About the project
The Sandstones buildings located in Sydney’s tourism and financial hub, include the former Education and Lands Buildings are elegant, stately buildings that tell a unique and interesting story about the history of NSW and the early colony. Both buildings are State Heritage listed and hold the highest level of statutory heritage protection in NSW.
To support the government’s tourism objectives and to allow for these significant assets to be appreciated by the public, the repurposing of these assets was restricted to adaptive reuse as luxury boutique hotels.
In 2015 a long-term lease was granted to Pontiac Land Group to restore and redevelop the buildings. Importantly, the NSW Government is retaining ownership and custodianship, safeguarding these important colonial heritage assets while enabling their adaptive reuse.
The long term lease of these buildings will allow significant savings to NSW taxpayers on maintenance, while funds received from the lease payment will contribute to infrastructure investment. The adaptive reuse of these building will create hundreds of new construction and hospitality jobs, boosting the NSW economy for many years to come.
Importantly, these iconic heritage assets will, for the first time in their history be open to be enjoyed by locals, tourists and visitors.
Background
The Advisory and Transactions team utilised its heritage, planning, procurement, and stakeholder management expertise, to oversee the leasing process.
Property and Development NSW will remain involved in the project until the opening of the hotel, expected in late 2023. The team is monitoring the design, approval, and construction phases to ensure adherence with the agreed development scheme, heritage protection, delivery milestones and timeframes.
Next steps
The project is on track for completion in late 2023.