Developer Plots 1000-Bed Hostel for Historic Sydney Site

If there’s one thing 184-200 Broadway proves, it’s that a building’s purpose is never set in stone. Since the mid-1800s, this site at Chippendale in Sydney’s inner south, has transitioned from a distillery to a sugar refinery, a funeral service provider to an automotive business, then a telecommunications hub and data centre. Now, a $13.05-million development application proposes to give the site yet another identity—as possibly one of the largest backpacker hostels in the NSW capital. Filed by Tricon Management Group and designed by Durbach Block Jaggers, the proposal would transform the site into a five-storey, 164-room and 1058-bed backpackers with a rooftop pool and bar. A new pedestrian laneway through Grafton Lane would be created, linking the site to City Road and the Lansdowne Hotel. In 1841, businessman and distiller Robert Cooper founded the Brisbane Distillery at the Chippendale site, making it one of Sydney’s earliest large-scale alcohol production facilities. Using water from Blackwattle Creek, the operation likely produced whiskey and other spirits, with a dam built behind the factory to supply the distilling process. A decade later, the site was purchased by the Australasian Sugar Company, which later became Colonial Sugar Refinery (CSR) in 1855. ▲ A photograph taken around 1934 after the demolition of buildings on the site now known as 184-200 Broadway. Source: City of Sydney Archives For years, the refinery’s industrial presence at Chippendale was a source of controversy, according to the Statement of Heritage Impact filed with the DA. The burning of animal bones for sugar filtration filled the air with foul odours, while the plant’s wastewater—pumped from Cooper’s old dam—was described as “poisonous … intolerable … obnoxious and offensive in the extreme”. The community pushed back and CSR relocated to Pyrmont in 1879, leaving the Broadway site to its next reincarnation. By the 1940s, the land was occupied by Labor Motor Funerals, a company established in 1934 to provide affordable funeral services, particularly for union members and working-class families. Unlike traditional undertakers, it offered a modern alternative by using motorised hearses instead of horse-drawn carriages. ▲ Image from State Library of NSW of development on the site associated with Broadway Motors in May 1961. The business operated here for several years before the site was sold to Broadway Motors in 1949. But cars would give way to cables, with the site purchased by the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) in 1970. With its strategic location near Sydney’s central business district and existing infrastructure, it was ideal for a major telecommunications hub, later merging into Telstra. By 1974, the Broadway International Communications Terminal was operational as both a telecommunications hub and data centre, with Prime Minister Gough Whitlam officiating its opening. The building remained part of Sydney’s telecommunications infrastructure until it was purchased by Tricon Management Group in 2023 for $67.6 million, according to Data Center Dynamics. ▲ The Broadway International Communications Terminal at 184-200 Broadway dominates the block between Shepherd Street and City Road. Today, Tricon wants to bring the site into the tourism sector with its backpacker plans. According to the Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) prepared by female-led town planners The Planning Studio, the site’s proximity to Broadway Shopping Centre, Victoria Park, the University of Sydney and the University of Technology Sydney supported its suitability for backpacker accommodation. While the building is not heritage-listed, it is part of a heritage conservation area and sits next to historic structures including the former English, Scottish &amp; Australian Bank, and the former Commonwealth Bank. “The northern facade is to be lined with bespoke sandstone in reference to the sandstone heritage items near the site,” the document said. “The southern facade will be clad in face brick, referring to the brick Lansdowne Hotel.” A preliminary site investigation by JBS&amp;G Australia flagged potential contamination at the site due to fuel storage, automotive workshops and chemical handling in previous decades. The investigation recommended further intrusive soil, vapour and groundwater testing to assess contamination risks before development proceeds, subject to further assessment. The public exhibition period for submissions ends on February 4.

Developer Plots 1000-Bed Hostel for Historic Sydney Site

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