James Packer’s Crown Casino in Sydney gets the nod
James Packer’s plans for a casino and hotel for the enormous Barangaroo development in Sydney has been given the green light.
The development sitting across 22 hectares of land in Sydney Harbour has received conditional approval from the NSW Planning Assessment Commission.
However, it has imposed conditions on the application for the modification of the approved concept plan for Barangaroo and for the construction of the 71-storey Crown Sydney Hotel Resort at Barangaroo South.
These include setting the casino 30 metres back from the water, giving the pubic better access.
The commission said the changes had been brought in to ensure "the public good has been given a more equal status with the private good".
In its statement, the commission said it had "concluded that with the design changes made ... the proposed scale and form of Crown Sydney will be a sculptural and elegant signature building on the foreshore".
James Packer has a controlling stake of 53 per cent in Crown.
Crown chairman Robert Rankin said the development would be a tremendous boost for Sydney.
“While it has been a long and detailed process, we are pleased with the overall outcome and we’re deeply committed to building a six-star hotel resort that Sydneysiders and all Australians can be proud of,” Mr Rankin said.
“For too long Sydney has suffered from a lack of luxury tourism accommodation and Crown Sydney will help turn that around.
“We will now move quickly to begin excavation work. We are expecting to complete construction and open in early 2021.”
The casino development has been controversial. Many in Sydney have expressed concern about a second casino in the Harbour city.
The development has also drawn criticism from people protesting the lockout laws as the Barangaroo development and the Star casino in Darling Harbour is excluded from the CBD-wide exclusion zones.
by Leon Gettler, June 28th 2016
