Fortis to open $140m RH Gallery in Double Bay
Sydney’s glamorous Double Bay is set to be the home of the first flagship RH luxury gallery after developer Fortis lodged an application for the $140 million project with the Woollahra council.
If approved RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, will be a five-level site with a rooftop restaurant at 19-27 Bay Street in the upmarket eastern suburb precinct. The gallery will house bespoke luxury home furnishings and RH Interior Design Studio for professional design services with a plan to open in late 2025.
Working together with RH, MHN Design Union and Dangar Barin Smith, the commercial building includes 3385 square metres of interior and exterior space at the site bought by Fortis for $49 million in 2021.
Fortis, run by Charles Mellick, has made Double Bay its own with five commercial buildings, of which four are fully let, with some commercial tenancies still available in the upcoming commercial development known as Ruby House, located at 2-10 Bay Street.
Ed Eve, associate director of Fortis, said, the introduction of RH to Double Bay will enhance the vibrancy of the precinct and “attract further luxury brands and operators to the area as a place to work, shop, dine, relax and experience”.
Pallas Group is the parent company of Fortis, which develops luxury commercial and mixed-use projects nationally. The California-based RH also has a bespoke gallery in New York’s Meatpacking district, two private jets and large super luxury yacht.
Gary Friedman, RH chairman and chief executive said the group is “obsessed with great architecture. We either find it or build it and Sydney’s harbourside village of Double Bay is a perfect fit for us”.
As part of its asset recycling program, Fortis has listed its 2 Guilfoyle Avenue site being an office-retail project leased to Sydney chef and restaurateur Neil Perry and Baker Bleu. The group is also selling a site in Melbourne’s Clifton Hill and increasing the size of its Cremorne office project which is leased to adidas.
