Holdmark Wins Parramatta Hotel-Office Towers Approval

Planning approval for Holdmark Property Group’s Parramatta dual-tower project did not come easily. The Sydney Central City Planning Panel has now granted consent for a 33-storey hotel and 23-storey office tower at 197-207 Church Street after almost five years in assessment. The determination closes out a prolonged planning process shaped by rail infrastructure, heritage controls and archaeology constraints. “Nothing good comes easy,” the developer said after the approval. “After quite the journey ... we have achieved DA approval for our 50,000sq m mixed-use precinct. “Comprising heritage, retail, public domain, Parramatta’s first 5-star hotel, and a 30,000sq m A-Grade commercial tower, this approval marks a defining moment for the future of the Parramatta CBD.” The development application was first lodged in January 2022, after Studio.SC emerged as the winner of a design competition during the pandemic. From the outset, the site carried multiple constraints: Sydney Metro West tunnels run beneath the block and the Parramatta Light Rail sits alongside it. ▲ A Studio.SC rendering of Holdmark’s approved hotel tower at 197-207 Church Street, Parramatta. Early investigations also confirmed intact archaeological material, all of which influenced how the scheme could be designed and delivered. Architect Thomas Hansen, co-managing director at Studio.SC, said the project began “mid-Covid as an intense competition where we pushed ourselves to think differently about the city, the block and Connection to Country”. “A defining move was the introduction of Ngara Nura Way—a through-site connection that makes a genuine First Nations statement within the colonial fabric of Church, Macquarie and Marsden streets.” As assessment progressed, archaeology emerged as one of the biggest obstacles. Investigations identified three post-contact phases beneath the site, spanning more than a century of Parramatta’s early development. The earliest phase, dating from 1791 to 1822, revealed the footprint of a timber-framed convict hut, including postholes, a refuse yard and evidence of domestic activity. A second phase, from 1810 to 1850, uncovered remains linked to the Parramatta Public Charity School, including fragmentary postholes, institutional artefacts and a circular pit believed to have been used for drainage or water collection. ▲ Rendering showing the layered tower form and podium activation included in the Parramatta development. Later layers showed brick wall footings and ceramic pipes from 1858 to 1924, marking the shift towards permanent masonry construction. Those discoveries restricted excavation across the site and delayed determination while Heritage NSW assessed management options. Retaining the archaeology in place would have limited basement construction and exposed fragile material to vibration during piling, particularly along the Church Street boundary. “The discovery of nationally significant archaeological remains reshaped both the process and the thinking, testing the edges of our conceptual principles,” Hansen said. The final approval endorsed removal, offsite conservation and reinstatement, after trial works demonstrated the material could be safely lifted. Under the consent, the archaeology must be reinstated within publicly accessible ground-floor areas, supported by a heritage interpretation strategy approved by Heritage NSW before any construction certificate can be issued. In 2023, council planners recommended refusal, citing unresolved rail interface, heritage and archaeology issues. Rather than determine the application, the panel deferred the decision, triggering further redesign and extended negotiations with Sydney Metro, Transport for NSW and Heritage NSW. Subsequent changes included reworking basement layouts and structural systems to avoid load transfer on to Metro infrastructure, adjusting traffic access and removing a proposed basement ballroom following flood-risk review. ▲ Rendering showing the retained heritage podium and public-facing lower levels. By late 2025, required agency concurrences were in place, allowing the panel to determine the application. “Nearly five years on, seeing this idea navigate that complexity and achieve approval is something I’m incredibly proud of,” Hansen said. The December determination is the project’s first full development consent. Separate approvals are still required for construction certification, hotel fitout, signage and occupation. Physical commencement must occur within five years, or the consent will lapse in December 2030. It comes as Holdmark advances a broader pipeline across Parramatta and Sydney. The developer is seeking fast-track approval for a 72-storey residential tower at 2-10 Valentine Avenue , proposing about 600 apartments, alongside the conversion of a 13-storey office building into co-living accommodation near Parramatta Station. The $421-million proposal is progressing under the state’s Housing Delivery Authority pathway and remains in early assessment. At Melrose Park, Holdmark is progressing multiple residential applications across the former industrial precinct on the Parramatta River, where the broader masterplan would ultimately deliver more than 7000 homes across several stages, alongside retail, community and open space uses. Elsewhere, the group has lodged plans for an office-to-hotel conversion at 20 Berry Street in North Sydney , proposing a 22-storey hotel with 249 rooms at an estimated cost of $62 million, designed by Studio.SC.

Holdmark Wins Parramatta Hotel-Office Towers Approval

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