Oxford Street heritage building used for cabaret nightclub could be converted into boutique hotel
The owners of cabaret nightclub Slide Lounge, at Sydney’s Darlinghurst, have submitted plans for its heritage-listed building to be redeveloped into a 21-room, boutique hotel.
Elli Pty Ltd, which owns the property at 37-41 Oxford Street and operates the venue, is looking to invest a projected $2.3 million in the redevelopment. Most of that will go into the addition of two new levels on top of the existing two-storey building – a former branch of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
The existing first floor will contain three hotel rooms, while the planned second and third levels will include 11 and seven rooms respectively.
The property currently has a Gloria Jeans cafe at the front. Photo: Supplied
The two new storeys are proposed to be built at the rear of the building, and the existing Gloria Jeans cafe will be converted into the hotel’s lobby, office and reception.
If approved, the plans would bring the existing gross floor space of 779 square metres up to 1203 square metres on a 447-square-metre site.
The new structure will retain the existing club areas within the former banking chambers, planning documents suggest. The artist’s impression image shows the Slide signage kept in its current place above the entrance.
A Slide employee confirmed the cabaret club would not be moving out but could not comment on how it would integrate with the hotel.
Elli Pty Ltd bought the real estate for $6.4 million in October 2016, Domain Group records show, while CBA offloading the property for $3,055,000 in 2001.
The owners could not be reached for comment before publication.
The building was altered in style by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia from 1935. Photo: City of Sydney
Built circa 1880, the property was owned by Thomas Blake and occupied by three Victorian terrace shops and residences until 1935, when CBA purchased the site.
The bank then altered the façade in an inter-war stripped art deco style – one example of the bank’s expansion following significant amalgamations with state banks starting in 1913.
Art deco features still intact include the bronze framed fixed window and decorative plaster ceiling in the foyer, while the roof form and chimney remain from its Victorian days.
Converted historic buildings are seeing hot demand from boutique hotel investors and operators, as the industry focuses increasingly on experience-based travel to win back market share from Airbnb and other alternative accommodation.
In Sydney’s inner west, there are plans for a French-Indochine style boutique hotel and restaurant at the 132-year-old former Stanmore fire station, after it was snapped up for more than $7 million. One of the new owners “Amy” Thi Lan Nguyen said it was the property’s period façade and historic significance which attracted her.
Growth in the use of Airbnb-style shared accommodation in Australia surged by 9.6 per cent in 2017, a Deloitte Access Economics report found. The number of night stayed at conventional hotels grew at a slower rate of 5.6 per cent.
The development application for the Darlinghurst building is on public exhibition until June 13.
