The Star’s Pyrmont hotel rejection a ‘negative signal’ for city

The shock rejection of The Star casino’s plans for a hotel and apartment tower has rocked the development industry.

The shock rejection of The Star casino’s plans for a hotel and luxury apartment tower in harbourside Pyrmont has rocked the development industry and may damage Sydney’s standing as investment destination.

Sydney Business Chamber executive director Katherine O’Regan said the decision “seems at odds with” last month’s Greater Sydney Commission review into Pyrmont’s building guidelines that found they were outdated.

“The Star’s proposed luxury hotel, with its community amenities and job creation for locals, would have made an important statement that Pyrmont is ‘open for business’ and ready to become the new gateway to Sydney’s CBD,” she said.

Ms O’Regan argued the decision was a “really negative signal” for international investors after Ritz-Carlton had been “stumped” by NSW’s independent Planning Commission.

The $529m mixed-use project had already drawn the ire of the NSW planning department, and the state’s independent Planning Commission followed suit with a rejection on Wednesday.

“Australia can’t compete with the likes of Singapore and other cities in our region when such beneficial projects as this are unnecessarily knocked on the head,” she said.

The commission said the planned 237m tower and podium, which comprised a 220-room, six-star Ritz-Carlton hotel and 204 luxury apartments, was inconsistent with the area’s strategic planning.

About 2300 rooms will be built in the Sydney CBD by 2021 and real estate agency CBRE said this would inhibit the ability of hoteliers to increase room rates in the short term.

The Star project was seen as potentially transformative for Pyrmont. Nearby landlords including Mirvac and GPT had watched the decision, as had tech giant Google, which owns and ­occupies buildings in the area.