Paddington Arthouse Cinema Redevelopment Pushes Ahead

A landmark Sydney arthouse cinema will be redeveloped as a mixed-use block as the revitalisation of Oxford Street continues.

Under the plans approved by the Woollahra Municipal Council, the Palace Verona cinemas at Paddington will become an eight-level building comprising 3500sq m of office and retail space, and 1000sq m of cultural entertainment space.

Designed by architecture practice Scott Carver, the project, called Verona, will feature two levels of subterranean cinema spaces and cultural retail on the ground floor; four levels of commercial office space above that and a rooftop with food and beverage offerings and views of Sydney Harbour and the CBD.

The 1138sq m site at 17 Oxford Street was acquired by private development companies WT Malouf and Fenbury in 2021 from owner Robert Bleakley, founder of Sotheby’s Australia Fine Art. It has housed the Palace Cinema since 1996.

It is next to the a under-construction 109-key 25 Hours Hotel being developed by Central Element and Boston Global, and due to open in December, 2024.

▲ A render of the rooftop of the Verona redevelopment.

Oxford House is also nearby at 21 Oxford Street and comprises a 56-key hotel with a courtyard pool, poolside bar and all-day diner.

The approved development retains the historic former industrial brick facade while above this, the building will feature a “crystalline and dynamic facade that wraps the workplace floors, providing both excellent daylight and amenity within, while creating a luminous and lightweight form above the industrial-era brickwork,” the architects said.

Built in 1946, Verona was initially an industrial facility before becoming a cinema.

Palace acquired the Academy Twin cinema on the site in 1995 and architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer designed the purpose-built four screen Verona complex.

The cinema brought Hollywood glamour to Paddington when it was famously opened in 1996 by Nicole Kidman, who hosted the premiere of her movie To Die For, with her then-husband Tom Cruise.

▲ A render of inside the fourth floor of the redevelopment.

The ground floor was the site of the first Mambo retail store, the lifestyle brand created by Australian artist and Mental as Anything founding member Reg Mombassa.

Knight Frank has reported a surge in demand for commercial space in CBD fringe locations in response to persistent hybrid working styles post-Covid, with net face rents experiencing an average growth rate of 6 per cent during the past 18 months.

According to Knight Frank’s 2023 Sydney City Fringe—Office Insight report, inner-city suburbs recorded a 53 per cent rise in population in the past 20 years, compared with a growth rate of 29 per cent in Greater Sydney.

“Vacancy rates within the city fringe are among the lowest in the Greater Sydney area, with an undersupply of prime stock evidenced by sub 2 per cent vacancied in Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, and Eveleigh,” Knight Frank director and head of office leasing Nick Lau said.

“Given a limited pipeline of new developments and strong, ongoing rental growth within the city fringe, the delivery of new prime office supply will be well-received by the market.”