A ground-breaking ceremony took place yesterday to mark the site and start of construction of Laundy group’s brand-new Log Cabin Hotel.
A hotel first appeared on the site in the early 1800s, when an enterprising ferryman built somewhere for travellers waiting to cross the raging Nepean River to rest and have a drink.
While several incarnations manifested over time, the long-standing structure that came to be known far and wide as the Log Cabin was destroyed by fire in 2012.
In early 2020 Arthur Laundy announced he had secured the site, for a greenfield rebuild and tribute to the celebrated pub.
This week FDC Construction, Laundy’s chosen partner for his run of greenfields, held a ground-breaking ceremony on behalf of the partners – the Cottle, Laundy and Wearn families.
This marked the beginning of construction on the new $16 million hotel, slated for completion in early 2022.
It will stand beside the new bridge of Penrith City Council’s riverside precinct, which is one half of the Masterplan for The Great River Walk.
Team2 Architecture has designed the two-storey Hotel, incorporating bars and spaces indoor and outdoor, including a cantilevered balcony over the bank of the river, an expansive beer garden and children’s playground, and fine-dining and function areas upstairs that will enjoy panoramic views.
In attendance for the ceremony were new owners the Cottle and Wearn families and both Arthur and Craig Laundy, as well as the previous owner of many decades, Ross Sinclair, and official guests Mayor of Penrith Cr Karen McKeown OAM, and Member for Penrith the Hon. Stuart Ayres.
Cr McKeown suggested “everyone here in Penrith has a memory of the Log Cabin”, while Ayres furthered that the turning of the sod was “almost like a healing process” after the loss of something so important to the local community.
“The Laundy family has been involved in pubs in western Sydney for over 70 years; this is something special,” said Arthur Laundy.
“The Log Cabin has always been the jewel of the western Sydney pub scene, so it is an absolute thrill to be involved with good friends and partners in restoring the Log Cabin Hotel to its former glory.”
