Decode Group and Iris Capital Celebrate Queensgate Potts Point 'Topping Out' Construction Milestone - Decode

19 Jun 2026 6:21 AM

Key Facts:

• Decode Group and Iris Capital have celebrated the 'topping out' of Queensgate, a landmark mixed-use precinct at 18-32 Darlinghurst Road, Potts Point, comprising five interconnected buildings.
• The development will include 48 luxury apartments, two pubs, a medical centre, and ground floor and laneway retail, with completion expected in the first quarter of next year.
• Designed by architectural firms TZG and Panoff Scott, the project has retained and restored key heritage elements, including the historic Art Deco and Victorian-era facades and the iconic Bourbon Bar.
• The five buildings within the precinct include historically significant structures such as the former Empire Hotel, home to the famed Les Girls nightclub, and the Lowestoft building, dating from the 1890s.
• The project includes a new walkway connecting Darlinghurst Road and Barncleuth Lane, with Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore praising the development as a great contribution to Sydney and Kings Cross.

MEDIA RELEASE - 19 June 2026

Decode Group and Iris Capital have celebrated the ‘topping out’ of the landmark Queensgate mixed-use precinct at 18-32 Darlinghurst Road Potts Point.  

The milestone was marked with a traditional ceremony of a tree being placed tree at the highest point of the Queensgate development, which spans five interconnected buildings and will include:

• 48 luxury apartments
• Two pubs,
• A medical centre 
• Ground  floor and laneway retail.

Designed by the acclaimed architectural firms TZG and Panoff Scott, the project has retained and restored the site’s key heritage elements, including its distinctive historic facade along Darlinghurst Road and the iconic Victorian-era Bourbon Bar.  

Decode Group CEO Divya Mehta said: "Decode is proud to be one step closer to bringing Iris Capital’s vision to reinvigorate Sydney’s most famous nightlife strip while honouring and preserving its iconic heritage."  

“Queensgate has been one of Decode’s most complex projects to date, demanding meticulous attention to detail in integrating five architecturally distinct buildings and the site’s iconic Art Deco and Victorian era facades into a premium mixed-use precinct.”  

The Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore told the event: “This development block encompasses some the most culturally and socially historic buildings on the glittering mile."

"I believe the goodwill demonstrated by all parties throughout the application, the design and development process will result in a great development delivering good returns and excellent public benefits, and a great contribution to Sydney and the Cross.”  

Iris Construction Manager Anthony Vitale said: “We are super excited to have achieved this milestone and we look forward to the completion of the project and working with Decode to achieve that in the first quarter of next year.”  

TZG and Panoff Scott, who won the City of Sydney-led design excellence competition to design the Queensgate development, said: “Our approach is rooted in the notation of the architectural continuum with historic and contemporary buildings sitting side by side.  They simultaneously echo the Glittering Mile’s rich and colourful history and make a proclamation about the Cross’s optimistic and urban future.”  

The buildings that comprise the Queensgate project include:

• Sovereign (formerly the Lowestoft building built in the 1890s),
• Regent (the site of The Bourbon),
• Monarch,  
• Consort (formerly the Commodore building)
• The Empress (formerly the Empire  Hotel and location of the famed Les Girls nightclub). 

The project includes a new walkway connecting Darlinghurst Road and Barncleuth Lane, that runs along the rear of the site, and which itself will be widened.  

 

Contact details:

Todd Hayward, 0412 205 151 [email protected]

Images:

Attachments: