[+] New Art Hotel Plans Unveiled For Sydney’s Oxford Street Precinct

Plans for a boutique art hotel for Sydney’s Oxford Street have been unveiled as the next property play by the developer behind the lauded revival of the city’s historic Paramount House.

The proposal has been lodged with the City of Sydney Council by Save The Robots, an entity linked to local property investor Ping Jin Ng.

It is earmarked for an amalgamated 481sq m holding fronting Darlinghurst's Taylor Square at 191-201 Oxford Street that records show was acquired for a combined $23.5 million.

The council has recently put the plans for the proposed hotel on public exhibition.

Like the Paramount House redevelopment, it is envisioned with a fusion of heritage character and modern design elements.

Its mixed-use design by architects Neeson Murcutt and Nellie integrates the adaptive reuse and restoration of three existing federation era commercial buildings and construction of a contemporary brick “tower” extension to six levels.

The submitted plans include 19 hotel rooms, ground-floor reception-lobby, a restaurant, cafe and a rooftop terrace bar that sits below a landmark billboard.

Art gallery space on two levels is cited as an integral component of the project's design, reinforcing and enhancing the area's identity as a creative and cultural precinct.

Construction costs are estimated at almost $15 million.

The site is identified as being within a heritage conservation area—adjacent to the historic Darlinghurst Courthouse—but it is not a heritage item.

According to a heritage impact statement, the proposal “pays due regard to the level of intactness and significance of the [existing] buildings”.

“Overall, we consider that the proposals are an innovative and interesting solution to the adaptive reuse of the buildings to provide for a hotel and gallery with well planned changes to the interiors and well controlled alterations to the exteriors,” it said.

The development application also stated the proposed hotel, hospitality and entertainment uses would “enliven Taylor Square and Oxford Street” and the planned revitalisation of the site was "consistent with the desired future character of the area”.

“[The proposal] will conserve and complement the context established by the heritage fabric and ensure new development, while not mimicking heritage styles, responds to the urban context and contributes to the established built form patterns of the street,” a planning assessment report said. 

As well, it concluded the development would provide “a regionally significant range of day-time and night-time activities … to maintain and develop a healthy and competitive economy and vibrant community”.

▲ The heritage-listed former Australian headquarters of Paramount Pictures Studios, which has been transformed into a 29-room boutique hotel and cultural hub in nearby Surry Hills.

But also according to the DA documents, the proposal’s “tower” extension breaches the site’s height limit by 4.8m under an “imminent and certain” new town planning amendment. 

As a result, it is seeking consent to exceed the limit, noting that compliance would “create a much bulkier tower”.

“The proposal reduces the footprint and sets back significantly so as to locate the hotel tower form in a way that responds to the surrounding high-rise buildings,” the DA said. 

The latest development play by Ng follows his redevelopment of the landmark Paramount House in nearby Surry Hills with Mark Dundon and Russell Beard, who he also had partnered with to deliver popular Sydney café haunts Reuben Hills and Bondi Hall. 

With a nostalgic nod to its past, the 1940s heritage-listed former Australian headquarters of Paramount Pictures Studios was transformed into a 29-room boutique hotel and cultural hub, including a 56-seat cinema.

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