ­colony, will be restored.

Make Architects project architect Tim Davis said the Lands building’s liftwells and gangways would be removed, creating ground floor areas for cafes. A rooftop salon or winter garden will be open to the public.

Heritage architect Jonathan Bryant of GBA Heritage, who is working with Make, said the horse and carriage way that once ran through the building but was closed off in the 1950s, will be ­reinstated with arcades, courtyards and vaults showcasing retail, food and beverage and cultural activities. NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property Dominic Perrottet said the designs put more than 100 years of history and heritage on show while promising all the features of a world-class hotel.