Romanous Aims Higher Thanks to Rule Changes

Plans are on exhibition for a major City of Sydney hotel development overlooking Darling Harbour.

Romanous Developments lodged expanded plans for a hotel and retail development at 301 and 305 Kent Street and 35 to 39 Erskine Street at the end of 2023.

This Concept State Significant Development Application on exhibition seeks consent for the Sydney developer’s 266-room hotel, building on an earlier application for the site.

Original plans for an 80m (24-storey) hotel building were approved in 2020.

During the assessment of this previous application, however, the City of Sydney Council was finalising the Central Sydney Planning Strategy, Romanous explained. 

The strategy, which allows amendments to height and floor controls, was adopted in November 2021. 

It allowed an increase of maximum building height up to 110m, of which the current development application seeks to take advantage. 

Romanous is now seeking approval for a 33-storey building that wraps around a corner block at 41-45 Erskine Street, over a six-level basement carpark.

The development “seeks to support the growing visitor and tourism industry in central Sydney”, Romanous said.

▲ The hotel is predicted to be rated 5-star NABERS energy for hotels, and will also have retail uses among its 13,000sq m of floor space.

The site is located on the western edge of the Sydney CBD bound by Erskine Street to the north, Kent Street to the east, King Street to the south, and Sussex Street to the west.

Surrounding buildings offer a mix of commercial uses and architectural types, including high-density towers and several heritage-listed items. 

An architectural design competition will be undertaken prior to the submission of the subsequent detailed state significant development application that Romanous hopes to lodge by the end of this year.

Family development business Romanous was founded by Anthony Romanous in 1980, growing  from a small venture in Sydney’s southern suburbs.

It has since developed mixed-use sites at Hurstville and Hornsby, as well as a resort in Queensland. 

The new hotel will be in sight of the latest Barangaroo developments which are remodelling the Darling Harbour area into a pedestrian-friendly mixed-use precinct, the latest plans for which were revealed last week.