Five-star Wanda Vista hotel to grace Circular Quay
"Wanda Vista" would soon be just as much of a household name in Sydney as Sheraton or Westin after China's Dalian Wanda Group confirmed it would build its own brand of five-star hotel at Circular Quay.
The Chinese property giant unveiled plans for Gold Fields House at 1 Alfred Street, Sydney, which it bought last year for $415 million, in a development approval submission lodged with the City of Sydney Council on Friday.
The group, led by one of China's richest men, Wang Jianlin, has confirmed it would turn the site which incorporates Fairfax House in Pitt Street and the Rugby Club into a hotel and residential two-tower complex worth about $1 billion.
At the future Wanda Vista at 1 Alfred Street, guests will have 5 star views of Sydney city and its harbour Anna Kucera
While new to Sydney, Wanda Vista has made its entrance into Australia via the group's $1 billion Gold Coast Jewel project.
The company has an established record in building hotels. It has six hotel projects internationally including London and Madrid, and used to operate the Hilton and Sofitel groups in China.
"Sydney could do with another five-star hotel. The tourism industry will continue to grow. Sydney is on the top with London and New York because it has a unique location," Wanda Sydney managing director Charlie Li said.
"This brings something fresh to the city. In Australia, I don't think there are enough star brands."
The group plans to build the hotel on the east side of the site and the residential tower on the west.
The original plans would have included 185-metre-high and 45-metre-high buildings at Gold Fields House and a 110-metre residential building at the Fairfax House site.
Gold Fields House at 1 Alfred Street, Circular Quay, will be the site of a five-star hotel. Anna Kucera
Wanda, with architect Crone Partners, has sought to have the properties considered as a single holding so it can have a bigger floor space. The hotel tower could also be considered separately as state significant development. The new works have an estimated construction cost of $290 million.
There will be a 110-metre hotel tower across Fairfax House and the Rugby Club land, increasing floor space by about 20 per cent. The luxury residential tower will be 185 metres high and there will be a high-end retail precinct on the bottom floors.
However, Mr Li said Dalian Wanda had no plans to put a cinema in the Gold Fields complex, even after the group's Cinema Line Corp purchased Hoyts Group in early June for close to $1 billion.
The group's foray into entertainment is not surprising as it also owns North American cinema chain AMC Entertainment after a 2012 takeover.
Mr Li said the group was focusing on four areas globally: tourism, property development, financial services banking and shopping centres.
"We are not targeting just the Chinese market but the international market overall. Wanda wants to become a leisure brand. We have a combination of businesses and don't want to specialise in just the one thing."
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