Schwartz Family Co. announced on Tuesday that it signed an agreement with developer Lend Lease to purchase a hotel development in Sydney’s Darling Harbour, which is seeing a A$2.5 billion (US$2.3 billion) investment in a new convention center and other infrastructure projects.
Accor, Courcouronnes, France, signed a management deal with Schwartz Family Co., Bondi Junction, Australia, to manage the 35-story, 600-room hotel, which will open as the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour in the second quarter of 2017. Construction is set to begin near the end of this year.
“Sydney has experienced a room drought over the past decade, so this new hotel will significantly enhance the city’s ability to host major conferences and events,” said Jerry Schwartz, Schwarz Family Co. principal.
Savills closed the deal on behalf of the seller and noted that this transaction involving a “turnkey/pre-sale” of a hotel has not occurred before in Australia and that new development is challenging in most markets of Australia, particularly Sydney, because of the high land cost and competition with other land uses, particularly residential in prime harbor-front sites like Darling Harbour where the new Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour will be situated.
