Star City upsize to go ahead
By Emma Rugg
The Gaming industry continues to thrive despite the financial downturn, as Tabcorp embarks on a $475 million re-development of Star City, after winning final approval from the NSW Ministry of Planning last week.
With the construction of a 250-room five-star hotel, up to 30 restaurants and bars, an expanded ballroom and gaming floor, and a completely new harbourfront orientation, the upgrade will be one of the largest construction projects in NSW, creating 750 jobs in the next three years.
Tabcorp’s Chief Executive Officer Elmer Funke Kupper said: ‘The new Star will be the best entertainment complex in Sydney and one of the leading casinos in the Asia-Pacific region, providing new opportunities to attract interstate and international visitors.’
The initial proposal was rejected by the City of Sydney Council last July, after Lord Mayor Clover Moore claimed it would ‘prey on the most vulnerable in society’, and The NSW Health Department ruled that it failed to comply with smoke-free legislation.
But in the six months leading up to the proposal’s re-submission and final approval, Tabcorp ensured that it met all state regulations, and agreed to a number of conditions on the physical changes to the harbourfront, including a height limit for the new hotel.
Early construction has already begun on the main gaming floor, and the entire project is expected to be completed by 2011.
Star City will remain open during construction. Most of the work will take place around the existing buildings and gaming areas, and even when these areas are directly under development, there will always be others that will remain open.
