Australian casino developer and operator Crown Resorts has cleared what seemed to be its last legal hurdle preventing the construction of a A$2-billion hotel and casino resort in Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct.
Last month, a community group filed a legal action against the major gambling company, contesting the proposed location of its new project. Millers Point Fund Incorporated, a group of Barangaroo residents, argued that Crown Sydney Hotel Resort would occupy a site that had previously been reserved for a foreshore park. It also claimed in its lawsuit that the New South Wales Planning Commission had violated the state’s Casino Control Act by granting Crown Resorts the necessary approval to build its complex on that particular portion of land.
Under a Friday court decision, the gambling operator will now be able to proceed with construction work. Justice Robson, who was charged with the legal case, ruled that there had not been any “jurisdictional error” in granting Crown Resorts approval for its project. It has also become clear that Millers Point Fund Incorporated will have to cover the legal costs related to the lawsuit.
Representatives for the community group said after the Friday ruling that they plan to appeal the decision sometime next year.
Crown Resorts’ Barangaroo complex was planned to open doors in 2019 but multiple hurdles delayed development progress. Under the new time frame released by the operator, the resort is expected to be completed by 2021.
Located on the Sydney waterfront, Crown Sydney will include a 71-story tower with a six-star hotel, a casino, which will be the city’s second venue of this kind, and numerous high-end entertainment options. As most such properties, the resort will be aimed at drawing high roller casino patrons from the Asia-Pacific region.
Crown Sydney’s location and design has been the subject of severe criticism over the years. Residents of the area have not hid their displease with the complex, arguing that it would take up a space that could have been occupied by a public park.
The casino at Crown Sydney will be Crown Resorts’ first gambling venue in the New South Wales capital. Opening the facility, probably in 2021, the gambling operator will put an end to the long-standing monopoly of its arch-rival The Star Entertainment Group. The latter company has been operating The Star Sydney for over 20 years now.
