Mulpha Wins Approval for Downtown Sydney Hotel

Mulpha, the Malaysian developer and real estate investor controlled by billionaire Lee Ming Tee and his family, has won approval for a $200-million, 17-storey hotel in Sydney’s Chinatown.

The Sydney City Council has agreed to a 272-key hotel with ground floor restaurant and bar facilities at 355-357 Street, on the northern fringe of Haymarket.

The developers will keep the façade of the existing five-storey warehouse, built around 1916 for Foley Brothers Pty Ltd and used for commercial factories until 1958. A second four-storey building will be demolished.

Mulpha Australia said construction was expected to start in the first half of 2024 and finish in about two.

Plans for the Cottee Parker-designed hotel were first lodged in May last year, and signalled a rising number of developments across the precinct on the CBD’s southern edge.

The development will be within walking distance of Darling Harbour, the Powerhouse Museum, the International Convention Centre, and Sydney’s famous Chinatown.

Mulpha chief executive Greg Shaw said the hotel would contribute to the ongoing rejuvenation of the southern CBD into one of the most vibrant areas of Sydney.

“With the strong rebound in both domestic and international tourism, it is vital that we have shovel-ready projects to grow accommodation capacity and meet demand,” Shaw said.

“Sydney is leading the way in the Australian accommodation industry with strong occupancy levels set to increase further as the international market exceeds pre-Covid levels in 2024 and beyond.”

▲ Mulpha expects to begin construction on the Sussex Street hotel by the first half of next year.

Mulpha—owner of a portfolio of top Australian hotel assets in Sydney, Perisher, the Hunter Valley, Hayman Island, Sanctuary Cove and Cairns—is currently in negotiations with potential operators of the new hotel.

“This investment continues Mulpha’s long-term commitment to acquiring and developing high quality tourism and hospitality assets in key Australian destinations,” Shaw said.

“We are advancing negotiations with global hotel operators to introduce new innovative hotel product for the Sydney market.”

Mulpha’s Palmers Lane Retreat in the Hunter Valley is due to open in October 2023, and most recently it won the tender to develop three multi-level mixed-use towers on the Norwest Metro Station site, part of the biggest public transport project in Australia.

That contract calls for three towers of 13 to 21 storeys on two podiums at 25-31 Brookhollow Avenue, Norwest, about 35km from downtown Sydney.

The group has an extensive portfolio of real estate, property development, hospitality, education, retirement, private equity and debt assets, and also invests in some of the fastest growing and most vibrant economies in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.