Sydney’s 150-year-old Coogee Bay Hotel could be set for a major facelift under plans submitted to council that also call for a new five-storey shop top residential building accommodating 60 apartments.
Designed by Fender Katsalidis, with landscape architecture by Oculus and heritage input from Weir Phillips, the mixed-use development would comprise two distinct areas acting independently of each other in terms of structure and services: the retail/residential building and the hotel.
There would be upgrades to the hotel and existing Arden Bar, Arden Brasserie and beer garden. The development would include 10 new hotel rooms to make 29 room in total.
Coogee Bay Hotel development by Fender Katsalidis.
To the west of the site, the residential building would sit atop a small-format supermarket and ten new retail tenancies that would form an internal site link or “eat street” at ground level.
Fender Katsalidis said the building had been designed to respond sympathetically to the varied street character and scale, with particular attention given to addressing the heritage elements along Coogee Bay Road.
“The proposed residential building also draws inspiration from its direct waterfront location,” the architects state in planning documents.
“The large majority of apartments gain bay views to the east, whilst the others gain regional views across Coogee to the north. The facade materials play on light and shade through the material selection, echoing the warmth and depth of nature’s palette offered by the sandy beach foreground.
“The facade expression opens views from the living spaces towards the bay and foreshore from large balconies and terraces.”
The proposal comes around more than a decade after the local community and the NSW government architect roundly rejected another plan to redevelop the hotel, which would have included a 10-storey building.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that some local residents are gearing up for another fight to stop the development, while local MP Marjorie O’Neill said the proposal was “over the top.”
The development application for the $110 million development was submitted to Randwick Council on 22 July.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
