Council Backs Smithfield RSL Club’s Hotel, Homes Precinct
A masterplan that includes a hotel and more than 400 apartments put forward by an RSL club in Sydney’s south-west has won council approval.
The scheme proposed by the Smithfield RSL Club comprises a mixed-use precinct with a 168-room hotel alongside up to 436 apartments about 32km from the CBD.
Fairfield Council has now greenlit the Chisholm Place development, which is named after the suburb’s former name, Chisholm’s Bush.
The 10-storey hotel would be the centrepiece of a precinct on the site bounded by Smithfield Road and Neville and Brenan streets, with residential towers ranging from 4 to 14 storeys.
The development is 4km from Wetherill Park and 26km from the soon-to-be-completed Western Sydney International Airport.
Business Western Sydney has advocated for expedited hotel approvals ahead of the airport’s opening later this year.
The NSW planning department will make the final decision on the hotel component, which will go on public exhibition towards the middle of this year if the state supports the project.
Club chief executive Shane Atkins said the concept had been under consideration for more than three decades and would contribute “much-needed uses and homes for Smithfield, and these also make excellent sense for our diversification strategy as a community club”.
Innova Capital and Benson McCormack Architects are among 15 groups that contributed to the masterplan, which includes a medical centre, convenience retail, outdoor event space and recreational parkland.
Most existing club facilities will remain, and upgrades are planned for the main lobby and Neville Street frontage.
Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone said the project was part of broader city-building efforts.
“We don’t want to lose the expenditure to other areas and we want to keep the jobs locally,” he told media, saying that the hotel would complement the Fairfield Showground redevelopment and provide accommodation for festival visitors throughout the year.
Other RSL club-led redevelopments in the past year include Wollongong’s Globe precinct. Approved in February 2025, the $229-million mixed-use development will replace the City Diggers Club and comprises a 15-storey hotel, eight-storey office building and replacement club facilities on the 5400sq m CBD site.
