Apartments Dropped from $500m Sydney CBD Tower

The new owners of a 58-storey mixed-use hotel and retail project have lodged updated plans for the Sydney CBD site after acquiring it last year.

Well Smart Group is looking to make major changes, predominantly cutting the residential land use originally planned for the site. 

Former site owners ICD Property and real estate investment firm Belingbak had planned a 58-storey, 300-room hotel and retail development with a component of 30 high-end apartments.

ICD’s concept development application for the site at 372-382A Pitt Street was approved by the Central Sydney Planning Committee in late 2022.

An architectural design competition followed, completing in January 2023. 

However, by early 2023, ICD Property had abandoned the plans and appointed CBRE and Knight Frank to offload the site. 

Price tag estimates ranged from $100 million to $120 million. 

ICD sold the DA-Approved site in mid 2023 and new owners Well Smart Group are proceeding with the project based on the competition-winning scheme by Kerry Hill Architects (KHA) + Crone, subject to several design changes. 

The current application seeks to reconfigure the internal layouts through the podium and tower to facilitate the removal of the residential element. 

The removal of this component means it does not meet the ‘substantially the same development test’ and so the amended concept DA was identified as the preferred pathway.

The site is now occupied by several existing commercial buildings, of up to three storeys in height, which means the development will be a considerable step up. 

While not heritage listed, the original conditions of the DA required that it retain the facades of the six commercial buildings. 

The approved building envelope would be largely unchanged, the developer said.

Well Smart is led by Singapore-based Jack Jia and operates in the high-end hotel space, having recently sold the Novotel and Ibis Melbourne Central Hotel to Worldwide Hotels Group last year for $170 million.