Penrith’s Log Cabin Hotel in $35m redevelopment
Pubs across the nation might be enduring a COVID-19 temporary shutdown but that has not stopped billionaire Arthur Laundy from developing three new hotel projects in Sydney’s west and on the NSW south coast.
Fresh from the success of developing the Marsden Brewhouse in outer-western Sydney, the pub king is set to spend $35 million redeveloping the Log Cabin Hotel, a popular fixture of the Penrith community, with a couple of partners in tow.
Laundy controls about 70 pubs and hotels in NSW and Queensland, with The Australian’s ‘The List’ recently valuing his wealth at about $1.1 billion.
Laundy says that apart from purchasing the Penrith site, he has bought two more blocks of land for major pub developments at Jordan Springs in Sydney’s west and near Albion Park on the NSW south coast, where he already owns a successful pub enterprise.
His latest venture, The Penrith Log Cabin Hotel, will be developed by a consortium comprising Laundy Hotels, the Cottle family and local businessman Rob Wearn. The Laundy family have previously worked with Mr Wearn and the Cottle family on other pub ventures.
The previous Log Cabin Hotel was destroyed by fire in 2012.
The Log Cabin Hotel before it was destroyed by fire in 2012.
Laundy’s partner, FDC Construction, has submitted a development application to the council for the new Penrith Log Cabin Hotel.
They plan a two-level hotel with indoor and outdoor bars and dining areas overlooking the Nepean River. A large beer garden and children’s playground, with fine dining and function areas upstairs, are also proposed. The developers exchanged contracts on the site late last year, with the previous owner and long-time publican Ross Sinclair paying about $15 million for the site.
The planned reconstruction of the hotel will represent a continuation of more than 200 years of hotel history on the site, Laundy says.
Sinclair says: “This venue has always been representative of my family’s love for the Penrith community.
“Many people in Penrith had their first beer, first dates, celebrated sporting championships and community events here over the years. To have that legacy continue into a third century is extremely important to me, and not to mention very rare from an Australian heritage perspective.”
With the Laundy family, FDC Construction developed the Marsden Brewhouse in Marsden Park, The Locker Room Hotel in Sydney Olympic Park and a large business estate at Erskine Park.
Laundy says his family has been involved in pubs in western Sydney for more than 70 years: “The Log Cabin has always been the jewel of the western Sydney pub scene, so it is an absolute thrill to be involved with good friends and partners in restoring the Log Cabin Hotel to its former glory.”
The proposed hotel will be a feature of the council’s The Great River Walk — a key component in focusing the burgeoning community pride in, and ownership of, one of Australia’s most significant river landscapes.
The Log Cabin Hotel application will be in review with Penrith City Council over the coming months, with construction aiming to commence late this year.
In the middle of last year, Laundy further added to his pub empire, purchasing The Oxford Hotel in Sydney’s Drummoyne for $42 million.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
