Welcome to Part 5 of our series on the redevelopment of East Circular Quay. This week, we return to the redevelopment of Unilever House into a hotel.
A fortnight ago, I shared clippings relating to the 1986 proposal by Molena Holdings Pty. Ltd. to convert the 16-level Unilever House (current site of 1 Bennelong) from an office building into a hotel with 223 rooms. The estimated cost was $75 million.
In 1986, conditional approval was given, with final approval granted in 1987.
Source: Howell, A. 1987. "Go-ahead for $100 million hotel at Quay". The Sydney Morning Herald, April 30: 2.
The hotel was to be known as The Grand Luxe Hotel, managed by the Beaufort International Group. Hotel rates were to range from $500 per night to $2000 per night. It was anticipated that the development would be completed by December 1988. Demolition began later that year.
Demolition work came to an abrupt halt in 1988. Civil and Civic were tasked with demolition works but had to vacate the site. The company was unable to respond to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald on February 23 1988. Speculation about the development arose - Was it going ahead? Were there plans to buy 35-37 Macquarie Street and propose an even bigger development? Would it still remain a hotel development, or would an office building be built?
Source: Boson, N. 1988. "Questions remain about Quay hotel project". The Sydney Morning Herald, February 23:32.
However, in March 1988, the demolition of the concrete shell of the building was approved. It was reported that concrete cancer was discovered but was rejected by the developers, citing that the "internal structure did not suit the hotel development".
Source: Reader, R. 1988. "Concrete cancer, bureaucracy cause delays to quay project". The Weekend Australian, March 26-27: 2 (Property Section).
Source: Sing, T. & Chancellor, J. 1988. "Space bonus for Quay block". The Sydney Morning Herald, June 7: 34.
The article above makes a reference to plans by Colonial Mutual Limited (CML) to demolish two buildings it owned further down the strip (Bennelong House and Lend Lease House) and build one office building spanning both sites. CML's plans for East Circular Quay will be the focus of upcoming entries as they become the main player on the block for the first half of the 1990s.
There was criticism of the proposed hotel. Firstly, the concrete shell of Unilever House remained, gaining eyesore status. Simply, demolition of what was left had to occur. Secondly, it was an intrusion, like the other buildings at East Circular Quay, blocking the view of the Sydney Opera House from Circular Quay. The demolition of Unilever House had started to open up the view. Thirdly, the hotel would not cater to tourists who travel on a budget.
The Daily Telegraph explored this in depth on May 20 1988.
Meanwhile, at 35-37 Macquarie Street, Jedobo Pty. Ltd. were still planning to proceed with the development of their site but had shifted to a mostly commercial development with two floors to comprise part residential and part office space. The building was to be 20 storeys tall.
Our series continues next week.
Entries in this series
- East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): The first apartment block proposal (1979)
- East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): Opera Garden Centre Scheme (1984)
- East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): Unilever House Hotel Conversion (1986)
- East Circular Quay Redevelopment (Series): Opera Garden Centre Scheme Revisited (1986)
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