Tall & Urban News

SKYE Suites Green Square will be opening its doors over the coming months as part of the AU$575 million (US$409 million) “Infinity” development in Sydney’s City South. The development forms part of the AU$13 billion (US$9.2 billion) Green Square redevelopment that will also include a new train station and aquatic center. There is also the new Veriu hotel being developed within the precinct.

Designed by Koichi Takada Architects, Infinity by Crown Group will have 326 premium apartments, a convention center, a new retail and dining precinct with 20 outlets including a supermarket and the 90-room hotel, SKYE Suites Green Square. With direct access to Green Square train station, it is located one stop from the CBD, and in close proximity to the Sydney airport.

The first SKYE Suites opened in August 2017, with 72 hotel apartments situated in the V by Crown Group residential tower in Parramatta. Crown Group director of hotels and suites Wayne Taranto, said this is the third such development of the brand; the second was in November 2018, on Clarence Street, Sydney.

Given the strength of the hotel sector, the Canberra-based Doma group has also started construction on the AU$120 million (US$85 million) Little National Hotel near Wynyard train station in the heart of the Sydney city. It is expected to open in October 2019. The AU$80 million (US$57 million) Little National Hotel in Newcastle will open in late 2020 and will include 152 Little National rooms and 60 Serviced Apartments.

According to Colliers International’s head of hotels, Gus Moors, the national hotel market now comprises about 145,000 investment-grade rooms worth an estimated AU$56 billion (US$39.8 billion). “This represents an average price per key of AU$386,000 (US$274,380) with the overall result skewed upwards by the premium pricing of rooms in Sydney and Melbourne.”

“As accommodation development increased in recent years, a higher proportion of rooms are now held by developers. Many of these groups are likely to look to exit over the next few years to recycle capital into other projects. This should see deal-flow increase.” Moors said there had been 46 hotels opened in the 10 major accommodation markets 2018, adding 6,763 rooms to accommodation supply.

Developer Crown Group currently has an AU$5 billion (US$3.6 billion) portfolio of projects under development and in the pipeline.

For more on this story, go to The Sydney Morning Herald