Sydney's Lands and Education buildings to become luxury hotel

The NSW government’s drive to divest itself of its assets has taken further tangible form. It has announced that the historic Lands and Education Department buildings, which stand adjacent to each other in Sydney’s financial district, will be leased out to a Singapore property developer to become a 240 room luxury hotel.

NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property Dominic Perrottet has announced Singapore’s Pontiac Land Group as the winner of a competitive tender process for a 99 year lease of on the two buildings. Pontiac will pay $35 million for the lease, which is conditional on a commitment to undertake an estimated $250 to $300 million refurbishment of the properties, expected to take three years. The government will vacate the buildings by 2018.