Iconic Swillhouse Group venue Frankie’s will soon sling its last pizza by the slice after it was announced the venue will be demolished to make way for a new Sydney Metro station at Hunter Street.
The live music venue is said to be a popular haunt for politicians and government workers and Transport Minister Andrew Constance promised the venue would be looked after and relocated.
“Frankie’s is an important part of Sydney’s live music scene and we will make sure it is properly supported during this challenging time,” Constance said.
“Sydney Metro is assigning Frankie’s a dedicated acquisition manager to guide them through this process and to help find another location.”
The Hunter Street station sees 11 commercial buildings in the CBD affected, including 50-58 Hunter Street, home to Frankie’s and the Hunter Connection building, and Constance added: “The Hunter Connection is part of that acquisition program but we will work with those businesses, compensate those businesses, we’ll help relocate those businesses.
“Due to COVID there’s quite a significant vacancy rate across the city, we have seen an increase in the vacancy rate of about eight per cent, so there will be that opportunity for businesses to re-establish themselves.”
Last week NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed that a station for the Metro West rail line would be built between Pyrmont Bridge Road and Union Street in Pyrmont – close to The Star.
The casino owner said the construction of the station puts its plans for a high-rise tower in the area.
“This leaves at grave risk a Star masterplan which would help deliver an additional $1 billion in tourism assets and infrastructure via two hotels, new dining and entertainment precincts and around 2000 jobs,” a spokesperson for The Star said.
“We will seek urgent engagement with government to determine if and how our plans can be progressed in tandem with the Metro station development.”
The Metro West line is scheduled to be completed around 2030, with tunnelling to begin on this stage late next year, and the line will link the CBD with Parramatta and Westmead.
Bars and Clubs has approached Swillhouse CEO Anton Forte for comment – stay tuned.
