Iris Seeks Hotel-for-Homes Swap in $65m Kings Cross Project

A $65-million Kings Cross redevelopment now under construction will lose its approved hotel component before the project is finished if the the developer has its way. Iris Capital-linked Piccadilly Property Trust has filed plans to modify Queensgate Potts Point, a mixed-use project approved for 46 apartments, a 59-room hotel, two pubs, retail space, a medical centre, basement parking and a through-site link. The application now before the City of Sydney would replace the hotel component with 29 more apartments, lifting the approved apartment count to 75. It’s the latest chapter for the Darlinghurst Road block that has changed over the years since the 1890s—from terrace homes and a private hospital to flats, pubs, cabaret rooms and now more permanent housing. Queensgate, at 18-32A Darlinghurst Road, is about 1.5km east of Sydney’s CBD, within the Kings Cross Entertainment Precinct and Potts Point Heritage Conservation Area. The 2517sq msite has frontages to Darlinghurst Road, Roslyn Street and Barncleuth Lane, and has combined five adjoining buildings into one redevelopment. At the northern end, Lowestoft, at 18-20 Darlinghurst Road, was built in 1896. By 1931 it comprised about 15 flats and a shop. Its street-front presentation is being retained under the scheme. ▲ The 2517sq m Queensgate Potts Point site is between Darlinghurst Road, Roslyn Street and Barncleuth Lane. Next door, the Bourbon at 22-24 Darlinghurst Road began life in 1904 as two upmarket terrace mansions. Number 24 later became the Charlemount Private Hospital, then a boarding house, private hotel and part of the Bourbon and Beefsteak Bar. Its listed facade is being restored. Beside it, Radnor at 26-28 Darlinghurst Road was built as two houses in 1904, later became residential chambers and was absorbed into the wider Bourbon hospitality use. Heritage material said no original fabric remained. Commodore at 30-30B Darlinghurst Road followed in 1928 as “American-style” flats. Its front portion is being conserved. ▲ Undated Roslyn Hall Estate subdivision plans show the Darlinghurst Road lots created after the estate grounds were subdivided in 1889. And on the corner of Darlinghurst Road and Roslyn Street, the Empire Hotel site at 32-32A Darlinghurst Road was redeveloped in 1961 with a curved building designed by Neville Gruzman. Les Girls opened there in 1962 as a drag cabaret and theatre nightclub, and later became one of Kings Cross’ best-known late-night venues. Empire Hotel’s building was approved for demolition. Its heritage listing applies to the site, rather than the building, because of its social significance, particularly its Les Girls history. This history is to be interpreted through the new curved corner building and public art. Building compliance documents prepared by Credwell said existing structures had now been demolished, leaving the Darlinghurst Road facade, external walls of 30-30B Darlinghurst Road and part of the existing substation. ▲ Macleay Street circa 1912, looking towards Darlinghurst Road terrace buildings highlighted in orange, which later became part of the Bourbon and Beefsteak Bar. Sam Arnaout’s Iris Capital began in hospitality in 1995 and now operates across development, hotels, pubs, casinos and residential projects. Its portfolio spans more than 5000 luxury apartments, 57 venues and hotels, three vineyards and two casinos. Under the latest plans, four studios, 26 one, 32 two and 13 three-bedroom apartments would be delivered. Planning consultant Urbis said the new homes were designed as a “more modest, mid-market residential offering” for singles, couples and downsizers. ▲ The Empire Hotel building at Darlinghurst Road and Roslyn Street, where Les Girls operated from 1962 before later nightclub uses. Retail space would increase from 322sq m to 430sq m, while the medical centre would be reduced from 13 consulting rooms to 10. Pub floor space would rise from 670sq m to 703sq m through basement offices. Car parking would move from 80 spaces to 81, with resident spaces rising from 37 to 49. Bicycle parking would rise from 78 spaces to 108. Urbis said approved height, gross floor area, massing, setbacks and building envelope would not change. Residential use would, however, push above 50 per cent of total gross floor area, requiring a variation to site-specific controls for Darlinghurst Road. No apartments are proposed at ground level, where commercial, retail and licensed uses would remain. ▲ The Empire Hotel building was approved for demolition, with its Les Girls history to be interpreted in the new scheme. City Plan Heritage, in a report prepared for Iris Capital, said the latest plans involved “modifications to the internal layout of the approved hotel component to residential apartments”. Hotel lobby space would be removed and incorporated into a retail tenancy in the former Commodore building. Architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and Panov Scott backed the change, describing it as a move from “hotel to micro-apartments”. They said it would provide additional housing diversity atnPotts Point. Larger units, the architects said, were partly driven by heritage room patterns in Bourbon and Commodore, natural ventilation requirements and efforts to limit impacts on Dani Marti’s approved public artwork at the Empire corner. A 2017 proposal for the holding was withdrawn after community opposition. City of Sydney planning material said those earlier plans drew more than 500 submissions, prompting the council to commission heritage and urban design work for the site. The Bourbon Hotel’s facade and the Empire Hotel site were listed as local heritage items in 2019, the same year Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and Panov Scott won the design competition. Consent was granted in December of 2021 for a mixed-use project with hotel accommodation, apartments, two pubs, retail, a medical centre and basement parking. Several modifications followed. One reduced the apartment count from 52 to 48, another from 48 to 46. Iris Capital was contacted for comment for this report.

Iris Seeks Hotel-for-Homes Swap in $65m Kings Cross Project

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