Singaporean developer Invictus has revealed plans to turn a long-vacant bank into a 152-key hotel in the Sydney CBD.
The 15-storey building at 39-41 York Street has been empty since the Bank of China vacated in August, 2019.
Invictus acquired the site for $52.5 million in August.
The developer has filed plans with the City of Sydney to adaptively reuse the building for hotel purposes, and said it would provide much-needed hotel floor space in central Sydney.
Designed by Bates Smart, it would enhance “activation and vibrancy in the locality through publicly accessible food and drink offerings on the ground floor and the rooftop”, the development application said.
Bates Smart said its design “builds on the strength” of the existing structure’s arched colonnade base and top.
Stripping the structure back to its concrete frame and emphasising the arched structure with steel canopies would create a facade to the western enclosure of Wynyard Park opposite the tower, the architects said.
Invictus will also upgrade public domain interfaces and refurbish building facades on the York and Erskine streets frontages.
The developer is seeking a change of use and plans to remove the basement carparking level for hotel back-of-house uses.
Under the plans, the ground level would be reconfigured to accommodate a hotel reception and lobby as well as indoor and outdoor dining.
Levels 1 to 14 comprise the 152 rooms as well as a gym on the first floor.
The proposed works have an estimated cost of $29.8 million.
Singapore’s Invictus Developments is a relatively new entry to the Australian market and has made it clear it plans to grow its portfolio to $500 million. The developer acquired a $25-million hotel in Brisbane around the same time as the York Street site.
Invictus is backed by Indonesian rich-listers the Karim family, led by palm oil tycoon Bachtiar Karim, who is worth an estimated $6 billion, according to Forbes.
