Anson Group Prepares Haymarket Hotel Plans

Anson Group is hoping to finally move ahead on its plans for an angular hotel at Haymarket after lengthy delays.

The 16-storey mixed-use development would comprise four basement levels, ground-floor retail, a 318-key hotel, and terrace restaurant on level 7 overlooking Belmore Park on the Sydney CBD’s southern edge.

The project was approved in 2017 and the 1619sq m site cleared, however the pandemic threw the hotel sector into a tailspin and the plans went back on exhibition with the City of Sydney this month.

Hotel occupancy crashed to 20 per cent during Covid but has returned to 72.7 per cent in June this year, with 80.7 per cent occupancies during the FIFA Women’s World Cup, according to STR.

The slightly changed building planned for 136 Hay Street, Haymarket was designed by BVN, who said the podium design reflected the nearby Manning Building to enhance the character of the area.

The tower would have a light well through the middle and cascading gardens covering the sloped roof.

“The proposed development will provide high-quality built form for a viable and vibrant mix of uses, with retail and commercial uses accompanying the primary hotel component,” the application said. 

“Hotel rooms and facilities will be afforded good amenity, on site and by virtue of the site’s location in one of the most accessible parts of the city.

“The proposed hotel use would provide for an improved economic function, providing greater diversity in employment, greater activation of the city centre for longer hours of the day and a greater multiplier effect of economic benefit.”

▲ The 2017 approved design (left) and 2023’s proposed plans for the Haymarket hotel, which has an estimated cost of $104 million.

Anson Group recently picked up the Golden Century eatery near Tech Central for $50 million as part of the portfolio of properties it develops for sale or investment.

A little further away, the Sydney-based group is working on a 200-apartment tower at Randwick, next to a former Bank of NSW, which it unsuccessfully tried to buy.