Earlier in the year, Laundy Hotels announced the acquisition of two new greenfields sites and the purchase of the razed Log Cabin Hotel in south-west Sydney. Australian Hotelier checked in with the group patriarch to see how these new pub projects are progressing.
In March, Laundy Hotels announced that it had acquired two parcels of land off Lendlease in new residential developments – one in Calderwood Valley in the Illawarra region, and one in Jordan Springs in the south-west Sydney LGA of Penrith. It also purchased the site of the Log Cabin Hotel in Penrith, which had been destroyed by fire in 2012. On all three sites, the group plans to build new hotels to service those growing communities.
Six months on from those announcements, and the concepts for all three hotels are well underway. None have reached the building stage as yet, but the plans for the tavern to be built in Jordan Springs are with council, with the hope that construction will begin in the next couple of months.
Arthur Laundy spoke about his vision for the hotels, stating that much like the Marsden Brewhouse, they would all service these new communities, focusing on young families.
“Lendlease are the ones that sold me the development sites. [They’re both] family-structured new areas and I do like that kind of arrangement. We’ll set up good food and we’ll set up playgrounds. I’ve always regarded a hotel as the focal point of an area and I just feel that in both these cases, the Jordan Springs and the Calderwood, they’re growing family areas.”
Fostering family-centric hotels with a loyal customer base is a signature of the esteemed hotelier, who – when talking to Australian Hotelier – was on his way to visit a regular patron of the Twin Willows Hotel who was unwell and in hospital.
“This is the way we strive to run our hotels. We are very hands on, and our locals become part of the family.”
A thriving area
Both the Jordan Springs hotel and the Log Cabin Hotel are in Penrith, an area which Laundy has an affinity for, being a keen advocate of south-west Sydney.
“The Penrith area is really thriving right now, even their football side. There’s a vibe to that Penrith area – it’s something special.”
Before its unfortunate destruction, the Log Cabin Hotel was a beloved hotel within the area, and Laundy intends on making sure that the new hotel has several nods to the original pub throughout.
“It’s a new hotel, but there will be things that will resemble the original. Wherever we can, we’ll incorporate various components of the old Log Cabin. In the hotel itself there will be aspects that resemble the area or the history of the Log Cabin Hotel. Failing that, we’ll bring to the pub a charm that we believe is part of the history of the establishment.”
The Log Cabin Hotel acquisition was a consortium buy between Laundy, the Cottle family and local businessman Rob Wearn. The Laundy and Cottle families have been close since the 1960s, and Wearn has become a friend since selling Laundy the land for the Marsden Brewhouse. Laundy Hotels will operate the venue.
Laundy Hotels hopes to have the Calderwood Valley, Jordan Springs and Log Cabin Hotel opened in the second half of 2021.