160-year-old former inner west pub Clarence Hotel set for a new life as apartments
The Clarence Hotel began serving beers in 1858 and was one of the first buildings constructed in the Sydney suburb of Petersham.
The pub at 450 Parramatta Road has changed hands many times and lived many lives, including a period as a strip club and another as a sports bar with 30 pokie machines.
However, after 160 years it’s unlikely the site will continue as a pub, as its been listed for sale and is already attracting interest from buyers wanting to knock it down and replace it with apartments.
Antonio DeBerardinis from , who is selling the site on behalf of an unnamed Sydney developer, says the pub’s most likely future looks to be a six or seven storey residential apartment block, or student accommodation.
“When it used to be run as a pub the business didn’t do so well. So if someone wanted to open another refurbished bar here I think they might probably struggle financially because this area just isn’t a go-to place any more.”
“It’s a large corner block- it’s an opportunity for someone to do something architecturally bold and go ‘This is what we want Parramatta Road to look like’.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw offers above $4.5 million,” he said.
The hotel is four kilometres from Sydney’s CBD.
Since being stripped of its operating licence, the building has sat as an empty shell in recent years.
It was formerly named the White House Hotel but then reverted back to the original name.
It sits on a 487-square-metre block and has 600 square metres of internal floor space, including nine bedrooms.
A neighbouring building on Parramatta Road has been given approval for a six-level development.
Plans of the Clarence Hotel, dated back to 1903. Photo: State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales.
