Pontiac Land Group Celebrates the Completion of Capella Sydney’s Construction Phase with Official Ceremony

Following seven years of meticulous planning, conservation and renovations, the former Department of Education building has been transformed into a 192-room hotel where contemporary design meets storied architectural features. Opening in March 2023, Capella Sydney will elevate luxury accommodation options for business and leisure travellers, bringing heightened cultural immersion to the city’s historical Sandstone Precinct and contributing to the relaunch of Australia’s high-end tourism economy post-covid.

Pontiac Land Group hosted distinguished guests from the NSW government, City of Sydney and the Singapore High Commission to Australia at a special ceremony marking the completion of Capella Sydney’s construction phase.

Capella Sydney is a two-phase restoration project, comprising two heritage properties – the former Department of Education building and Department of Lands building, collectively known as the Sandstone Precinct.

Restoration works at the Department of Lands building are still underway, with an estimated completion date in 2026. Upon completion, Capella Sydney will be extended into a mixed-use development with larger-scale event and meeting spaces, curated retailers and signature food and beverage establishments, catering to both luxury travellers and the precinct’s thriving business scene.

The extended Capella Sydney will become one of the largest privately funded tourism infrastructure projects in NSW and one of the biggest job-creating foreign investments in Sydney. An economic impact analysis by Ernst and Young estimates it will create over 500 full time equivalent jobs across the construction and tourism sectors and contribute approximately A$1.2bn both directly and indirectly to Sydney’s economic output.

Pontiac Land’s scale of investment on the project is comparable to the International Convention Centre in Sydney’s Darling Harbour and Allianz Stadium at Moore Park.

“It took seven years of planning, conservation work and renovations, and although not easy, the stunning result makes it worthwhile. Pontiac Land has collaborated with the City in the areas of heritage restoration and interpretation, public art and most recently Sydney’s North Public Domain Plan Update so we knew these precious buildings were in good hands,” said The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Councillor Clover Moore.

“We are working with Pontiac Land and the team to undertake public works to Farrer Place and to achieve a service tunnel under Loftus Street to the former Lands Department building, another landmark sandstone building. And from March, when Capella Sydney opens to its first guests, it will add to the vibrancy of our Quay Quarter with its web of laneways and variety of venues in heritage buildings. A once strictly nine-to-five part of town will be alive around the clock, and the hotel will be a wonderful addition to the rejuvenated Circular Quay precinct.”

Capella Sydney is now open for online reservations for stays from March 2023 onwards.

For more information, visit Capella Sydney Website