Construction and property company Hickory has been appointed builder to transform the fire-damaged Henderson Hat Factory at 7–15 Randle Street in Surry Hills into an 11-storey, 124-key hotel, with completion targeted for May 2028.
Designed by renowned architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, the Randle St Hotel will feature two restaurants, two bars, and a new pedestrian link connecting directly to Central Station. Project consultancy APM Services will manage the delivery.
The fire that changed the building’s trajectory happened on 25 May 2023, when the vacant six-storey factory caught alight and collapsed in a blaze that brought the Sydney CBD to a standstill, its footage broadcast live on national television. Two 13-year-old boys were later charged over the blaze.
A building with more than a century of history behind it
Rolla Crosby Henderson established his first hat factory at Wynyard Square in 1904, and by 1912 had commissioned architect Thomas Pollard Sampson to design an imposing six-storey brick factory building on Randle Street, purpose-built for the manufacture and sale of women’s and children’s felt and straw hats.
The R C Henderson hat factory is a Federation-style factory, typical of the many warehouses that once dotted Surry Hills. The construction of Central Railway Station in 1906 and the creation of Wentworth Avenue in 1910, along with resumptions of 1850s and 1860s terraces, encouraged a wave of warehouse construction in the area.
The Randle Street factory produced women’s and children’s felt and straw hats from 1912 until 1954, when the business went into receivership. The buildings were then occupied by clothing manufacturers through the 1960s and 1970s, before being purchased by developer Hanave Investments in 1978.
In later decades, the building transitioned into commercial storage and creative spaces before sitting largely empty ahead of the 2023 fire. By 2023 it stood largely vacant, listed on the NSW State Heritage Inventory for its industrial heritage significance.
Heritage preserved through the rebuild
Despite the extent of the damage, the project does not start from a blank slate. Key heritage features of the original factory will be salvaged and repurposed throughout the build, including the original brickwork, ensuring the character of the historic building is preserved.
Tonkin Zulaikha Greer’s design stitches together the former factory building at 11–13 Randle Street with infill buildings on the two neighbouring lots. The heritage of the building will be exposed internally, with cutaways within ceilings of hotel rooms and corridors making original timber details visible.
Window fixtures will be replaced with period-appropriate timber fittings to reinstate the building’s original character.
The pedestrian link through the site, connecting Randle Lane to Randle Street and through to Central Station, was part of the original design concept and remains in the approved plans.
Hickory’s expanding Sydney footprint
The project marks Hickory’s continued expansion into NSW since entering the state six years ago. The builder now has a local pipeline valued at $735 million across residential and commercial sectors, with the Randle St Hotel one of five major projects currently under construction in Sydney.
Hickory NSW State Manager Michael Kouknas pointed to the company’s track record with the nearby Ace Hotel in Surry Hills as direct experience for the complexity ahead. “We’re thrilled to be appointed as builder of the Randle St Hotel, a project that plays to our deep technical expertise delivering sophisticated projects in the living and hospitality sectors,” he said.
Hickory Managing Director George Abraham said the NSW pipeline had nearly doubled in a short period, reflecting the strength of the market and confidence in Hickory’s value engineering and repurposing expertise.
The Randle St Hotel is due for completion in May 2028.
Published 12-June-2026
