Shelbourne Hotel set for return to full-scale accommodation in Sydney CBD
Sydney's historic Shelbourne Hotel is on track for a major revival, with developer Addenbrooke partnering to restore the heritage pub into a full-service accommodation hotel, adding much-needed hotel stock to the city's western gateway precinct.
The landmark venue at 200-202 Sussex Street, built in 1902 and positioned beside Pyrmont Bridge, will undergo a significant transformation under a joint venture between the O'Neil family's Addenbrooke and leaseholder Towncorp. The move marks a departure from Towncorp's earlier residential apartment proposal for the site.
Rather than pursuing that scheme, the partners will restore the existing building and add a tower above it housing 140 hotel keys, returning overnight accommodation to a site that operated as a hotel from 1902 until 1975, before spending 25 years as a restaurant and reopening as a pub in 2000.
Addenbrooke director Toby O'Neil said the project would honour the site's historic role while modernising its offering.
“We look forward to working closely with all stakeholders to bring forward a project that continues the revitalisation and evolution of this important gateway location between Cockle Bay and the CBD,” he said.
“We believe this hotel scheme will be uniquely received by the market, as it thoughtfully combines the site's heritage character with contemporary design, creating a unique offering that blends the old with the new,”
A State Significant Development Application was submitted to the NSW government last week, with the joint venture partners now awaiting a determination.
“We are generally excited to work on this project which will revitalise the precinct between Cockle Bay and the Sydney CBD,” O'Neil said.
The proposal centres on adaptive reuse of the existing structure rather than demolition, aiming to lift accommodation supply in the CBD to meet growing domestic and international visitor demand while retaining the building's heritage character.
Addenbrooke is working alongside APM Services, Bates Smart and Colliers on the scheme.
The current plan stands in contrast to a 2021 proposal drawn up amid Sydney's residential property boom, which threatened the future of the pub. That earlier scheme would have closed the heritage venue and built a substantial tower above it, with commercial and retail space in a podium base.
Under the new proposal, the operating pub will remain in use while the site returns to its original hotel function. Addenbrooke's plans include reconfiguring the pub's internal layout, expanding function space, and adding 14 levels of hotel rooms, plus a hotel bar and rooftop plant areas.
The 2021 scheme had envisaged 42 serviced or for-sale apartments within a $152 million tower. The new proposal scales this back to an $80 million tower, with the hotel's eventual market positioning still to be finalised in line with the building's distinctive heritage character.
Jonathan Jackson, 9th July 2026
