Roxy’s theater owners threaten legal actions against Sydney Metro

The owners of the Roxy Theater in Parramatta have threatened legal actions against Sydney Metro, accusing it of blocking the development of the building almost from the century.

David Kingston of K Capital told ABC that his company had moved to present a statement statement against Sydney Metro for “severe interference” related to access to the Roxy Theater.

The company has sought for years to develop the film complex in an entertainment enclosure with restaurants and bars.

But the most recent application of the developer to the city of Parramatta was rejected, partly because Sydney Metro did not approve the use of its land.

“The Roxy has been ready to be renewed and reopened since the end of 2019, however, it has been in quarantine incorrectly due to planning and subway actions,” Kingston said.

Kingston has accused Sydney Metro to barrica access to the western limit of Roxy, including fire departures, after the surrounding land in 2019 forced.

“The 2002 DA (Development application) is completely approved and once the interference of the subway is eliminated, the DA 2002 can be reactivated with a cosmetic renewal but without structural works,” he said.

ABC has contacted Sydney Metro to get an answer.

Sydney Metro said the Metro line of the Western to Parramatta was on the way to open in 2032.

Designed in a Spanish baroque style, the theater of almost 2,000 seats was built in the 1930s as one of the main theater palaces of Australia.

Hoyts bought the property in 1946, before K Capital took over the site in 2002 and turned it into an entertainment complex.

But it closed in 2014 and since then it has fallen into a state of poor condition.

K Capital proposed to transform the site into a mixed use of 29 floors, but was rejected by the Council and the NSW Environment Court.

The company’s most recent development application to transform the site into a restaurant, bar and nightlife was also rejected by the Parramatta city in February.

The determination notice said that Sydney Metro had not given their consent to Roxy’s owners to use the adjoining land.

“It has not been shown that there are arrangements for the orderly and efficient access of the vehicle to the site for the construction and for operational purposes,” the notice said.

Patrimonial concerns for Roxy’s redevelopment

A community group has raised concerns about K Capital’s plans for Roxy and said the developer’s proposal did not respect the structure of the building.

Robert Fox from the Roxy Theater Action Group said his group wanted to see the theater restored to his former glory.

“He (Mr. Kingston) wanted to build a block of offices just through the bowels of the theater, a block of several -story offices, and that, of course, would have destroyed any potential for the theater to be restored,” Fox said.

Mr. Fox said his group wanted the city of Parramatta to buy the site and undertake urgent repairs.

“The first thing is that the council keeps it, really acquires it and owns, and simply fix the leaks and make sure that it does not deteriorate anymore,” he said.

“The Council supported by the state government needs to commit to David Kingston and simply persuade him to allow him.”

The business group supports the development of Roxy

Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger rejected Mr. Fox’s suggestion and said the purchase of the site by the Council “in banking in the bankruptcy of the city of Parramatta.”

Borger said he was anxious to see that the theater opened again as part of a broader enclosure of music and entertainment in Parramatta.

While there were some “excellent elements” of K capital proposal, he said it was important to maintain the assets of the building and the capacity of the existing seats.

“There is something important to maintain the critical capacity for a place, and if the seats are reduced in scale, you can no longer use it for entertainment purposes,” Borger said.

In a statement, the city of Parramatta said it had no plans to buy the site.

“A compromise of funds from the state or federal government for the Revitalized Roxy Theater is one of the many key modeling projects of the city that advocates the Council to accelerate the transformation of one of the fastest growing global cities in Australia,” he said.

The Minister of Heritage, Penny Sharpe, said that the state government supported the reurbanization of the Roxy Theater site in a way to respect the history of the building.

“The Government of Nueva Wales del Sur firmly supports a reactivation of the Roxy Theater that also protects and complements its state patrimonial importance,” Sharpe said in a statement.