Crown Resorts’ project for the construction of a A$1.5-billion integrated casino resort on the waterfront of Sydney’s suburb of Barangaroo has eventually been given the green light by the New South Wales Planning Assessment Commission after years of being scorned upon.
The original plan for the hotel and casino tower was subjected to numerous modifications until finally approved by the independent commission. Initially, the property was proposed jut out into Barangaroo’s harbor. However, that plan was not welcomed by planning officials and the Australian casino operator had to scrap it completely.
The $1.5-billion tower is to be set 30 meters back from the harbor in favor of more public space. Under the new development plan, the casino will be surrounded by a larger park area. In addition, the casino podium will be accommodated in a manner that would provide people with a bigger foreshore walk.
With all the modifications recommended and later on approved by the New South Wales government, the state’s Planning Assessment Commission, too, greenlighted the project on Tuesday, although commissioners pointed out that they would have proposed more substantial changes.
What is more, despite the changes made, commissioners did not seem convinced that the public good would be enhanced to the same degree as the benefits to be reaped by the casino operator. Yet, they commented that now the public good would be given “a more equal status” with the private one.
Crown Resorts’ plan to build a luxury hotel and casino tower in Barangaroo was approved by the New South Wales government back in 2013. Commenting on the Tuesday announcement that the project has been given the nod by the Planning Assessment Commission, Robert Rankin, Chairman of the operator, said that they will soon commence excavation work and that if everything goes according to plan, the resort would be launched early in 2021.
Although the project had to overcome multiple hurdles, mainly ones related to its location, commissioners eventually said that Crown Sydney will be “a sculptural and elegant signature building” on the city’s waterfront.
Earlier this month, Crown Resorts announced that it would split its domestic assets from its international ones in a bid to maximize shareholder value. The Australian casino operator would demerge a separate holding company – InternationalCo, which would manage its Macau-based properties.
