Demolition Approved For Iconic Sydney Music Venue Selina's

It’s official: the iconic Sydney venue, Selina’s, situated in the Coogee Bay Hotel, will be demolished.

Selina’s has been a cultural touchstone in New South Wales for over 50 years, hosting some of the biggest names in music, such as Nirvana, INXS, The Killers, Cold Chisel and others.

However, that history is about to disappear, as the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Coogee Bay Hotel is set to be demolished and replaced by a new six-storey apartment building.

A NSW state planning panel approved the redevelopment four to one. Chris Cheung, the owner of C!NC Hotels, now has permission to demolish several buildings within the venue, including Selina’s.

According to a new report from news.com.au, the Coogee Bay Hotel redevelopment will include a new apartment block, additional hotel accommodation, basement parking, and a restaurant laneway.

The restaurant laneway, set to spotlight eleven cafes and retailers, will be named after Selina’s in the music venue’s honour. The new building will sit at 21.35m in height - much higher than the hotel’s original 12m height.

The closure and demolishment of the Coogee Bay Hotel have been long coming. The Music first reported on the $112 million demolition proposal in 2021.

Selina's was once the quintessential go-to for the rock'n'roll scene. It boasted a large, purpose-built venue with a generous stage and mezzanine level for larger shows. 

In 2021, Labor Coogee Bay MPs pressured the local government to declare the Coogee Bay Hotel a "Special Entertainment Precinct" to save the venue and its iconic bandroom, Selina's, from demolition.

When proposals for the redevelopment were initially announced, over 10,000 locals signed a petition to save the Coogee Bay Hotel.

John Graham, the then Shadow Minister For Music And Nighttime Economy, said that if the Coogee Bay Hotel were declared a Special Entertainment Precinct, “it would be provided with the regulatory support for entertainment and live music necessary to save Selina’s.

“The State Government now needs to deliver on its end of the bargain and use the reforms to save our iconic venues and support emerging ones,” Graham stated, calling on the 2021 NSW state government to use the “framework” to establish Special Entertainment Precincts and “get on with the work of refreshing their planning controls to foster live music and cultural activity for the benefit of their communities and visitors.”

Graham continued, “Selina’s is the first test of getting this right or risking losing a Sydney music institution. A stage which has hosted so much of Sydney and Australia’s music history – hosting Midnight Oil, Crowded House, The Angels and the Hoodoo Gurus, as well as landmark international tours by the likes of Elton John and David Bowie – deserves to be preserved not just as a relic but as a living entertainment venue.”

In 2016, Selina’s reopened after being closed for a year. It also closed in 2020 due to COVID-19 but roared back to life in 2021.

In 2018, The Killers played a secret show at Selina’s during their headline tour of Australia.