Artist's impression of the proposed Crown Sydney casino at Barangaroo Credit:Crown Resorts But the PAC said "the NSW Parliament effectively settled the issue about the location of Crown Sydney" when it legislated for the location of a gaming floor on the site in 2013. As such, the PAC said it could not recommend moving the building. The changes to the project that have been imposed by the PAC's determination include a wider foreshore walk, a larger "Hickson Park" area to the east of the casino, and a small increase in the number of affordable apartments to be provided as part of the project. An extra 25 units will be provided by Crown within five kilometres of the site. Nevertheless the PAC stopped short of saying the public good would be enhanced to the same degree as private profit by the casino and apartment complex. The PAC said that after its proposed changes "the public good has been given a more equal status with the private good." The three members of the PAC who made the decision were experienced public servant Lynelle Briggs, Canberra-based architect and consultant Annabelle Pegrum, and planning consultant John Hann.

The hotel and casino is on the far left, next to three apartment buildings being built for Crown Resorts by Lendlease named One Sydney Harbour. Credit:Wilkinson Eyre Architects The chairman of Crown Resorts, Robert Rankin, said on Tuesday the company would soon move to start excavation work and expected to open in early 2021. "While it has been a long and detailed process, we are pleased with the overall outcome and we're deeply committed to building a six-star hotel resort that Sydneysiders and all Australians can be proud of," Mr Rankin said. James Packer's privately held investment vehicle, Consolidated Press Holdings, agreed to sell about 4.8 per cent of Crown. Credit:Pat Scala Industry groups also welcomed the decision. The Sydney Business Chamber's executive director Patricia Forsythe said Barangaroo has already transformed from "a wasteland to a precinct that bustles with activity."

"A spectacular building housing a second casino and 350 or so luxury hotel rooms and suites is the final piece of the puzzle," Ms Forsythe said. The PAC's report offers a window into the high-level negotiations over the site. The PAC first provided its advice to the Planning Minister, Rob Stokes, on June 1. Mr Stokes then provided the advice to the government agency, the Barangaroo Development Authority. The BDA said it had a number of concerns with the PAC's recommendations, and said they would have "a material prejudicial impact on the still open public tender and financial implications for the state." But the PAC rejected the BDA's criticisms, and Mr Stokes accepted the PAC's advice. The decision by the PAC was needed after previous plans for a hotel jutting out into the harbour were scuppered.

As a result, Lend Lease proposed construction of a hotel on land previously slated for a park, Crown struck a deal with Lend Lease for the right to build a casino on the site, and Parliament legislated for a gaming floor. But construction of that casino - as well as about 30 floors of luxury units - required changes to the approved consent for the site. The PAC was therefore examining changes both to the land use in the area, as well as the design of the hotel and casino complex. The design of the building was fiercely resisted by the City of Sydney, which argued the private tower and its bulky base would "dominate and overwhelm" what had been reserved for public land. "There is clear failure in the assessment to consider site suitability and the broader public interest," Graham Jahn, the council's director of planning, development and transport, told the PAC at a public hearing in April. Other critical submissions came from former government architect Peter Mould, who said no reason had been given for adding so many floors of apartments, and from the NSW President of the Australian Institute of Architects.

"The only possible explanation for this change is increased profits without any accrued public benefit," Mr Mould said. "In fact, there is considerable public disbenefit." Mr Carter said: "What would history think of us all here today, if we chose a casino over a public park for this significant place on the harbour," said Mr Carter, who characterised the public preference for a park as a "no brainer". However the design of the casino received strong support from industry groups such as the Sydney Business Chamber, the Tourism and Transport Forum, and the Urban Taskforce.