Plans to redevelop Circular Quay's Sir Stamford Hotel defeated again
Singapore tycoon CK Ow’s persistent attempts to build luxury apartments atop Circular Quay’s Sir Stamford Hotel site have once again been thwarted, after the NSW Land & Environment Court ruled against the approval of any redevelopment at the heritage hotel.
This is Mr Ow and his group Stamford Land Corporation’s second go at having the wharf-front hotel redeveloped after the first plans lodged in 2013 were blocked by Malaysian conglomerate Mulpha, the owner of the nearby InterContinental Sydney and adjoining Transport House in a courtroom battle.
Mulpha had claimed the redevelopment of the Sir Stamford Hotel at 93-95 Macquarie Street, which would include a raised tower, would hurt views from the InterContinental Hotel, about two blocks away.
Plans at the time included a 19-storey tower with 102 new apartments as well as 1296 square metres of new retail and commercial space in the lower levels.
Undeterred, Stamford Land lodged another development application worth $135 million to build apartments in a 55-metre tower while conserving the heritage facade of the building late last year.
Heritage concerns
But Mulpha again took the matter to court, seeking to stop the City of Sydney council from approving the development. Last week, the Land and Environment Court restrained the council from making a decision on the Stamford’s plans.
“We want to make sure the whole precinct is developed appropriately,” Mulpha Australia chief executive Greg Shaw said.
“We would like everything to be developed in accordance with the heritage nature of the precinct.”
The Sir Stamford Hotel is housed in the former Health Department building, which has state heritage significance as a surviving work of the government architect, W.L. Vernon.
Malaysia-listed Mulpha is a global hospitality and real estate developer with Australian developments such as Sydney’s Norwest Business Park while Stamford Land, an owner-operator of luxury hotels, has a portfolio of 2500 rooms globally as well as residential assets.
